Show SERIAL Forever and Forever Tony Wants Faith ToT a 11 to Him By PHYLLIS M. M GALLAGHER CHAPTER TWE TWENTY rY Look said Tony Cant we get out of this crowded room Go some place and amI talk Ive I've got to talk to you Faith No said Faith We cant And you dont don't have to talk to tome tome tome me Tony Youve You've nothing to say to me that me-that that I want to hear She stopped dancing and went over to an oddly deserted corner of the room selected a Turkish carefully from a little teakwood box on the table there Tony sprang forward and held his lighter to it His fingers were trembling He extinguished the lighter and put it back in his pocket He was standing very close to her but he was being very careful not to touch her So youre you're determined not to believe me he said Youre determined to let everything go goto goto goto to smash smash because because I made a mistake mistake mistake mis mis- take and because youre you're so insanely insanely insanely in in- sanely jealous you wont won't let me put things straight again wont won't wait for me to do it Sinks Weakly Into Chair Faith moved to a white leather chair and sat down in it Her knees felt weak and shaky and she hated herself because they did Call it jealousy i if you like she told him quietly Call It anything But I have a right name for it Self I imagine that's a word you dont don't consider consid r very important Tony I imagine there are several others others others oth oth- ers you consider dull and old- old fashioned s such ch as constancy and decency and self restraint and fidelity You tried to explain to tome tome tome me once that these things weren't important at all that they didn't make any difference but you see youre you're wrong That is I 1 think youre you're wrong Tony please go away and leave me alone Please forget me and let me forget you In in peace Tony detected the swift crumbling crumbling crumbling crum crum- bling of her defenses and seized his advantage Faith Ill Faith Ill I'll ad ad- mit every everything thing you say But Im I'm only human Im I'm no paragon of all the virtues No man is Ive I've been a fool I thought thought but but what does it matter now what I thought The only Important thing is that I love you Always will And that you love me too Faith I dont don't want you to forget forget forget for for- get mein me-in me in peace or in torture Im I'm not going to let you forget me Tony took her away from her out with his own Then he drew her up into his arms Danced off with her slowly closely Faiths Faith's reaction startled her sent a swift surge of panic flaming through her veins Sometime when Tony held her like this sometime when Tony had her alone alone if if he maneuvered maneuvered maneuvered maneu maneu- vered it so they were alone Faith bit her lip so hard she tasted blood for it was an ugly picture she was seeing A little sneaking furtive surreptitious thing lurking In corners exchanging exchanging ex ex- exchanging changing secret signs arranging meetings when Marcia was away when Marcia was at a tea when Marcia was busy with her brilliant brilliant bril bril- and full social world Perhaps Tony did mean to leave Marcia soon But it didn't mat mat- ter She wasn't big enough enough or or perhaps small enough for enough for anything anything anything any any- thing like that She was grateful almost sobbingly sobbingly sobbingly sob- sob bingly grateful when Bill cut in when Bill said You have exactly exactly exactly ex ex- ex- ex 30 minutes to make Dots Dot's deadline young lady Isn't that slicing it pretty thin What sort of a newspaper gal are you anyway anyway anyway any any- way She and Bill left immediately after that dance They went to Dots Dot's newspaper and with Bills Bill's help Faith wrote the column When she had finished she read it over cringing mentally It certainly wont won't take any Pulitzer prize for the best social reporting of the year Faith said unhappily And I thought I wanted to be a writer Bill Bolsters Her Confidence Bill read the pages over slowly Well he said when he had finished you make all the elderly elderly elderly eld eld- erly ladies at the reception sound as if they were seductive sirens tossing all the men on their faces with the single bat of a lash And you make the young girls more beautiful than Hollywood turns out I guess that's really good social reporting He handed handed hand hand- ed the column to Faith grinning I do think you might cut out that remark Mrs Wand made about the new dealers Bill said It wasn't very witty Mrs Wand studied Rochefoucauld but when she starts cribbing her stuff on her own she invariably mixes it up with something the Four Marx Brothers said in their latest pic pic- ture Its It's a grisly effect Why Bill I believe youre you're a realist On the contrary Im I'm a romanticist romanticist roman roman- said Bill and was unable to resist an aphorism A realist knows that the jewels in the shop window are only paste but the romanticist smashes in the window and grabs a handful not really caring what they're made of They just look pretty to hims Faith put the cover over Dots Dot's typewriter A realist realist realist-a a roman roman- She was a romanticist all right For all the months she had wanted Tony Tony and and oh she still wanted him she him she hadn't cared what he was made of Suddenly the panic she had felt dancing with Tony at the legation