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Girlie — Part 2 of 4
The second best job I ever had
Babysitting a dog and cleaning a swimming pool? How hard could that be?
A lot of talking occurred during the drive from Palm Springs to Burbank. Walter and his wife asked me endless questions. If they were going to leave their precious doggie under my care for six weeks they wanted to know what kind of person I was.
Although she didn’t speak much at the bar the night before, Walter’s wife did most of the questioning. She had a lovely English accent and was a delight to talk to. I did my best to be as charming as possible. I learned that if I could turn the conversation around to be about her it was like opening the floodgates. She talked about growing up in England and becoming an actress. She was originally a stage actress but now only did occasional commercials.
When we got to their very nice house in Burbank they immediately introduced me to their dog, Girlie. (My first thought was, Seriously? Girlie? Is that as imaginative as they got naming their dog?) Girlie was a mixed breed mutt who looked almost exactly like the dog in the movie Benji. I got down to the floor and petted her and introduced myself to her. She seemed to be okay with me which I think was the sign Walter and his wife were looking for.
