Show aw GREAT GRAPE GLUE by MARY 9 CHEATHAM eurizer cov agnes was so thrilled over her now new home that she realize what st a menico the grope grape arbor would prove to her newly found happiness 1 until it challenged her to tho the supreme test W WHEN HEN they bought the house i agnes thought much about the grape arbor she knew it was there ol of course but it was spring and the ten drIlls were lust just beginning to green out along the back walk now it was summer and the vines were heavy with purple clusters I 1 doy boy that something said greg at breakfast our own vine yard right in our own back yard i and it theres one thing I 1 like to A ent eat its fresh homemade grape jelly agnes felt a twinge of misgivings but even then she failed to lecog re cog f nize the arbor tor for what it was a menace to her marriage A guess ill have to make some lome i the she answered with just a shade of t do doubt 0 abt rn ril go out and pick the r grapes right after afler I 1 got get you off to fcc work k y fine beamed greg swallow I 1 ing the lost last of his coffee mom al ax ways makes it with pure grape juice y and sugar datter better call her it if you have any trouble oh ill manage answered ag nes nea smiling ml ling with a great show of JL confidence after all I 1 learned to cook IVI 17 s sure did hon agreed greg reaching for his hat got to run along now good luck with the jelly they exchanged their usual n I 1 af after er breakfast bride and groom kiss an and greg hurried out tho the front door when the breakfast dishes were i carefully cleared up agnes took a dishpan and approached the tha arbor it was pleasant there working in the sunshine to the busy humming of bees she felt the lightness come back into her heart after all any body could learn to make jelly dow dew lay heavily upon the purple globules glo bules as she placed them bunch by bunch in the dishpan sho she breathed deep of their winey alney fragrance and smiled in her new sense of ownership making jelly called her neighbor across the back fence those thosa grapes always did make tho the best jelly jell I 1 going to try it agnes called back ive never made any before but I 1 have a good cookbook and I 1 think vad I 1 caff do it all right its easy said gold the neighbor 1 I never bother with a cookbook myself agnes took her grapes into the tha kitchen and began washing and sorting them hem at the tha sink when they were ready she sha put them into a saucepan and crushed them slightly us as it said in the tha cookbook she added a small amount of water and brought ithem ther to a slow boll letting them thein took cook gently until the juice had run out straining tho the juice through a cloth was a messy business but easy enough as she remembered having seen her mother do it at home 1 I wonder she thought why I 1 pay more attention to jelly rn making aking she brought out the little glasses and sterilized them until they were crystal bright in the grip of a quivering excitement she measured the juice and now come cams the tha frightening part tensely she sha propped the cookbook within view while bringing the juice to a vigorous boll she added tho the sugar and stirred carefully until it had dissolved she studied tho the jelly test pictures until her eyes ached one picture showed the jelly dripping from tho the spoon in two drops the other two drops running together r and leaving the spoon in one the important thing was to know just when tills this took place back and forth agnes gazed from picture to spoor spoon from spoon to picture until both seemed to blend into one at this point she thought tho the mixture had neared the jollying jellying stage but her eyes ached so from their intentness she was no longer certain whether two drops had really run oft off the spoon or she had just imagined it better cook it a little longer she thought to bp be ure sure a slightly after the time specified sho ha poured the jelly into the hot glasses not until then did sho she relax her nerves she realized had been pounding like trip hammers As she tidied tho the kitchen agnes gazed with pride at the glasses on the utility cabinet her first jellel it looked a trifle dark but then grapes ware dark naturally I 1 she hod had a good dinner waiting for foil areg areg when he came from work 1 I thought we might try a little for or dessert she suggested bring ing out one of the glasses right greg recalled happily grapo grape jelly 1 lie he plunged a spoon enthusiastically into thi tha glass glas s ile he pulled hard great grape grapa glue I 1 he ha cried cried what have wo here agnes stared astonished at tho the gooey blob on the spoon fine sticky threads trailed behind it from the glass like fronds fronda of c cotton 0 aton candy she blinked back the tears just in time and changed her exclamation cla mation to a laugh 11 II only sho she had thought to try it firsti first I 1 perhaps she suggested yv yve wo c could ld spread at it on paper to catch ilou flies les 11 0 ONE NE of the tears spilled over the ed edge of her laugh and greg caught her to him never mind he soothed it tastes good anyhow lie ile kissed her and they both nibbled at the spoon like two children sharing a lollypop lollipop lolly pop when you tou try it t tomor tomorrow rov he mistakenly continued mom can tell you what you did wrong agnes pulled stiffly away and began stacking dishes she shoved the jelly glasses viciously out of sight and went around the rest of ta the evening feeling vaguely irritated qt at hrag 1 reg ensconced behind alie C ave nang paper he appeared not to notice ile he even failed ailed to notice when lucille called though lie ha usually liked to twit her about her conversations with the girls why dont you use usa comme commercial pectin asked lucille lucalle when agnes had confided conil ded her failure therl then you can use the short boll method and its practically foolproof fool proof because gregs mom agnes answered crossly its got to be the long boll method or nothing fiddlesticks concluded lucille buy the pectin and come to the card club tomorrow afternoon dut but agnes shook her head stubbornly no old grapo grape jolly jelly she said Is going to stand in the way vay of my wedded bliss she went at it again the next morning with great determination this time she was careful not to overcook the boiling mass bubl lant bantly lyshe she poured it into the glasses there she thought setting it to 77 77 17 1 77 7 A D i Z I 1 V M IMI q 4 R 4 Z 0 I 1 W 4 U goegl sho she cried see if your folks would like to io come over to dinner well havo have crispy altie biscuits and cool just let lei my fine gregory find fault with she put on her fr illies t apron and smiled at greg over the this time when he plunged his spohn spoon into the glassi glass he did not have to pull the lelly jelly trickled off the tha spoon ti i a ruby stream greg grinned uncertainly wonderful stuff for pancakes he ha said with great restraint agnes checked the ithe most amazing desire to throw something i after all it arg gregs fault rhe had a stupid wifel she sighed wearily wea rily but that evening too had 4 defensive overcast she accepted the unexpressed apology in gregs goodnight kiss honey he said you know I 1 dont care a hoot about those old ewes 11 thi the foito following ad day was hot but A agnes gnes doubled her hours at the kitchen stove the warmer she became the greater grew her resentment why 11 she sha asked herself did we ever have to buy a house with an ad grope grape arbor I 1 batch after batch she cooked alternating between syrup and gum somehow sho she just get it right ig ht grimly she poured the last sticky desp mes into the glasses not waiting to clen clear the kitchen she marched upstairs and threw herself across the tha bed only a silly bride she said would cry over not being able to make lelly jelly but tho the tears soaked into tho the pillow all the same and discouraged and exhausted she fell asleep she awoke with a start at gregs touch on her shoulder late afternoon shadows lay across the floor she jumped up guiltily but greg pushed her gently back against the pillows im home early he ha said relax poor kid hid youre all tired out 1 I 1 knew you could do it he added and agnes became aware for the first time that he had something in his hand ile he was taking huge bites from a piece of broad bread and but ter and yes something else gleam ing in jeweled beauty upon the yellow surface that last batch 01 mumbled greg with his mouth full has jelled belled agnes leaped out of bed her taco face ablaze with excitement cG Greg regP ll she cried see if your atols would itka 0 jo o come over to din her well well wave have crispy little biscuits and she reached out and touched the quivering rubles rubies with a reverent finger great gra grape pe i ab b breathed rea thed rapturously |