| Show I DONT DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEANA MEAN L A ABy By FANNIE HURST 0 O 1 by McClure Newspaper Syndicate Service courtship of ot Mary and T THE NIles was one that conformed nicely to the conventionalities of at the community She was as twenty and he heas was as twenty nine they met metat metat I Int at nt the home of a mutual friend became became became be be- came engaged three months later and married that same spring In tho the lar large e Industrial eastern city where NIles was already making makIng making mak mak- ing his way they began their married married mar mar- ried reed life Ufe on a n scale commensurate with his Income and at the end of the second year jear were occupying a small apartment In one of the up- up date to to date apartment houses on one o of the exclusive streets In town They were happy formative c years of gathering friends and furnish furnish- ings An Inveterate shopper Mary had the faculty of making a n dollar seem to stretch twice Its usual resil resil- lency Their little room four-room apartment apartment apart apart- ment In Bradford Arms an address the young housewife glorified In givIng giving giving ing to trades and sales people was wasso wasso wasso so unusually caparisoned that a n magazine called Interior and ExterIor Exterior Exterior Ex Ex- had sent a photographer to take pictures of the ll living Ing rooms for Inclusion In Inthe the the publication Mary and Justly so was proud of at her achievement ement of ot this home Busy constructive years went Into Its making Niles took his pride In It too It was pleasant to be able to Invite a n client Into the really distinguIshed distinguished distinguished dis dis- dis- dis atmosphere of his sur stir The charming well-bred well Mary In her smooth looking good clothes the pleasant living room of at Sherlton good old prints toned dim-toned rugs books firelight pewter pewter pewter pew pew- ter grand piano with Its Us In Invariable luster vase containing yellow roses gave forth an nn odor of success that never failed to register Instantly Clever er woman Mary I Clever as the dickens From that point on the advancement advancement advance advance- ment of the Niles Gregorys was consistent consistent con con- and always a little ahead of Its Itself el t. t That Is when Niles was earning twenty thousand a year they seemed to be living Ing at the rate of thirty when he was earning thirty It was as If his Income must be at nt least fifty And so on due of course to Marys Mary's unceasing attention attention at nt- to every ery detail At the tiro conclusion of ot the tenth year of their marriage while Niles was steering ahead to greater and greater success In his work their country place thirty miles from town was the most pretentious pretentious pretentious preten preten- and luxurious estate there there- A far more luxurious place Mary took pride In explaining than Niles normally could afford She not only had the gift of taste and selection but she had the Indomitable Indomitable In In- energy for shopping It might be said that the first ten years of their married life ilfe was one exhaustive shopping tour In Europe and America Not mind you that It was drudgery to Mary At the conclusion of ot the tenth growth seem filled with the sense of creating the setting for the kind of life Ute they wished to live As Marys Mary's friends put It she worked like a stage designer bent benton on accomplishing the proper dramatIc dramatic dramatic dra dra- matic setting for their background With the country place called she achieved It On the outskirts of town adjoining the most select country club In the state representing an nn actual outlay outlay outlay out out- lay of several hundred thousand dollars dollars dollars dol dol- lars and nod giving gl the effect of havIng having hav has ing lag cost much more the beautiful home of Mary and Niles Its turreted head It gave gaye you a sense of repose Just to enter these doors to sink Into Its restful chairs and divans to look out over Its meticulous expanses expanses expanses ex ex- ex- ex of at garden and terrace to browse In its libraries relax In ln Its music room stretch out In Its luxurious luxurious luxurious lux lux- urious sleeping suites The home was finished Well for another year or two there was the pastime the excItement excitement excitement excite excIte- ment and always the pleasure of bringing Into this home the friends and acquaintances who would ex exclaim exclaim ex- ex I ex-I claim at Its Us perfection and revel In Its comfort It was a n source of l I l I J perennial thrill to walk with them through the beautiful avenue of at poplar trees the geometric perfection perlee- perlee perfections tion Uon of the tile sunken gardens Then one day something seemed to drop like