The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-11-28
THE REEDS THANKSGIVING.
BY ADELAIDE LUND,

The REEDS THANKSGIVING.
BY ADELAIDE LUND.
When they opened the little store, she
was an apple-cheeked girl, and he boy
man with eager, ambitious eyes. Per-
haps he had clerked in some other habcr-
dashery before he brought his wife and
experience to No. 1882; perhaps she had
served customers with ribbons and laces
across some counter previous to her we'd
lock with the other baby; or, it may be
they both had trod box strewn, dusty al.
ieys from springfield time-the chron-
icles do not relate. But it is certain they
seemed beginners, and the newness never
wore off. Who ever heard of O. salesman
acknowledging that there was mo. 2
tape" but he didn't have any; the old
lady Burt next door kept it. Or, who
ever knew saleslady to find she hadn't
"the exact shade" in switch.
And yet they got on, these two, and
after few years did fair business with
certain mild soft-spoken
people; people who never hurried, and
stopped to thank them for small cour.
tesies.
So Lottie and Andrew Reed began feel
ing safe, and year by year added bits of
necessities to their stock. The day
Babies Caps" were put in was a proud
moment for them both; but each wanted
them on his side-indeed the little dis
play rack was moved back and forth sew
eral times before the matter was settled.
This was accomplished by Lottie's crying
astonishingly long; then Andrew carried
the soft, ruchey things back to Lottie's
side. Later she moved the games over
to his half, and then they sat at the desk
together again.
They kept no clerk, and so it was i'm
possible for them to lunch or dine in each
others company; this was a real grief to
them both, and splendid plans for the fu-
ture were always prefaced by: "Then
we can go to dinner together,' and they
would look in each others eyes as if they
saw heaven.
Tuesday and Friday evenings they
closed; Lottie mended, and repaired gen.
orally, and Andrew smoked. Lottie often
told him he looked like pictures she had
seen of A. T. Stewart when he did this
And so he smoked-he never quite liked
it-and sat with his feet high and read
stories to her. At 10 o'clock they told
each other they'd be untitled for business
tomorrow if they made nig ht of it; so
the work was folded away, and the
marker pressed between the leaves, till
next closing night.
The years went fast with the Reeds.
Before they knew it-indeed, they never
knew it-Lottie's apple cheeks were
whitening, and Andrew was stoop- shout
n ~ %hn %1ry1 ~ Id
met yours when you opened the door of
1892 were babyishly young. BY this
time they had added papers, slate pen
ellis, and Lord knows what else. They
also had shares IN the Cooperative; this
last was done in secret; they even kept
it from the spool cotton man, Mr..
Brooks. eve won't tell anyone" An
drew cautioned. "'Twill be $4,000 when
it natures. Then we'll sell out and -
and see things. We can eat together,
anyway"
So each month Andrew deposited
promptly, and came back to Lottie full
OF business; whereupon Lottie followed
him to the desk and they reckoned it all
over again. There were still two years
of unexpired time to the maturity of
their hazard, when the Elevated began
grinding past their door. During the
months of its construction they smiled
confidently at each other whenever an
iron girder was sounded, with an extra
amount of noise, into place, and as soon
as they were alone Andrew would tell his
wife, eve settled in the right place."
ALI of which Lottie fastened to recognize
as truth, and her eyes would shine with
enthusiasm the counterpart of his own.
Then she would suggest double deposit
as soon as ever the road was fairly run
ming.
The Elevated opened, began sending
along desultory cars. then trains. Final
ly came and passed weeks when the roar
of the overhead was unbroken; still the
new patrons did not come; they were
lnanifestly bound for the terminus. In
deed the old ones began hurrying by, and
lodging into side streets, heart breaking
ly. ITO Lets" sprang into windows on
all sides, over night, and soon the Reeds
low-voiced following vanished to a fam
lily. In vain Lottie's display of "Chic
Dress Stays" in vain bargains in Neck
Wear" and protestations that Cup Town
Rents Make Uptown Prices.'' The
heartless world had forgotten them. To
be sure slate pencils and licorice held up,
end there was an occasional stir in mus
lin, but. as Andrew said, cts simply a
bare living; nothing more"
Then the roar of the overhead got into
their ears, and they told each other, "bet-
ter any thing than this So they sold
their stock to Mrs. Burt, and moved back
mile. At this point in their history,
an uncle of Lottie's died and left her
500; this, with the money from the
stock, would run things finely till the
Cooperative matured. $50 we've moth
ing to fret about" Andrew somewhat
reedlessly reiterated.
And now they dined together, and took
long walks in the middle of the day, and
hudged each otner whenever belated
clerk hurried past. Also, they went a
mile out of their way every day to pass
the old store, and said t was funny it
should happen so.
One night Andrew went to Cambridge.
"for car ride;'' and didn't invite Lottie
to go with him-an act significant in it's
rarity. In point of fact, however, she
seemed to forestall him with "a head
ache. But as soon as he was gone
she slipped on q short skirt-it had be.
gun raining walked back to 2232.
Twas closing night and the w;ndou,a