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Show STOCK IN TRADE CORNER By Richard Hill Wilkinson SAM'S pride, his independent nature na-ture and almost belligerent disposition dis-position were his stock in trade. Everyone said so. They were responsible re-sponsible for his success as a real estate agent. He always said what he thought, regardless of the con-I con-I I sequences. He Minute ST-S If Fiction But he always ' ' kept his word. That's why people tolerated him. And now he'd fallen in love with Audrey Gardner. Audrey was a mama's girl. She depended on her mother for everything. It was always: al-ways: "Yes, mama." "Of course, mother, dear." "Well, if you think it's best, mama." It got under Sam's skin. A yes-man or a yes-woman denoted a weak character, a spineless, spine-less, shallow individuality. But he had to take it and like it if he was going to have Audrey. He wanted Audrey. That's why he swallowed and suppressed. Secretly he was disgusted with himself for doing so. After the wedding they went to live in a cottage close by where Audrey's mother lived. Audrey's mother came over every day. She made suggestions; she issued commands. com-mands. The dining room should be done in blue, the living room furniture furni-ture was atrocious, the bedrooms were cold and barren. Everything should be changed. It was. Sam ground his teeth and said nothing. And when he tried to sell a building lot to a bridal couple they weren't very impressed. They grunted grunt-ed and stalled and said: "Hum. Well, we'll talk it over." And went home. Sam was wild. He'd never let a prospect walk out on him like that. It happened a second time and Be threw her hat, parasol and handbag out the door after her. a third. It began to look as if Sam's business were going to pot. Three months passed. Sam's bus!-' ness was on the brink of disaster. He had not sold a single piece of property since his marriage. He began to wish that he didn't love Audrey, that he could stop loving her. HE returned home one " evening to find that Mrs. Gardener had spent the afternoon with Audrey. She had come over for a purpose. The purpose was to rearrange and do over the small room off the living liv-ing room Sam used for an office and study. Every other room in the house reflected the personality and ideas of Audrey's mother. The study had been left until last. Sam stood on the threshold and stared. His desk had been moved. Papers which he had left on top of it were swept into the waste basket. Pink drapes hung from the windows. The wall was decorated with a picture pic-ture of a cherub. There as a floor lamp with pinkish frills hanging from its shade. Slowly, then more rapidly a fierce anger mounted in Sam. Sane reasoning reason-ing fled from his brain. He whirled. His eyes fell on the triumphant, pompous countenance of Mrs. Gardener. He raised a trembling trem-bling forefinger and pointed it at her nose. "Get out!" he said, his voice like a threatening wind sweeping sweep-ing down from the mountains and growing ever louder, "Get out before I break your domineering domi-neering neck!" Mrs. Gardener gasped. She started start-ed to speak. "Get out!" roared Sam. "Get out! Do you hear?" Apparently Mrs. Gardener heard. She gasped again, but made no effort ef-fort to speak. Instead, her eyes wide with apprehension, she backed toward to-ward the door and disappeared, forgetting for-getting her hat, parasol and handbag. hand-bag. These items, however, ver-took ver-took her as she was sprinting down the walk. Sam banged shut the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. Slowly, very slowly the significance of what he had done struck home. He had lost Audrey (and he loved her) but there was a warm glow f satisfaction inside of him. Audrey stood in front of him. Audrey Au-drey said: "Well, my goodness, it's about time you showed a little gumption, j had begun to think I'd married a freak. I mean, a man without a spine!" The next week Sam sold five house lots. |