The Skylight Room (Henry)
from the Collection «The Four Million»
Short Summary
New York City, early 1900s. Miss Leeson, a poor working girl, rented the cheapest room in Mrs. Parker's boarding house - a tiny skylight room on the top floor.
She named a star visible through her skylight 'Billy Jackson'. Miss Leeson's cheerful nature made her popular among the male boarders, but she struggled to find work. As her situation worsened, she became ill from starvation.
One night, too weak to move, Miss Leeson lay in her bed, looking at her star.
'Good-bye, Billy,' she murmured faintly. 'You're millions of miles away and you won't even twinkle once. But you kept where I could see you most of the time up there...'
The next day, an ambulance was called. The physician, Dr. William Jackson, rushed to save Miss Leeson. The story concluded with a newspaper report stating that the patient would recover, revealing that 'Billy Jackson' was not just a star, but also the doctor who saved her life.
Detailed Summary
The division of the summary into chapters is conditional.
Mrs. Parker's Boarding House
The story began with Mrs. Parker showing potential tenants around her boarding house. She first displayed the double parlors, which she reserved for doctors and dentists. If the prospective tenant admitted to not being in these professions, Mrs. Parker would show them the second-floor-back room for $8, though she claimed it was worth $12.
If the tenant still insisted on something cheaper, they were taken to see Mr. Skidder's large hall room on the third floor. Although Mr. Skidder's room wasn't vacant, Mrs. Parker made every room-hunter visit it to admire the lambrequins.
Finally, if the potential tenant still proclaimed their poverty, Mrs. Parker would call for Clara, the colored maid, to show them the Skylight Room on the fourth floor.
Through the glass of the little skylight you saw a square of blue infinity. 'Two dollars, suh,' Clara would say in her half-contemptuous, half-Tuskegeenial tones.
Miss Leeson Arrives
One day, Miss Leeson came looking for a room. She was a very small girl carrying a large typewriter. Mrs. Parker showed her the various rooms, but Miss Leeson could only afford the Skylight Room.
Miss Leeson was not intended for a skylight room when the plans were drawn for her creation. She was gay-hearted and full of tender, whimsical fancies.
Miss Leeson settled into the Skylight Room and quickly became popular among the other roomers, especially the men. Mr. Skidder, Mr. Hoover, and young Mr. Evans were particularly drawn to her, while Miss Longnecker and Miss Dorn viewed her with disdain.
Billy Jackson, the Star
One evening, as the roomers sat on the stoop, Miss Leeson pointed out a star she had named Billy Jackson. Miss Longnecker tried to correct her, stating it was actually Gamma of the constellation Cassiopeia, but the others preferred Miss Leeson's name for the star.
At night my room is like the shaft of a coal mine, and it makes Billy Jackson look like the big diamond pin that Night fastens her kimono with.
Miss Leeson's Decline
As time passed, Miss Leeson's fortunes declined. She stopped bringing home papers to copy and instead spent her days searching for work without success.
There came a time after that when Miss Leeson brought no formidable papers home to copy. And when she went out in the morning, instead of working, she went from office to office...
One evening, Miss Leeson returned home without having eaten dinner. Mr. Hoover seized the opportunity to propose marriage, but she weakly struck him and struggled up to her room.
For Billy Jackson was shining down on her, calm and bright and constant through the skylight. There was no world about her. She was sunk in a pit of blackness...
In her weakened state, Miss Leeson bid farewell to Billy Jackson before losing consciousness.
The Ambulance Arrives
The next day, when Miss Leeson didn't respond, her door was forced open and an ambulance was called. The ambulance physician, Dr. William Jackson, rushed to the Skylight Room.
The ambulance physician strode with his burden through the pack of hounds that follow the curiosity chase, and even they fell back along the sidewalk abashed, for his face was that of one who bears his own dead.
The story concluded with a newspaper item reporting that a young woman had been admitted to Bellevue Hospital suffering from debility induced by starvation. The ambulance physician, Dr. William Jackson, stated that the patient would recover.