The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-11-04
THE EVENING STORY
The Woman at Home.

1 =
wary Ainslee handed her doctor
husband his second cup of coffee, and
iislened while he told her what hos
pilai ne would be operating in that
tba en1 l,n he then began speaking of
tue cnlidren. but absently and she
haaW ne was worrying about the Pres
ton case-Mrs. Preston was as likely
TO die as to live. He tried not to talk
snop at TABLE, but it irritated his wife
to know that his work was everlast-
lngiy first in his mind. She felt her.
sen growing unlovely in thought,
| lnougn she sternly schooled her out
Ward nehav1or to perfection AS they
tnIsneo the meal she was Obliged to
! ienIno nm OF the money he had for
gotten. for two days. to give her.
m sorry, my dear-I quite for
soI, ne replied, and wrote her a
cneck double the amount she had
erous man. What troubled her was
tnat ne was as generous to the world
at large as to his own family
AFTER he had kissed her goodby
anu starred Tor the office she went
over the house with the maid. gave
the cook her orders and then dressed
llttle Robert, gave him his breakfast
ana sent him off to school. Then the
papy mad to be fed and dressed BY
the time she had done the little things
| tnar required her hand. and had
changed her morning gown, it was
almost luncheon time. The baby was
asleep, and she sat down deliberately
IN her own room to correct her own
thought
She realized that she was becoming
irritable and jealous-yes. Jealous
! what was she to do? Not for her life
would she have betrayed her feelings.
nave MADE vulgar scene. Besides,
what could she complain of? She
tried to be reasonable And it was
not only the women who were ever
laslingly cooling about him, admiring
and deferring to him, plying him
t,el TOT his busy life. calling on
MS sympathy-it was the children, the
men, the string of ailing human be-
1ngs that filled his office and his life.
She had, after eight years of marriage.
come to feel that the doctors family
MAS MAS SIMPLY a secondary possession of
the general public. Women called
out of courtesy to the doctor-to see
the doctors wife. his children, his
mouse. Old ladies-and silly young
ones him ridiculous gifts.
1t seemed to her. he was as fond of
other children as of his own. She
mated herself for caring-but she d.
care! She wondered what she sfioI.se
do. Then the maid called her to
| lunch.
She waited ten minutes. fifteen. a
half hour, then had the meal served.
SO the boy could get off to his kinder
garten In time. They had nearly fin
| ished when the doctor entered. dis
| trait, pale, evidently exhausted His
wife rose to his need. letting him
alone. Finally she was told that Mrs
| preston was worse. and the mornings
operation success, but only by mir
acie. He bolted his food. and was
OFF again with scarcely a good-by. She
knew it would have been infinitely
easier for him to have lunched down
| town, and that he came home in def
erence to her wishes
1t was truly black afternoon for
the girl, for she was barely TWENTY
six. For the first time she owned to
herself that her life was becoming
unbearable. In the two years before
little Robert came, and even till few
months ago when the baby appeared.
it had been possible for her to 20
about with him-to lunch downtown
at his convenience. to drive him about
to his calls. to get him to the theater,
TO church. to reception or dinner
down by the children even when he
could go. She felt bitter and alone.
wondering what life was for.
| several women called during the
afternoon, friendly. but not near
enough to her so that she felt them
friends. They took occasion to init
mate that the doctor looked pale and
overworked, as if she were unnatural
| ly unobservant, and to pet Robert and
pronounce him the picture of his
unprofitable servant. Then his moth
er 'phoned her-very sweetIy-and
asked if she might borrow him for
dinner that night, adding plaintively
that she almost never saw her son any
moret Mary forced herself to be
civil, even kind. to bid the old lady
get him to come if she could. BY that
time she had one of her bad head
aches.
i She called the maid to take the
children tTio 10 lie n
but she was too restless. She reflect
ed that another woman would send
for doctor. Should she send for
DR.. Ainslee? She laughed bitterly to
ness, all concern. doing his best-as
with any other patient! She preferred
to suffer it out. and then. she knew
how busy he was. He had to go out
to the new house they were build
ing, besides his other work. In the
new house. farther out. she would
never see him. she thought miserably.
She began for the first time that sum-
mer to feel the heat. to be half hys-
terical, wholly unhappy. She realized
that she could not live without him
nor with him.
Finally, at almost dinner time. she
rose, bathed and dressed. Then the
phone rang and she answered it. 1t
was his voice. quick irritable. but
kind, asking how she was. and the
children, saying that he was really
obliged on short notice to go to some
medical banquet, and was sorry he
could not be home to dinner-he
would not be back till late. and she
was not to sit up. While she was
listening, the tears fell down her
j, cheeks. She answered pleasantly.
She made a pretense at dinner. and
finally got the children to bed. Then
she came down to the hammock I'M
der the trees. Her headache lessened,
and she tried to think things out
!. calmly as a man would. After hours
she reached only one solid conclusion
that if she only knew that he really
loved her and the children better than
all the rest of the world together; If
!. it was grief to him to see SO little
of them. she could bear it. And then
she fell asleep.