Madonna had a long day, and the instant that her head hit the pillow she fell sound asleep. Eliza had quite a long day as well, so she decided to take a nap and let Madonna enjoy the benefits of a truly soft pillow.Hours later they were both awakened by Madonna's husband, Alfred. He came in like a tornado, red in the face from too much sun and too much drinking. He started yelling at Madonna and Eliza, "what are you girls doing here . . . sleeping on the job?"
Both Madonna and Eliza were started by Alfred's rough demeanor. Madonna started to meekly answer Alfred, but before a word came out of her mouth, Alfred took one look at her and said, "is that the same woman who is my wife?" He wasn't one for a lot of complements.
"What do you mean, Alfred?"
"Mean. I mean, you look so refreshed. And those god-awful rings are gone from under your eyes. Did you get one of those operations? That will set us back."
"Alfred, Eliza is selling these wonderful pillows and I just had the sleep of my life."
"And you look great. I don't care about the price. Just give Eliza her due and I'll take you out to dinner."
Madonna slipped Eliza $149 and Eliza promised to bring Madonna a new pillow within a couple of days. Eliza couldn't wait to tell Softy of her success. Perhaps she could make enough money to run off with someone like Softy and leave her little hick town and drunk husband behind.
