Show the fit FICTION littion CORNER OUT OF THE EMBERS by NORMAN STANLEY BORTNER il T ETS ers talk this thing out ld li janice had said for good and nd oil U and he had agreed not enthusiastically he thought he knew jew j ew what wha t it would be like she wn was goins going 1 to be very y calm very noble very much the long suffering patient wile wife who will go no farther all tight right my dear it if you want one more talk im game came just so 50 it end in another row he became slightly noble him da bjelf Br elf now that it was all over with them he was suddenly courteous ile he spoke to her in a tone he might laye have used toward any good looking woman not his wife where would r IV you TOU like to tit sit while you pronounce bt sentence sentence she knew at once she must have been thinking about that not tere bere she said would you mind arwe if we went down to the cabin the tha cabin how long had it been tote sinto he be bad seen the inside of that two roomed affair beside the river and what could this have made her weeks leolf beeks want to go E there of all places not best in the least he said well need fiction wraps they dressed tor for the raw december day and went out the west door crossing the lawn she took his arm i that was unexpected and also a little uncalled for he thought under the circumstances why should she make a game out of splitting up thinking that he stiffened and she felt it but she did not release hi his s inn arm remember the first time we came down here together she ftp asked la in cant say I 1 do lit you mean you dont want to it ia i vat wa after our honeymoon and you t held MY ITY arm her voice was low n U end and uneven and somehow queer OIL oh he said the mat 9 ter getting a colde no not used to fresh air I 1 sup i boie be all right soon in the nevada climate you mean she did not answer maybe the she meant that to speak of the cic advantages of reno while he remained east would not fit her j 1 present mood there had been times plenty of them when the important small niceties of conversation between them had been forgotten giving way to bitterness and recrimination but he admitted she had never been crude to cov cover ur h his own remark he said has t the ie cabin been kept clean quite its always in good order vo no telling when someone might want to use it theres some wood there im sure and you remember how that fireplace heats will right I 1 do remember the worst of it was that he kemem bared too wen well all at once they 11 had lived there he and jan tor for a while after their honeymoon the big house was too big too many people around too many distractions from each other so they had moved to the cabin they had changed a great deal since then not in looks ten years very long in themselves somehow but the cabin had not changed it was precisely as it had been then seemed a bit smaller but then time always does that to distances and dimensions ile he busied himself with the kindling there was only one big chunk of wood enough for or a little while the fire caught nicely jan held her hands to the growing flames feels good she said and when the chill had been taken from the room she sat on the sofa and will wiil I 1 remember thinking while you held me in your arms that thai no girl could have been happier than I 1 was at that moment no two people could have been more in love we were dont laugh please we were like that fire is now just one consuming sum ing blaze of love for or each other he help smiling at that jan really was in a state to talk like that but it disappeared when he turned toward her she was so close to tears and now will look at us weve made a wretched mess of things we damned it if we he was nearly noble enough to admit furthermore ther more that it had been almost entirely his own fault but he shei she might have agreed with him and then the row would start he was quiet for a long while and then he said but fires do go out eventually and I 1 guess ours has yes and the use of blowing on cold ashes but th ats why I 1 brought you here to the cabin will I 1 had the wild idea that the he first time we came here you yon carried me through the doorway will asked him with a restrained almost fearful little gesture to sit beside her he did and waited again very nobly tor for her to begin this last talk she wanted at last she did this is where we started will she said here in this little two by four do you ever think about that time thought of it just a moment ago he admitted I 1 we were happy then we evere HE E SHRUGGED suppose we were jan but im afraid we haven t been very happy since no not very and why will do you know how did we lose what we had bad then not that it makes any difference of course here we are and how we got here really matter or even chos to blame right bight will right he stared into the roaring fire and considered that she was being exceptionally calm better than he had hoped the first day we came here you carried me through the doorway somehow we could patch it up try again but weve done that too often we too often jan the room was hushed after that for many minutes hushed except for the crackling of the one big chunk and the rush of air through the chimney and even that slowly decreased the fire he had built and not replenished was burning out just like the fire jan has spoken of burning out it was a simple thing to throw more wood on a fire but was it so simple to rekindle their own flame he decided he was getting morbid there were only deep red embers between the andirons and irons when she rose 1 I told you last night that nothing would keep me from reno she said 1 I meant it then but will ill stay if you want me rii HI do my best to make us happy we were once maybe in some way we could be again she waited he did not move did not raise his eyes the embers glowed will I 1 said id stay if you want me to G glowed must I 1 get down on my knees to you Is that what you want glowed dully too late then all right d dear ar ill be packed and nd on my way in an hour would you do you mind it if I 1 kiss you goodbye just for old times sake I 1 wont bother you any more he permitted it quite nobly and when she had bad leaned and kissed him full on the lips he turned away from her and toward the fire once more the door closed behind her A A N HOUR she had said well h he ax would wait that long before going back to the house no use having more fak farewells ewells he did not stir for a long while frowning at the fireplace the one big chunk had only a tiny bit of redness along one edge the rest was cold gray ash smoking fitfully and not pretty to look at she had been right they had been exactly like the fire blazing up tor for a time and then cooling to drabness 1 I wont bother you any more what had she meant by that never see him again ile he realized suddenly that he WANTED to see her 2 gain again 1 it be right not to you y ou cant live with a person ten years and simply forget it like that maybe they could even be good friends after the divorce and have some of the fun they missed before without the ties of marriage or the restraints he knew he was being very tool oel ish thinking things like that it was all over and she would be strange and distant whenever IF ever they met friends hardly jan was out of his life tor for good that was settled the cabin was getting cold he had no idea how long he had been sitting sitt ing alone was the hour up he rose to stir his aching legs and considered hunting more wood for or the fire with the tongs he probed at the ashy big chunk and at his touch the wood which ch had seemed so cold so lifeless jumped into flames warm surprising beautiful A single touch had done that HIS touch ile he gazed open eyed and then in quick bounding leaps he ran up the hill and into the house up the stairs through a 2 door he had riot not opened for so very long the hour was not yet gone jan he said jan youre youra as slim as you ever were ill cany you over again |