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Show iiu-"iitrTTT''""niTr-TiMrVTTminiii THE ANNUAL ROMANCE Dy Mary Graham Bonner (, ltM, WeUrn Nwpper Union.) ROSALIND was engaged to bo mar-rlcd. mar-rlcd. She was to bo married the day after Christmas. Sho couldn't very well bo married before then as her flnnco was so especially, unusually unusual-ly busy at Christmas time, and It would havo been cruel, too, not to have waited. For Dill, her beloved, took the part of a Santa Claus every Christmas for one of tho big city stores. He was an Ideal Santa Claus. llo wasn't too tall, ho was not too short; he wob rather Inclined to a stocklncss of build, nnd extra clothes mado him look an Idenl round Santa. Ho had n ruddy face and snapping bluo eyes and dressed In a Santa Claus costume ho was perfect. per-fect. How tho children did ndore hlinl And how ho loved them! They whispered whis-pered their secrets to 1dm and their ejes danced with raro happiness when ho waved n good-bye to them and called them: "f weethenrts," and "My denrs," nnd "Children denrs," nnd other affection-ate affection-ate terms. Hosnllnl had been thrilled when she hul hoard him flrst, In his deep beautiful volco uttering such beautiful words? for Rosalind had met him llrst when lie had been a Santa Claus nnd she had been an extra sales girl taken on for tho Chrlstmns rush. It had been her flrst meeting with Mm. Hut sho had been kept at tho (.tore after the Christmas rush was over, and Bill had worked for tho store for seven years "how. Every December De-cember ho was Santa Claus. Tho other oth-er o'ecn months ho spent In selling kitchen utensils In tho basement. They had fallen In love with each other, oth-er, though, nt this tlmo when he had hoen Sautn Claus. And many n time when ho had said: "Good-by dearie," to a child, ho had been thinking of tho pretty girl who wns at that very mo-meat mo-meat selling dolls nnd giving her smiles, her benutlful smiles to a mother moth-er or to children. And now a second Christmas was raining around, nnd once more Bill was Santa Claus, and as soon as he wns through being Santa Claus thoy would bo married. "I've nhvnys had lots of romance In imy nature," sho said to him one evening. eve-ning. "I've always thought It would ho awful to bo like some folks some I know and some I've henrd talk. One lady who enmo to tho storo with a friend wns telling how sho and her hu&bnnd got' along perfectly. They each had other friends, nnd sometimes they met nnd embarrassed others when they told that they were married. For ono tlmo tho husband had been hnvlng dinner with a friend, nnd tho friend had been looking flirtatiously at his wife who wns also In tho restaurant. "Tho friend had been much embar-rnsscd embar-rnsscd when he discovered ho had been Took the Part of Santa Claus. flirting with tho husbnnd's wlfo. And Blie wns telling this ns a good joke. "I wouldn't want that kind where one goes ono way and tho other the other way. And I wouldn't want to bo known as a wlfo because I was Quarreling with my husband. "You know how you hear folks say Well, you could tell they wero mar-rhHl, mar-rhHl, all right.1 I don't want that "Aml 'ou won't have It, little girl," 11111 l'l. "I'm for your kind of ro-manco ro-manco every time. I'm for tho kind of n ii arrlod llfo where folks won't think ore mnrrled-wo'll bo so happy I I nu a friend onco llko that. Why, a cop failed him down becnuso ho was mak-ns mak-ns loe to his wlfo and wouldn't believe be-lieve they wero married 'cnuso sho l l him Marling.' They found It awkward, but they had tho right And ns Itosnltnd. listened to her "ntn anus, as sho counted tho days More tv we(Wng s,10 8nl(, to heik x mi." wllLbe nn nnnual romnnce to see S t MRnmn ClmB t0r " "Wwo. well n8.Ua children, nnfl ttii. enr,0l,r llQPPy, merry memories r n, etl forus- Wobcliovoln f Ml , m,Ul r0"mnC0 be,leVt " US, """ ton, R going to piny Its part." said. MHneol, who knew them both Z 12 'V,0nh0 wns during his " XJS tor whole month of |