Uke a lead plummet to the bottom of at Marys Mary's being Now that the house was finished what next What then There were the usual dI Cards Friends The The- aters Tra Travel el No children of her own but a n deep seated deep seated Interest In Ina Ina Ina a local child welfare charity to which she gave time and thought There were apparently as many Interests Interests interests In In- as there had e ever er been No particular reason renson so far fur as ns casual dla diagnosis could make out why suddenly suddenly sud sud- denly and completely the sense of finish bad had written Itself across all of Marys Mary's life For a n 3 year Jear car with this crack across her being but with no ostensible letdown letdown let let- down life moved along at Wild Wild- mere Consultations with gardeners motor troubles week end parties i dinners to clients of ot NIles tours I of Inspection with admiring guests guest through the grounds and then gradually gradually gradually grad grad- even NIles began to notice What Is the matter Mary Fagged Look as ns If you might need needa a trip or change All right try a trip or change Three months In England browsing about among the shops for ideas for fora forn a n certain addition of a Tudor suite she had In mind then a bit of at Basque country and home by way of ot Naples and the Mediterranean But nut strangely enough the homecoming homecoming homecoming home home- coming of a Mary a little more lusterless lusterless lusterless lus- lus and a little more difficult to bestir out of ot her lethargy than that Mary who had gone hunting diver diver- three months before Matter Mary It was not easy to tell Niles the matter That Is it was was not even easy to attempt to tell him There were not the words to convey to him what he could not understand Better to walt wait Better Detter to try somehow somehow some some- how v some way to jerk out of ot this leaden lenden agony that was gripping her more and mor more Another year then of at the end weekend parties the personally personally personally per per- conducted tours through the grounds the Ule adding here and there thereto to the perfection of the establish establish- ment What In heavens heaven's name Is over you these days Mary Iary You haven't been yourself for months Well here she was trying to tell the un un- Somehow It had to be told It It had to be told Were so finished Niles Meaning what You Me How Oh I dont don't know There Is nothing nothIng nothing noth noth- ing we are expectant about You take me for granted I suppose I take you that way Nothing around the corner cornet for tor us Nothing to build because weve we've already built No excitement excitement excitement ex ex- left left no no Joy of ot creating creatIng- no Imagination between us Just husband taking wife for granted wife taking husband Stale I need something to do I want a spontaneous spontaneous spontaneous Impulse to to pay one I want tho the Impulse to say complimentary things of my husband and I haven't that Impulse any more than ho has Youre You're a n failure as a husband to tome tome tome me Niles Im I'm a failure as ns a n wife to you Weve We've gone along on the momentum of Inanimate things and now nosy that we have finished with them weve we've nothing left I dont don't know what youre you're talking talkIng talkIng talk- talk Ing about You You mean mean mean- I mean Im I'm dissatisfied Niles Horribly Irrevocably Im I'm finished here Im I'm bored There Isn't enough between us Were We're polite boarders under the same roof Life Is swift life lIte Is passing and were we're missing It it I III dont don't know what hat you yon mean I III know you dont don't or I wouldn't be saying what Im I'm saying Take a trip This Mary did but it was a trip which struck Incredulity and amazement amazement amazement amaze amaze- ment into the heart of Niles I need to be he free Niles I cannot cannot cannot can can- not regard my life as the snug completed completed completed com com- thing It seems to be with you Emotionally we are finished materially we can only be I need to be fed stirred moved Intellectually and Inspired to do I dont don't know what you mean I ell know jou you dont don't That was four years ago The new Mary lives in a three-room three farmhouse farmhouse farm farmhouse house In Connecticut that she had constructed out of an old barn She Is s married to a n student of at bee cul cul- cul- cul ture Everywhere throughout the simple and sparsely furnished household household household house house- hold Is evidence of the study of this Intricate and subtle form of at life Ufe to which they both devote their days Some day Mary hopes to find time to furnish their home In n a quaint and charming manner But ButIn ButIn Butin In the meanwhile the days are too crowded too busy too happy |