legation legation lega lega- tion before Bill had cut in enveloped enveloped enveloped en en- her More than anything anything anything any any- thing in the world now she wanted wanted want want- ed to feel safe and secure and sane She was enough of a realist realist realist real real- to want that But how could she feel safe and secure and sane in the same city with Tony even evenIn evenin evenin In the same world with him Faiths Faith's turmoil increased the next day for Tony called her twice that morning It was a dreary Sunday A faint dismal August rain had been falling since dawn it was cold and andraw andraw andraw raw and everything outside looked as gray and bleak as any day late in the fall Mr Carter arter made a fire in the grate in the living room grumbling about Washington having the weather and who would think this was the middle of August When Faith came back from Tonys Tony's last call she sat In the wing chair by the fire her arms hugging herself shivering She had hung up on Tony twice now but Tony wouldn't let you go on hanging up on him forever she had to do something Mr Carter scattered the Sunday Sunday Sunday Sun Sun- day papers all over the living room floor was tramping back and forth on them now looking for his pipe The papers crackling crackling crackling crack crack- ling under his feet seemed to tomake tomake tomake make a terrific shattering nerve-shattering noise In Faiths Faith's ears And Nubby Nubby Nubby Nub- Nub by Bills Bill's cocker spaniel that had been sent down to him from Boston Boston Boston Bos Bos- ton yesterday was sniffing annoyingly annoyingly annoyingly an- an around the bamboo magazine rack Faith was actually glad for the distraction of Penny popping in although she did nothing but hum a silly song and tie the black velvet bow on her blond curls before the mirror Penny said after a while Continued on the Following Page FOREVER EVE Rand and Forever Continued from Preceding Page Faith arent aren't you ever going to fall in love with Bill Dont be a little idiot Faith said sharply and dont don't start that all over again Why are you so mean to him Faith Penny persisted inno Inno- Hes so crazy about you 1 I wish I had someone crazy about me Someone who would die for forme forme forme me and things I 1 know Morton Leeds and Sandy wouldn't di die for me They'd go right on living and living and living no matter how much I 1 wanted them to die for me Tears of self-pity self at being so callously unloved stood out in Pennys Penny's blue eyes In the looking-glass looking she watched the effect ef effect effect ef- ef of the largo large crystal drops quivering on her shaped fan-shaped lashes Look faith she squealed Dont you think I 1 look a little bit like Marlene Dietrich Dietrich Dietrich Die Die- when I 1 cry If I 1 were an actress I wouldn't have to have any glycerine put in my eyes to tomake make me look as if I 1 were cry cry- ing All I 1 have to do is think of something sad sad like like nobody loving loving loving lov lov- ing me not even your family The telephone rang and Faith felt her heart leap Was it going to be like this always She sat rigid waiting for Penny to answer answer answer an an- waiting to hear Penny say Its for you Faith and it would be Tony again Tony arguing arguing arguing ing pleading cajoling shed she'd hang up that time and the next and the next But what about that time when she might not hang up when she might say Yes Yes yes Ill I'll meet you Where Tony When Tony But the call caB was not for her Penny rattled along to one of her friends about what a slick wave lotion shed she'd discovered at atthe atthe atthe the 10 cent 10 cent store Presently Faith got up and started toward the basement where Bill BlU was working working working work work- ing Nubby leaping along behind her Bill BlU was crumpling up one of his charts and tossing it in the wastebasket as Faith came down the steps the great scientist doing Nubby What's he doing hmm Nubby Nubby answered by licking Faiths Faith's low-heeled low brogues and then leaping up and leaving the print of his forepaws on the pale blue blue- of her angora sweater Hi Bill said gaily Want to help I 1 might said Faith Provided Provided Provided Pro vided I 1 dont don't have to ride the just so you can see how quickly I 1 get tired When I ride a bicycle 1 I want to get somewhere That thing seems so futile Bills Bill's eyes changed from appraisal appraisal appraisal ap ap- ap- ap to admiration as he looked at Faith I like that sweater wench we New Two years ago On close in inspection inspection inspection in- in you will see that a couple couple couple cou cou- of moths have had a bacchanalian bacchanalian bacchanalian feast on the sleeve I 1 still like it Bill said firmly Upstairs the telephone rang sharply and there was the old treacherous leap of Faiths Faith's heart With relief she heard Penny yelling yelling yell yell- ing up the stairs for Terry Penny Penny Penny Pen Pen- ny crying out that Beef Johnson wanted to know if the weather was too sloppy for 18 holes at his club Faith stood perfectly still then she lifted her face a little and looked up into Bills Bill's eyes Bill BiJJ you asked me the other night what I 1 was as going to do about you Do you you still still want to marry me Because if you do Faith Are you you serious serious I was never more serious in my life she said quietly Continued Thursday |