Show TRE ac MESSAGE FOR THELMA dy ROBERT anthur woma note said ald that he ha would A come a at t 11 II for his things by ID 1030 30 anne had packed gl al of his A personal onal belongings into th the ethree tareo pigskin bogs and tho the wardrobe werd trunk which tho the dragged empty into the tha foyer of tho the apartment and tilled filled there tom was wa never lie might como come halt half an hour 11 early orilia lt an hour late handshe and tha wanted to have hava everything ready in time so EO that she eho could bo be out when he came she did botlinger not linger over tho the pack ing or allow herself to feel anything r even when the she put the th set let of cult cuff links and studs which had been her wedding gift to him and the sael j mounted military brushes brushe the she had given him on their first and only anniversary into the lat last beg bag k I 1 wonder if anyone else in new sho she caught herself thinking 11 I 1 never knew any other man who did A brief mental picture come came to her of tom before toe the mirror malting making a i determined effort with the brushes to force hla his sandy hair to stay in place then as a i quickly as aa it had bad corge come she ih bon banished libed it surgical operations should be neat anil and clean even if it WAS xem ething you were cutting out of I 1 your heart you linger over pt only when the three bags were standing beside tho the trunk in their scuffed cuffed a sturdiness strangely re M minding her of tom lid did ahe ha have time to feel the tha within 7 her As it if tn in emptying the closet and bureau of hla his things tha she had taken something from inside herself and packed it too to escape the curious numbness which gripped her tha she turned swift f ly end and went for her hat and coat la in getting them from tha closet be side ade the front door she he taw saw the tha pad which hung there where thelma athelma the mald maid could not cot help i seeing it both on arriving end and leaving thelma ws was a good worker but forgetful thelma please di de frost refrigerator dayt dars note notee r her that this 1 was waa Saturday Satui dayland and Thelma thelmal would do i no marketing for the weekend un less told but thelma might be N i onti betor anns anne returned and anno anne hesitated then do every tw thing just fin always alway fb she told her self elf if you let lei go now nov lut just hurt burt and longer I 1 I 1 she slipped into her coat forced herself to put on her hat with care then she bh took up the pencil that was tied to the tha cadby aired string land ad tried to think what the she would need tomatoes lettuce oranges orange i bread milk coffee he As thought soup faybe 1 I dont know I 1 dont core care chati oaf eat her fingers were curiously stiff ax as she wrote carefully care fully in rest neat capitals NEEDED she un derstore A the word rd I 1 drew i a line after it itchen then wa had just us t i begun to write down do kaaha the items the ant thelma to buy when she beard he ardla tho elevator begin 41 ita humming I 1 rise swift panic assailed her it was early but it might be tom he ha per her here to see ee him again 4 not spot knowing even now what it was that had gone gona wrong would be ba mote more than the tha could face llor her carefully maintained self possession probably would go in a i flood of tears and with it tho the lost remnant of her pride all that she ehe had h tid olt left would be stripped frond from he her r sho bile dropped the pencil leaving the note tor for thilma Th barely begun ran out the door and down the fire stairs before the elevator could reach her low floor it stop biter after all but the fear oj of being caught there by toms toma arrival stayed with her until the she was outside and hurrying across to lo washington square only when she reached tho the small park did she slow flow her pace she found a bench in the cool sunshine end and sat down then watching tho the placid pigeons the tha screeching children on skates tho the mothers pushing carriages carriage s and the old men playing checkers she tried to keep her though thou abts tt turned from fr om what w was happening but it possible why the question quest ioa persisted pez salted la in aking itself what went wro wrong ag why it work out shed hed know nIt be easy assorts A sports writer tom often had to lege and trying to be a reporter le and tom spending more and more of his time with her until anne annc with her own need for bof him so 0 o strong had in her disappointment and inability to guess what was wa wrong between them provoked that scene which could not be ba made up so now he was taking away his things anne anna looked nt at her wrist watch in the tha turmoil dofher ot her thoughts more moire than an hour had passed she ros rose 0 and thankfully started back bach toward the apartment tom certainly would have come and gone by now anyway it was wa over she could start rebuilding tier her life somehow at leat least she was thinking as she put her bar key into tho the door she had kept her emotions in control then she opened the door and all thought fled ile he had bad not left ills trunk and bags were still there and he was mas standing besides beside them anne annc tom said eald as wood woodenly wco denly she closed the tha door behind her holding to the knob for support annel ilo ho took a stop toward her hit 1110 voice was rough with urgency she sh A ae amy 0 I 1 ah h 1 1 1 71 k X Z A N ya P swift panic her as she heard the elevator begin baegl it its humming rise ile iio had find lr acre she left the message unfinished and hurriedly fled be away for several days some limes even for weeks and the tha time ahen hen he was gone was just a series erles ot of empty days and nights h in which she missed him so much sense of his bin absence was almost a physical ca lache ache but shed known how hoalt it would be and knowing had ad accepted the job ot of making their marriage work she sha had bad never fretted or wept when tom had to be away shed kissed him goodby lightly and welcomed him back in the some same spirit she sha h clung to him when ahe left or fussed bussed over him when he returned men hated bated that she had never let win him guess the horrible loneliness that stayed with herchen her when he ha was away on anas en as lest leit it make him feel guilty for leaving her alono alone so 51 much and shed kept her job writing store copi copy not because she mod liked or needed heeded it but because it helped fill the dayt days ot of waiting wilting when he was away but she lot let the tha job come coma between her and the home she was trying hornke to imka for him with the help of thelma and much for forethought sho she had kept it r running so 11 smoothly the mechanics of housekeeping hous eke never had obtruded upon thelmo theU the timo mo they did aid have together and yet she still could not analyze it chy why tom cra gradually dually had become dissatisfied and restless had taken to making excuses for staying away even when he wasi was not on an assignment sign ment then had como come abl blondel I 1 girl marion something fresh out of col tried lo 10 0 o turn tried to open the door to 10 floe flee buthis but his hands caught her anne weve been fools or at least I 1 have I 1 need you I 1 know it I 1 never neve r stopped knowing it it was just that you seem to need me need you tom in sur arl prise she ceased her blind elf efforts ts OT tw to release herself to look u up p at him in astonishment but I 1 do ive always needed you the times i when you were away and then without warning the tha tears came it was the first time she ever had haa let him see her cry men hated weepy wamen women but when i the tears were over so something m ething cold and dead inside her had bad been washed away she dried her eyes on toma handkerchief angheld end and held her lips avi up for his kiss and she knew thena then somehow what he meant she had I 1 made their marriage a thin light and gay andrit and it had bad been too light too gay with her casual goodby sl pl and her bright welcomes she ibe had hadj hid her emotions too well that men hat bate emotion had been her I 1 I 1 guiding principle but a good food marriage marr lago lias has depths A woman must feel needed but so must a man too la iu one extreme she had bad gone to another tom tried in awkward sentences to explain tried to tell her about the blonde marion whose need for ills help and advice had almonti almost made him think thac abat he but be b have to explain she understood all he said and more only when he finished was she beail 1 deded if you let me kno know v though tom said then his bla quart square 1 nicely ugly features twisted in ai a I 1 grin that tha was fight alth the knowledge of how dose close their escape had been IS if you put it where I 1 miss it but she was waa able to till still the ques tion on her lips before it was wa spoken Ep for chesaw sho aaa the direction ot of his bl look end and followed it to see the message tor for thelma stelma which she had begun directing her to buy tomatoes and other items but had not stayed to finish and what the tha abruptly broken oft message said now instead was NEEDED TOM |