The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1921-06-11
Window Shopping
as an Occupation
By r. RAY BAKER

Lets 90 home now" suggested
Ruth Paige, and pop corn, or make
fudge. OF something. I've had enough
walk, haven't you?"
Some walk, groWled John Gregory
as they turned corner which took
them off Main street into d residential
thoroughfare. We've been at ii moro
than an hour and half but how far
have we gone, | ask you? By the
time we get to your home it will be
exactly six blocks-one to get down
town, four to cover both sides of the
street in the retail section and one to
return. And it wasn't really walk
1t was just "a poke, with you dragging
me to every window to stare in at the
finery displayed
Ruth's mouth became firm and her
dimpies disappeared, and fire flashed
from her eyes.
That's too bad" she said sarcas-
tically. Strange you wouldn't want
me to enjoy myself little can't
have all those handsome gowns and
things, but you shouldn't want TO de
prive me the pleasure of looking at
them. Just because I'm going to be
your Wife-maybe-iS no reason YOU
can start in right now trying to take
all the joy out of my life. I've on
joyed myself this afternoon only now
you had to go and spoil everything
| dearly love to look in the windows,
especially when the spring styles are
on display. The trouble with you is
you don't appreciate art, and those dis
plays are art, and the men that trim
the windows are artists. You're too
prosaic, with your dirty old job in
muSty printing shop, and you haven't
4 the finer sensibilitieS to be affected
| by the more refined efforts of men
who dress well and keep their hands
and face free from printers ink"
Window shopping is great occu-
patton John returned just as sarcas-
| tically. I'm shut up all day in u
print shop. and when j suggest lit
! tie fresh air and some exercise on a
Sunday Afternoon you drag me down
to the stores and make me cape into
the windows like country RUDE.
Well. you got fooled at one place
steeth's-because they had the
window covered with a curtain
Just the same I'd get look into
that window If | could" Ruth de-
clared, somewhat savagely, "and you
and all the printers in town couldn't
stop me. If you're SO fond of exer-
else and fresh air, you can keep on
walking right past my home, and you
needn't ever walk back this way
"Of course" John returned, his own
eyes splitting fire, IF that's the way
you feel about it, I'll do just that
From which it might seem that Ruth
Paige and her fiance were mated
about as well as two positive poles of
magnet. On the contrary. this was
their first quarrel during the year
they had been acquainted. They were
both possessed of stubborn DISPOSE
tons, with fiery tempers, but they
were genuinely in love with each other
es. 1t just happened. however, that
John was peevish this Sunday after
noon, and his peevishness happened to
strike Ruth when she was in an eXcep-
tionally irritable mood.
After each had expressed himself
and herself, they walked in silence the
remainder of the distance to her home
AT the entrance to the house they
paused.
Surely you aren't coming in when
there is so much fresh air outdoors"
she said cuttingly. unable to resist the
temptation for final fling.
"Of course not" he responded, and |
lifted his hat, as he moved off down
the street. ''Good-by," he called, and |
did not once look back.
Ruth stood looking after her de- |
parted fiance for a moment, then walk |
ed briskly into the house Instead of |
popping corn or making fudge she
fIounced to her room and held a pri- |
vate session with herself, in which a
few teardrops flowed.
1t looked like an .rreparable break,
for with their obstinate dispositions
neither Ruth nor John would take the
first step TO effect Il reconciliation.
Ruth's makeup was such that she
would permit her heart TO be wrung
dry by misery before she would yield
one jot, and Johns temperament was
Of the same kind of ma
teria. They were both wrong, but
they couldn't help it. What was
needed was a clever mediator who
could bring them together apparently
by chance. However, there was little
likelihood of this, because Ruth kept
her own counsel and John was tacti-
turn about his affairs. As an example
of this he had been calling on Ruth
for about two months before she even
had an inkiing as TO his means of
making ii living.
With John out of her life, Ruth took
10 with Susie Atterson, who worked
in the stenographic department with