The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-07-26
Chapter 10.


Looking back today, from the ex-
perience of several years, l realize
that l was not in love with Win that
evening. l could not have been il
love.
For there was, barely 20 years old.
with an amazing amount of experience
and sophistication in some ways, and
an amazingly dense ignorance in
others. Other men had tried to make
love to me-silly old men my aunt
knew, who thought it fun to hold my
hand while they talked to me in q
"fatherly" manner. Callow youths
from college, who danced all the new
est steps and murmured in my ear
all the sentimental sentences they
had read in cheap magazines; worldly
wise men who wondered how far |
would let them go; and just plain nice.
chummy men who still thought that
every girl expected certain amount
of sentimental attention.
These men, from my own world,
knew how to handle. Even at 10,
when l was abroad with my father
was so well versed in the art that my
father laughed at me for what he
called my "cleverness."
And because | was so used to this
other type, / avs in complete ignor-
ance of the type / met in this out-of-
the way town. Winthrop Taylor had
fascinated me. No other man had
ever appealed to me- Winthrop had
a lack of polish that | took for sin
certify, lack of knowledge l took for
idealism.
Yet today can see that he was not
in love that evening either.
appealed to him because | was
different from any girl he had ever
known, Just as he appealed to me be-
cause he was different from those
other men. l was pretty-it was a
delicate sort of prettiness that was
accentuated by my. recent illness
and / did have manner of talking
and acting that made me unlike the
village girls 1t was not my fault nor
to my credit-it was the result OF
different training.
So when Winthrop put his arms
around me suddenly and said l was
1.-THE only real thing in life," / know
: now that he was not really in love.
But that night l did not doubt it!
Some feminine instince made me
pull away little. But Win kept both
my hands.
Connie" he said, with little laugh
half trembling in his voice, Il ala
awfully in love with YOU Are you in
love with me?"
Even in the way he said he loved
me, there was something of the sim.
plicity and directness of a child, and a
little humorous recognition of that
very very quality.
no |
4 not answer.
II don't know" / said.
And it was the truth ! did not
actually know, though it kept comine
to me more and more clearly that
was in love with him.
1t was simply that | had not time
TO think about it. Every girl, | be
lieve, dreams ahead of this great oc
casion, when the man she is in love
with is going to tell her so~for The
first time She likes to imagine how
it will be and what he will say anc
what conversation will lead up to it
The expectation makes the reality sc
much the sweeter.
And here, Unexpectedly, Winthrop
had said he was in love with me
And more than that, he was demand
ing that | tell him whether or not
was in love with him.
Il don't know" | repeated.
He pulled me toward him a little
and | resisted.
win, Win. dear / pleaded, please
do something for me. Please dom
ask me-not for awhile"
When"
Not until-next week at least
please That's so far off," Agar
h. Of hn,