Show THE NEW LIFE FICTION ION CORNER By Richard Hill Wilkinson pHERE THERE WASN'T an any particular L reason why young Phil Davis and his wife should dislike Templer Yet this was the case For one thing neither 0 oJ of them were used to the habits and customs cus cus- toms of small smalltown F Minute 3 town to p people cop 1 e. e I J Fiction I They were city I bred and hence misunderstood the kindly interest of their neighbors Prying curiosity they termed it That Mrs Bixby was over again this morning Dot Davis said to her husband one night two months after they had become nicely set tied She wanted to know now where I had my washing done Said shed she'd been curious er since she discovered discovered discovered ered I didn't do it myself Prying old buzzard Phil mut mut- Its ls l's a blasted shame we have to put up with it Tom Wheeler Wheel Wheel- er who runs the local newspaper was telling me today that Templer was no different from any small town They're all the same he said God pity the people who have to live in them he added bitterly Im sick of it Dot wailed Sick of seeing and meeting no noone noone noone one but gossiping old hypocrites sick of the familiarity these people assume once they find youre you're here hereto to stay But were we're not here to stay Phil cried with sudden enthusiasm You remember I told you how Id I'd been working on the head office Trying to persuade them to transfer me to Suffolk Well Veil I think its it's going through Well We'll not have to put up with this drab dull existence much longer honey I hope not Dot cried fer fer- fer- fer vently I cant can't stand it a great deal longer i 4 Im sick of it Dot wailed walled Sick of seeing and meeting no noone noone noone one but old hypocrites Two weeks later the long hoped for day arrived Phil received notice notice notice no no- tice of his transfer to the Suffolk office Joyously the two young people peo peo- pie packed up their belongings and said goodbye to Templer They took an apartment in the suburb of Ashfield Ash field and set about the ilie task of getting getting getting get get- ting acquainted This wasn't particularly difficult Mrs Hooper who was rather a plain looking person and who occupied an apartment on the same floor with the seemed eager to help the young folks get settled She came cam in every day and made suggestions suggestions suggestions sug sug- which Dot found helpful Phil came home one evening to announce that he had joined a club and would be out one night a week Its ls l's just as well said Dot Do agreeably Mrs Hooper has asked me to join the Neighborhood Bridge Union so Ill I'll be out too M- M u. u 1 Hooper and other inhabitants of the apartment about other peo peo- pie in other apartment houses close by For example the Ricks were considered fast The Browns weren't all they appeared to be Bit by bit Phil and Dot adapted themselves to their new life They learned with whom to associate and whom to ignore Gradually they settled into the usua usual routine A month after they had left Tern Tem pier and its drab dullness behind Phil arrived home one evening with witha a curious expression on his face Dorothy noticed the change Oh nothing much he replied to her question Bob Talbert wa saying today that Ashfield was like a hundred other suburban towns Same monotonous routine and dull dull ness The only break they get ii il when someone new arrives It odd Dot said slow slow- ly Mrs l Hooper looper was in today She wanted to know where I had my washing done Shed She'd noticed she said that I didn't do It myself Phil and Dot stared at each othe for a moment in alarmed silence Then suddenly of one accord the thea burst into laughter Dot he said I wonder if It iti the place we live in or if 11 its it's jusus jusus juSus jus jus- us We wanted to be near a larg large city and now that were we're here found conditions pretty much the thi same as elsewhere Dot nodded soberly I guess Phil dear it isn't the place tha makes ones one's life ufe drab and dull it the people who live in those places its it's the way you treat them am ane they treat you I guess human na nature nature nature ture is pretty much the same every where Its It's up to the whether or not he or she is happy Phil held his wife close |