| Show TIE 4 V ED TJ N 3 1 borvice copyright KaL kalhleen bleen CHAPTER XV continued to 10 back at her desk in tile the city room sin aln tony found herself inclined to lk lit aloud from lier her bag she tumbled it on her desk several odds and ends paper upon which social ancl il notes acre ft ere batched rat clied ched beades wedding was over 4 1 and slie she trust set get donn to busies ss oh you foell she said under her path she ranged the little notes here re her without It hout seeing them hem slipped beef of yellow paper into tier her tipp iter what of it ehlt of it what it sho she said fiercely what do u pare care what flat he thin thinas cs lie ile knows knois bony found herself inclined to talk aloud a crazy about him what of it I 1 ab sh I 1 gone up tip therel there I 1 could ye ve sent a note cole darling clendy she led imd so sweet I 1 wonder how el il to he be married to a man who mide made a feel completely crazy nutty natty the r ly I 1 feel now going off with him film i a car for montorey Blon terey oh I 1 wish nish I 1 ilant int gone up to his ameel what did say pid did lie he say anything at all 11 ile he lie ile just s sat it there and is is sorry for me she brought tier mind to tier her notes 4 bridesmaids for the di billand aiding had been picked mrs james e fairchild and tier her daughter miss lit net were lealnd for the hast east where ks BS janet would lie be placed in a girls bool mrs J kans kane 1 kelly was en kalning a ln 1 tor for her niece miss bliss barbara in ch felt broken and sick her head cd she could not keep her mind what she was doing at six walked home the walk seemed hill hang tonight the nervous ener energy it t drove her would woul d have carried her for miles without fall fatigue tie or even reaching her own room L s changed from her wedding gar apts ants jerkily spasmodically sol ne leg es as it if drives driven bomell mes P I 1 short to fall into restless and eresli thought there was a tele in blood rushed into her face and IV f fingers trembled as she opened it lyas 0 only a few words of love and wilde from san jose eded signed cren brea and alvin atwater acy dont care who knows groom tony thought oh 10 ary rit larryl she put tier lier hands to head and squeezed her palms dinst last her temples 1 the sitting silting room aunt meg aunt y and her daughter violet still in r wedding regalia were upon the haus tible subject of arendas Bren das mare ony any sat down handing the telen to her aunt aee ee that she wait to sign new name jhc he place seems perfectly forlorn nut ler her miss bruce said sly isly its IN lust just tile the time she usually carso came e every night so go sweet find and sin ami always alsys and so interested Interest edt I 1 r he telephone rang and tony sprang t tier her heart was beating so hard ve her senses in such confusion that as difficult till cult for a moment to iden r the speaker at the other end of line ruth it was ruth 1 I hello ello tony conyl I 1 did you know that I 1 home we got home yesterday did I 1 telephoned just before I 1 IS the office but you were lying down I 1 get your dinner message I 1 today ae e made the run in ten hours 1 n los angeles Ange lesl ruth was hap bap exclamatory 1 I went down there ee e my cousin ethel and her three lous IOUs girls I 1 was so tired I 1 tony this Is what I 1 wanted chance of your coming up to din inight just the hie three of us and y wont be here until halt half n d love it but I 1 cant ciale my aunt rg s here and an were wem all talking lal liing wed nd did brenda look pretty he e looked lovely she phe was av a 1 fully pale this morning but when we got to the church 1 I thought it was yesterday no tills this morning I 1 suppose im saying words tony thought but I 1 dont know hit hat its all about oh well then my dear of course they want you nt at home put but tony ive got to see ion ruth protested what are aou doing for lunch bonior tomorrow can aou ou meet me nt at the palace I 1 ilice ive got eol to go look 1001 nt at a desk for larry this Is a profound secret by the alie vay nay its for tits his birthday and you come alon along conion s thursday ill be down tit nt tile the office in the morning tony mused aloud yes I 1 could do tint thit IM hut ill liae hao to bo be back about half past to tony vent hick bick to the women in the sitt sitting irig room that anns mrs hicl amy you could line haxe gono gone to dinner tony 1 I know aunt neg hut but I 1 really want to she began to straighten the books in the eases every rin muscle iscle in her body seemed inclined to jerk and tear it seemed impossible to go on quietly stat stacking ching hooks books it seemed impossible to speak quietly rather than to shriek the fever feer in tier her soul sou was like a pain more dreadful than any pain she had ever known tony stood by the window looking out the city was mantled in fog now it was softly stealthily in she could telephone lione larry about what about anything larry I 1 ninde made an engagement with ith ruth kuth for tomorrow and now I 1 have to brank emah it and site she answer her telephone but she would answer tier her tel eplion lione e of 0 course chevalier was nas there to attest that miss bliss taft had not telephoned she would say that he be had been there all afternoon oil oh was anything eer so dreary na as twilight