New Britain herald., 1916-02-10
Nothing at All"


 pudding. Dicky ate his pudding with gusto. and I choked down some of mine, but Mrs. Graham sat in stony silence until we had finished.
 Then Dicky. seemingly oblivious of the part he had played in upsetting matters, led his mother back to the living room.
 If she had been made i'll by DickY's disclosure that water had dropped from the ceiling on the pud- ding, she showed no evidence of the fact The food she had eaten had revived her, and she moved about the apartment without leaning on Dicky.
 "Your apartment is pleasant. if it is small and without elevator ser vice. she observed.
 I did not answer her. The remark had not been made directly to me, and I left the response to Dicky.
 For the incident of the pudding had been the last straw When she had made the insulting little speech con- corning it, had resolved that hence forth I would not speak to Dicky's mother unless she directly addressed me, or unless I was compelled to ask her some questions to her wants.
 I had tried my best, I told myself, to treat my husbands mother with all kindness and respect. She had met my efforts with ill-concealed d1sllke and positive rudeness. Of course, knew that she was intensely preJu- | diced against me. She had Wlshed 1 Dicky to marry a girl of /her own | choice, and she had become so m 1 censed by his marriage to me thdI she had refused to come to the Wed- ding Seeing her evident donlna- tion over Dicky, l wondered no" He had ever gotten the courage to marry me against his mothers wishes. If i be had been in the same city with Ter. I told myself bitterly. she could have saved her son from me.
 And now I faced the" prospect of becoming a nonenity in my own home. Som ething hot rose in my heart. I would make a fight for my individual ity. I resolved. Something told me that my best weapon would be silence, and a seemingly icy indifference to any disparaging comments
 His Mothers Move.
 must have been thinking very deeply Dicky's voice. hurt, dis rleased,> sounded in my ears.
 Are you asleep. Madge? My mother is speaking to you and you 10 not answer her"
 "I beg your pardon" I turned to her indifferently. T did not hear you. . "I merely remarked that you must De fond of flowers to have so many of them at this time of year. Are not the prices almost prohibitive?'
 "On the contrary. they are remark 2 tly reasonable for this season. l | But I seldom indulge my liking for them. These were bought l in your honor"
 ''Oh, That was very nice of you, l 1 n7 sure The words were almost g, 1 sheer. I think Dicky noticed it. for l he jumped up and. coming over to 1 me. sat down on the arm of my char and put his hand caressingly upon 1 my shoulder.
 "Madge has been planning for your coming for days, mother he said. "She has worked like a Tro- jan"
 "sure1v that was quite unneces- sary" she returned, and I saw her | look with dstaste at the affectionate | ta ableau we presented.
 The look stung me into an action :, which I have regretted many times l since I pushed Dicky away from me 1 with an irritated gesture.
 "Please leave me alone" I -whis- l pered. Dicky Jumped up from the 1 chair as if he had been shot and l went to the window, where he stood 1 moodily looking down at the street below.
 How I longed to run after him and beg his pardon, as I would have done for a similar exhibition of temper if we had been alone. But the pres ence of his mother restrained me. I had a sudden swift prem onition that many quarrels would be left un- rcconciled if this presence in our home continued.
 ''Just Send Katie"
 By the thin line of her lips, I knew that Dicky's mother had been and un- derstood the little by-play. She said nothing but after a moments waiting she rose from her seat and moved to her sons side. She is tall woman, almost as tall as Dicky, and she reached up her hand and smoothed lis hair. It was just such caress as she must have given him years ago when he was small boy and in need of comfort over some childish sorrow.
 Dicky took her hand in his with a quick, impulsive gesture and laid it against his cheek For several min utes they stood silently watching the street below. Then Dicky's mother moved restlessly.
 Are you tired. mother?" Dicky asked tenderly.
 Not only tired, but quite faint" she returned, and sank into a chair. Her face had the same white, drawn look it had worn when she arrived. I started up hurriedly.
 What can I get for you" I asked