Show george and his birthday by JANE OSBORN T WAS tile lie eve of valls IT bir birthday lie he probably have thought about it if now on oil the very day before lie had not received a letter front hla his mother oilier in who was off oy on a henrs holiday somewhere in france with atiq hl father the letter had reminded bilm of the fact that he was to have a 11 birthday and a money order er lind hall slipped sl sopiel piel from tile letter it wa for a hundred dollars and tile the letter lind hall explained 1 I know you cant possibly need the hie money hut but I 1 am hoping tale it and spend it do that ihna iou ou really want to tit inking vl whether hother it Is ex or not io do aou ou remember er what fun fill you mid I 1 used to have leave on jour Nith days so go when geor bore rore ro re e sat in liis his bachelor that evenin lie fell to thin thinking chinhing hing of those mi birthdays long ago lie ilio hire anat lie was a very i e loy l lioy oy his had deleted dieted the entile relitha day to bilm there had been other oilier brothers mul 31 sisters mers so in the I 1 ordinary oid inary course of events lie ne never neer er i it i ditc itc ny as anci of ill his mother as lie he isbeih ilu flut when his birthday came lils his mothe s disposed of nil all other dubi dilli wid lion imin early until KIL n was ill his and lie could do ji i vital lie he wanted to do and no one imp need heed illow Illi what fit they had done if it 1 I was sa that lint tile brothers brot lies anil sisters might tease him ablin i once lie it had a wanted to ednd cie entire day tit in I 1 her I 1 I 1 car with ill her biml lii io so go where slip she wanted to go or h i e other people went vent but just juat berv rc lie wanted to go and they had gone goite bivin through all tile dingiest din giest sect lors of the city through narrow crowded streets along the and I 1 nilly out in the woods ds not to pick honors hollers as ill ills mother might inight have on any other oilier day but to pla pai uru cru soe one day they lind bad gone together to the seashore and spent must most of the lay day swimming another time the had followed fire en engines ines once wit alien ell he was in ili ills his teens lie had asked ito t to go to nn an architects exhibition and it was art an afternoon spent there that biad till really started him film on nn his career recalling lie calling those other oilier birthdays lie decided to spend the next day as lie had done with his as mother doing just what lie wanted nil all day ion long cy by the time morning rame lie had somehow sou lehow managed to ill get hl in a perfectly responsible mood but lie ile found foud himself eating just the same sort of breakfast that lie he usually lid did in the same little restaurant where lie always went ue ile left lefi tile lie res ind strangely eniti his bin impulse led him in the direction of his ollice yes that was where lie really wanted 0 go lie ile wondered yet all the time lie he icalla knew 11 he like to let the day pass without seeing edith lee ardith I 1 there here as a draughtsman und and a mighty good uny one slie site was wassey shy eur cur ly haired brekle nosed title edith alio ull somehow felt that to work in till nn ollice was the tion of all tier her ambitions or a at least george thought that was what she thought well he went to liia his ollice office und and blien lie said good morning adli suil smiled led and george rather himself by asking tier her if slie she had a gr great eat deal to do perhaps berha ps she get gel time to go with him to the next county to see tile new church in which they had ach in their own way had a liand hand idith had a good deal of before tier her but while shi S hesitated slie site decided that slie she could take he hoine and work ork till 1111 midnight to get it anne then slie said site she would go george and edith took a taxi to the lie garage where george kept ills vir asir that lie used only blien lie we lo 10 the country and while they sat t together george smiled smile to himself blin self to think that lie was really there with edith ordinarily he hale thought of asking her ber because erdl harily he never acted entirely nn an idea of ills his own pe ronal satis fac fae tion ile he called on certain girls be cause for some reason or other he thought it was ills his duty to do to so and there was no earthly reason why fly lie he should lie be spending time vilh edith except that lie wanted to lie ile even think that slie she cared so it was uns that after they had nevii tile the church to together jether and talked allouf it as one architect to another lie he asked edith to have lun lunil licon fill hini because a nl the tinie time it as if nothing not liing else in the world would be so pleas atiL then they went on oil another drive in ili the country lie ile asked tier her to liae dinner with him and to go to the hie theater too loo ri liili said slie she slie site had worl work to lo do that night and besides it seem so strange that you really wanted lo 10 be alth tile me said edith ive often thou thought lit it would lie be fun fill to lie be with you but youve barely looked at me george sitting in his cur car beside explained about liis his bin inlay then lie droe dro e to the curb and stopped lied tile engine idith lie he salt said abruptly 1 I believe ive been in love with for months I 1 believe I 1 eat ix level ver love anyone else forget the work ill help aou ou with it tomorrow li 11 so pressing make the alie day per feet come to dinner and go to a shola with me and before we part pan pron you 11 marry me and edith pron lied feed |