OCR Text |
Show When a Man Gets Married I By JANE OSBORN IC'opyriKbl.l A N SATURDAY afternoon ' they ' went nbuut looking at small lu- expecsise apartments and uutil Joan became used to It she felt acute embarrassment. em-barrassment. Some of the Janitors and agents undoubtedly thought they were married and to have any one e-en suppose that she and Andrew were really married seemed a little shocking. "You silly child," assured Andrew us they walked along down a side street In search of an apartment they had seen advertised. "There Is nothing' noth-ing' the least bit shocking about what we're doing." "duly you're going to live there before be-fore we are married," said Joan with embarrassment. "That might seem funny." "We don't have to tell every agent our plans," Andrew assured her. "And when we have definitely settled on the apartment we can explain mutters mut-ters and there won't be anything surprising sur-prising nhout It." It was late winter and Andrew and Joun did not intend to be married until un-til the following autumn. Meantime they bad decided that they ought to select their apartment now while thoy would have a wider selection than In the autumn. As a matter of economy Andrew would make his bachelor home here until autumn, cooking his own breakfasts by way of economy. The apartment that they finally i agreed upon'wiis two -flights up 111 a i house without an elavator. It was a I back apartment, with two windows looking ont on a ' rather pleasant backyard and with the rest of the windows' on a court. The rent was oh. very little for these day! even j less than Joan and Andrew had planned in their most frugal moments. "We'll make the kitchen the main room we'll eat there and I'll have the walls painted a cheerful yellow, with blue and white gingham curtains at the window. We'll have a nice big bedroom so1 two rooms ought to be enough. 'Then we won't ever have to , worry about , Hying beyond our ln-! ln-! come and we can save a little be-' be-' sides." , j -By way of answer Andrew pressed I Joan's - warm little ..hand. "There I aren't many girls like you, Joan," he said. "You don't seem to care' a bit about money." "I don't," said Joan with . interest. "In fact, Andrew, I've always looked forward to starting married life Just iike ..this. ..That's one ot the things that makes marrying you so nice. Of course I love you, hut I'm so glad you aren't., riclu ' And I want to start In eating in the kitchen the way mother and father did. I can just see that little; kitchen, after you've painted the walls yellow and I've made the blue- j aud:vhite curtains for the windows." Soon after that Andrew signed a year's lease for the little apartment, and. having sent on a couch, a bed, a bureau, a kitchen table and a few cooking utensils, started In keeping j bachelor's hall by himself. The weeks passed slowly enough through the long summer, and the first glorious days of autumn. There were days when he did not see Joan even for a minute, days even when be did not have time to write to her or to telephone tele-phone to her, but Joan bottled up her disappointment, convincing herself that Andrew really loved her Just the same. And all the time she was 'making 'mak-ing pretty things for the humble little apartment curtains for the windows, and all the conventional list of household house-hold iinens. But as the time approached for the wedding clearly something was worrying worry-ing Andrew. . Then one day Joan asked him If he would meet her at the apartment. She hadn't Intended going there at all, but she wanted to send some furniture and she wanted to plan with him where everything should be placed. Then somehow Andrew An-drew was urged to disclose the cause of his anxiety. "I don't know how you'll take It, Joan," he told her standing there In the little kicheu. ''But I can't keep It from you. You see, things took an j unexpected turn at the plant. For a year or so I've been working out a process. I contrived a little appliance, appli-ance, and made some changes In the method and well, it's turned out better bet-ter than I dreamed. . In fact. It's going go-ing to save the company a great deal of -money, every year. Of eouno, I have no patent on the applluc. It was all part of the day's work. Bt they're doing the right thine, frm been made one of the directors of tfce concern and they've given me a ton- j thousand-dollar bonus, and In pi tee of j my -regular fifty a week I'm rolng to ' get twelve thousand a year." j Andrew told this as If he were con- ; fessing some misdeed. "It would all ; have been fine,'' he said, "only I know j how you feel about money. I know you want to start here in two rooms, ! earing In the kitchen. It's been part j of your dream. It's funny, though , havinff the money come my way when ' I really don't need it or even want it" i "But Andrew," she cried, "we could i build our own house and sublet this 1 and and I've always dreamed of having a house with a sun parlor, and i built-in cupboards In the dining room, ! Hiid a shower bath and a cedar cloet In the nttic and and " j "Then you're glad," gasped Andrew with relief. "Why, of coarse, you old sweetUearL Of course I'd marry you If you didn't have a penn.v. but fee always longed for a little luxu-y " |