“Your speech.”
“You said it was standard.”
“Not quite. You don’t use contractions.”
She waited for him to explain.
“I say I’m going to do something.”
“You say I am. Or I say they can’t. And you say they cannot.”
“I was taught that way.”
“I realize that. But if you could use contractions, it would make you blend in better.”
She considered that.
“Try saying, I can’t come to the door right now.”
“I can’t come to the door right now,” she repeated in a tentative voice.
“That’s better.”
“I . . . am used to the other way. It will be hard to remember.”
“I understand, but try to keep it in mind.”
She nodded slowly.
“Try another sentence.”
“Like what?”
“You think of something by yourself.”
She dragged in a breath and let it out. “I’m learning a new way of talking.”
“Good.”
“I am, I mean I’m trying to get it right.”
“You’re a smart woman. Eventually it will come more naturally.”