on a cold cindy foggy september afternoon bienda think so though site she and her alvin had an apartment of four rooms wall wait ing little gas stove little fireplace cheap little white curtains that brenda had aride cheap little china set got and ruths lovely silver the bar bare little sitting room would be lighted tonight with braces lamp furnished with tonys and cliffords gift the two rat fat chairs and the alie davenport in ribbed dark green corduroy the narrow long table whose black walnut surface was so cleverly nicked and stained tile the extra ettra chair with its tavern back and seat scat in dark fruitwood tony wondered tonight how much real ecstasy and passion had gone to arendas Hren Pren das marrying love was there of course hut tit what sort of love she had been tremendously pleased at al AI vias adoration she had been maternal and amused very sure of herself all AH her phrases for alvin were motherly that was one way of loving perhaps tile the most satisfying of all to brenda put there were other ways there was the way of a woman of twenty five live and a man nearly ten years older a way that included admiration mi ration all the respectful homage that a girl loves to give to a mitti and tills this tearing agony of physical need to hrenda drenda had been the first person to discover the charm or of alvin but bill everyone adored larry there was not a man in the office who aho had not relt felt the stimulus and inspiration of his big coming ile he was forceful dynamic camic an instantly impressive and ami memorable personality alvin had taken his completely happy wire wife to four rather ordinary rooms in monterey larry ah what lie do what he do tor for the woman oman he loved 1 while she ahe thought her odd restless disconnected thoughts tony had been staring out of the window now without being exactly conscious of what slie site did she went into the kitchen propping the swinging door open so that she could go on with tile general conversation Il hows lows potatoes suzette suxette aunt sieg and a salad and the custard oil oh now listen bliss bruce said with an awakening face it if youre going to have potatoes suzette count your poor old aunt in we had them for mont months lisl 1 just as easy to do six as four aunt sally well my dear now that you mention it I 1 do believe ill telephone allan time droned dronek on it would always be like this now dishes and toast and the foggy view of southern downtown from the window and the voices of stupid sweet affectionate aunts tonys body writhed she felt elt as it if her soul were writhing after a while title the cravens were go ing with ith many weary good bys then tony was making up tip cliffs bed in the sitting room roo touched by braces clumsy help by cliff opening of win lows dows and straightening of chairs they want tier lier to miss brenda too much aunt find retired into tier her room mid tony hiis that thai site she was crying as she got ready for foi bed alveo thing seemed very quiet and lonesome without brenda but as she sh lay awake that night alent looking wide eyed at the angle of moonshine that came down the shaft and kept the room bright tony was not thinking of her sister tier her body seemed on springs there was no sleep anywhere there was no lying still CHAPTER XVI toward morning she fell into uneasy dream ridden slumber ruth was a small gray mule ditth had always boon been a small gray mule it seemed inexplicably married to larry it was till all quite finite natural and taken for granted in the dream they wore were all got going 1 na to china on a large ship with tie newspaper w S presses crashing and crasci crashing ang punctually on tile the deck aunt waked her at ten there a very cry important club elt 11 in mooting celing to settle tile the question of clean vege vegetable tible markets at eleven at half past ten tony ejaculated out of bet bed before the apologetic pleasant voice had stopped no no coffea aunt meg bleg im lunching with ruth ill make it up then I 1 she was ass assuming timIng her wedding garments with all possible speed as she spoke dirk dark little blue suit stilt white frill dark blue and white lint hat and the resuscitated gardenias pinned carefully on her shoulder tony walked two brisk blocks in morning fog got on a street car transferred at twenty nine nil minute to eleven she entered the big brown imposing clubhouse ascended in the elevator with a score of well dressed middle aged murmuring women tile the auditorium was only half filled but the chairwoman and a few satellites were already grouped about a little table in the center of the platform and tile lie press women were seated at their own table below tony slipped into a chair laid out yellow paper murmured to her associates over the city the autumn morning brightened into crystal splendor the fog was gone and the lie shopping streets were throng thronged thron ged cd in the arin warm clear noon in the clubhouse matters dragged on would someone please make it a motion it Is moved anti and seconded tony came out into the street tit at quarter past twelve went down don to the lie empty office and typed a few notes went out again and walked down to the long cool restful arcade of the palace ruth was there not a gray mule at all but quite smart in pale gray cloth with a gray hat and gray