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Show She Helped Everett Do His Christmas Shopping FOR weeks pretty Clare Reynolds, the new girl of a busy insurance office, worked directly across the table from Everett Moore without having drawn even a glance from him. And this was unusual for Clare. Everett seemed glued to the sheet before him, but Clare, determined not to be the ice cracker, waited and hoped that sometime, somehow, something some-thing would happen to force him to look up and speak to her. She liked this good-looking. earnest-working chap in spite of his utter indifference, and just had to steal a futile glance at him occasionally. It was Christmas eve and not a word had passed between them. He was still oblivious of her presence. Early in the afternoon Clare put away her things and was putting on her wraps when some one questioned : "Leaving us, are you?" "Yes, the boss is letting me off to finish up my Christinas shopping. I" "Shopping! Shopping!" almost shouted Everett Moore, looking up, startled, and lor the first time, catching catch-ing Clare's eye. She felt her cheeks flame. "Say, are yon going Christmas Christ-mas buying. Miss ah Miss" "Reynolds," she replied. "Yes. Is there anything I can do for you?" "Well, I should say ! I had forgotten, forgot-ten, really. Could I trot along with you and get you to help me make a couple of purchases? I never know what to buy for a woman." Clare's heart was beating wildly. "Sure, I'll help you. I rather like spending somebody's money." Out they went together. The sharp wind whizzing around the corner sang a joyous tune to Clare. Everett held her firmly by the arm and deftly guided her among the busy late shoppers, shop-pers, and within a very short time a floor lamp for his mother and an atomizer atom-izer for his sister had been decided on and ordered delivered at once. They then went to a tea room for refreshments, re-freshments, and there, over the teacups, tea-cups, they really became acquainted. It was hard for Everett to leave her, but she had problems of her own to solve and time was getting short. Christmas morning a bunch of red roses with a note attached from Everett Ever-ett was among Clare's most highly treasured gifts. The note read : "From an admiring friend. Why didn't we know each other long ago?" And Clare also wondered why. Lily Rutherford Morris. ((c). 1927, Western Newspaper Union.) |