I was mid conversation with my manager & supervisor when i saw a woman hurry over into the fitting room. She was carrying 2 of the same dress, 2 bags, & was on the phone. I rushed over to help her get settled & asked her if she found everything okay. she nodded without saying a word & looked me right in the eye & instantly I had the feeling that I knew her from somewhere or had seen her before. She closed the curtains & changed into the dress. I lurked around the fitting room waiting for her to come out. She did & asked me to zip up the dress & asked for a heel in her size. I nodded & stared up at her unable to speak, not because I had confirmation of who she was, but because she looked amazing in the dress. I went down to grab her shoes and as i rushed past my supervisor I said "I think i'm helping zadie smith right now! i'm not sure yet but! i will find out! & if i am! i will die!" & i zoomed back up the stairs and handed her the shoes & she slipped them on & was 3 inches taller and looked exactly the way im sure the designer of that dress intended.
(i could & will keep going on about how amazing she made that dress look...but for now i digress)
This point on is a bit of a blur, but I think she asked me my opinion & I went on about how great it looked & she agreed that it was a lovely dress & I asked what the occasion was & she told me it was for a wedding & I said the dress was perfect for a wedding & she agreed & said she'd think about it and she walked over to another rack to take a second look. I took the opportunity to ask her name & the conversation went like this:
woman: ...I'll think about it
me: great...whats your name? so i can...
woman: zadie *smiles*
me: smith?
zadie: yes? *looks at me like im a bit of a looney tune*
me: oh my god
zadie: ...
me: you're my favorite writer
zadie: *smiles* *nods*
me: i've read white teeth every year since my senior year of high school
zadie: well you need new books *smiles*
me: *melts*
I laughed or something awkward like that & walked away while saying "oh my god" to myself. Zadie Smith walked back into the fitting & closed the curtain. My supervisor, L - the only other person in the store at the time to know who she is came up to see if I had confirmed that it was her. She came back out of the fitting room with her bags of books & the dress & told me she'd decided to get it.
She watched me as I wrapped up the dress. I couldn't even look up because I was fighting back tears of joy. The calm, cool, collected thing to do would have been to just stay quiet, but she is my favorite writer! one of the women I admire most! i couldn't not say anything....right?!
me: i just have to tell you again that you are seriously my favorite writer.
zadie: aww thank you. you're making me feel old by saying you've been reading my book every year since high school
me: *giggles* its only be 6 years
[since when do i giggle?! never! but i did...]
zadie: ::nods::
me: are you still teaching at nyu?
zadie: yes im still there
me: i went to school for writing
zadie: really? whered you go?
me: southern new hampshire university
zadie: *nods* yes, hmmmm, i've heard of that program
[WHAT?! how has she heard of my tiny school in nh???]
me: *stares up at her with wide eyes*
zadie: howd that go?
me: good...i'm going to emerson in the fall for publishing & writing
zadie: emerson? you should be proud!...hmm thats good. we need someone to save the publishing industry
[ummmm...are you implying that i should be that person? because i'm totes down to accept that challenge!]
we went on to talk a tiny bit about epublishing, ebooks, the pros (not having to carry around 1,000 books at a time...as she was today...& by 1000 i mean like 5...but still A LOT!), the cons (the fact that books are now getting the mp3 treatment aka illegal donwloading)
somewhere in there i managed to complete the transaction.
I said thank you as i do with every client, she smiled and wished me luck & just like that she was gone.
As soon as I was sure she was out of the store & i ran to the front & yelled "i just helped Zadie Smith!" & collapsed onto the front register.
my eyes were teary, my cheeks were flushed, my heart was racing.
I don't think anyone else understood what had just happened to me.
I read White Teeth for the first time my senior of high school in 2006. Since then whenever someone asks me for a book recommendation, the first thing to come out of my mouth is almost always "...White Teeth by Zadie Smith"
That book lived on my desk for all 4 of my college years.
I've read it numerous times.
I've gifted it for christmas.
I read On Beauty in about 2 days & thats only because I had to live life & couldn't just sit & read
I could go on & on about what she means to me -listing all the reasons why i've been wanting to be just like her since i was seventeen- but that could take hourssss & i have to be at work at 8am.
I will say this
Zadie Smith changed my life & I met her today & she was as beautiful & as lovely as I always thought she would be.
-r.
** there she is in ksny karolinas in spearmint green
No comments:
Post a Comment