Maria cleans the flat every other month, and in the course of her duties she collects junk from the residents, which she sells to Zerkow for money. She spends the money on fancy clothes, so that she may be more like the soda-water fountain girls of Polk Street. For her, looking like those other girls is of utmost importance. Maria collects a jug from Old Grannis and a pair of shoes from Miss Baker. Standing in the hallway between the two rooms, Maria all but forces the two people to speak to one another, by speaking to one and then the other about the items that each had given to her to sell. It is an uncomfortable moment for Old Grannis and for Miss Baker, a fact that appears to delight Maria.
When Maria.....