slippers with lokets fresh and fragrant on tier her coat collar and a gray fur about her shoulders what are you grinning at you yon ah absurd girl giray ruth naked ns they kissed hissed A ridiculous prenta I 1 had about you last night they followed the head walter waiter between tables were established in a quiet corner of 0 the arcade there were menus music crabs are back lets have something thin crabby 1 I always have sand dabs at the palace tony laughed 1 I think ive been here five fire times in my life she confessed we stayed here larry and 1 I and mother alother and little pete when we first canie to california ruth said with a little change in tier her voice site she did not often speak of tier lier son and when ben she did it was always with this little drop in tone this flattening or of expression tonys own bright face clouded As her own being her senses and soul responded to the sweeping first chords of passion it was becoming increasingly difficult to think of ruth kuth as wi wife fe m much ua less the wife of tall dark handsome larry or as mother it was incredible that there had been a child a dark handsome enger eazer boy like his father 1 I had no breakfast tony said filling the gap so you may imagine how flow food smells to me ive been at a dull club niec meeting ting all morning the women are going after the wholesale markets down on jackson and washington streets and gotten the mayor interested were going in for it in a big way because the examiner scooped us on that milk scandal and we think fitch said so anyway that a lot of that property belongs to them hows mr fitcha lady love ilan hanging ing around she writ ten anything for months but ashes always trying to work up something its pitiful I 1 think tony said warming to her subject ness dess will try to get everyone enthus enthusiastic lastic about some picnic or some party at the press club or Solar solaris ls and its sickening to see that the boys dont warm up to it at all its horrible cut but it just what a woman like that ought to expect 1 I know ruth nuth put but you feel sorry for her just the same ile he pay attention to her any more iles hes got another one mae muzzy tony said simply what males makes nis me wild Is to see mae blae so sure of herself typing away as if we could ever use a word ord the way site she writes it and timing having to consult with him every hour or so ruth was not listening ner her alarmed eyes had crossed the big room novt she murmured in annoyance oh heavens did you ever know it to full ballf I 1 theres larryl not a word nord about tile lie birthday now tony chos with him lorry larry had been about to seat coat himself at a nearby near by table anble now he saw them and came smilingly over to stand with the proud air of 0 an ex es habitor beside the round faced squarely built smiling blond young man who was tits his companion ruths shortsighted short sighted eyes blinked for a minute then she halt half rose with a delighted cry joel my dearl joe Vanderw allt where on earth did you come from tile the newcomer stooped to kiss tier her was presented to tony tony saw pleasant blue eyes and liked the simple friendly smile what was he D danish a n Is it no norse arse this Is what ruth explained her faded face a lush flash of excitement and satisfaction as they all took their places joe youre my half brothers son what does that make me anyway she said to tony this Is Bl mothers blathers adored grandson tind and carries brother youve heard us talk of caroline 1 I knew there were children but I 1 thought they wore were the sand box and romper size tony said 1 I know they were grown up the picture of you doctor she said to the man beside tier her Is in uniform Ifill military tary prep school he explained his bis eyes drinking tier her in the room that hail had seemed to rise and turn and waver as larry came up settled into place and they were all easily talking together this teller feller got in on a bout boat this morning larry said 1 I tried to telephone you tried to telephone your mother no use so I 1 thought id anke him to lunch and then try again well joe you darling ruth kept saying happily ter her face was radiant tony furtively studied th the e nephew of whom she was evidently very fond and proud ile he looked nice fair hair som somewhat cibat rumpled one fine big lean ican brown hands inge age perhaps thirty A doctor probably a surgeon site she gathered presently that he was interested te in biologic research she had often heard the names bl big joe and little joe big joe was ruths half brother mrs patterson rat terson 2 1 I know ruth but you feet feel sorry orry for her just the same was very proud ot of him ile he was a what was it an engineer of some sort anyway they had always lived in east africa big joe and his wire wife and there were children caroline was one of the children evidently and this nice joe another but somehow tony had never connected tile the reputedly fascinating caroline with the joes ruth had so many relatives and they were all lagao aue aud and tar far away to tony ruth was immediately deep in hospitable plans joe must stay with them or of course and she would get just a few nice dice people for a dinner that night lie ile had to dine with a scientist in berkeley tomorrow night then sell and tony too B but |
