The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-10-27
EOening Story
The Golden Girl.
BY LILLIACE M. MITCHELL.


Tom sat moodily on the top step
waiting for Gladys to come out He
took off his glasses and cleaned them
thoughtfully on his new silk handker-
chief. Whether or not to propose to
Gladys this Sunday afternoon as they
walked in the park was the question
uppermost in his mind.
He liked Gladys; he believed that
he loved her. He did wish that she
were a little scIassier," as he termed
it to himself He wished this now
especially, for he saw coming down
the street the girl with the tiny pup
on the long chain, the girl whom he
had called to himself the golden girl
ever since he had first seen her. 1t
had been three weeks ago today that
she had strolled by the boarding
house where Gladys had her half room
with one OF the other girls who
worked with her at the beauty shop.
The golden girl had been on the
opposite side of the street, which was
shadier in the afternoon because of
the tall trees that grew in the narrow
parking space.
Tom wished that she would walk
nearer, for tho he strained his eyes
he could not see her as distinctly as
he would have liked to. She was
small girl. not more than five feet,
and the tiny pup that pulled on the
chain suspended from her hand
seemed to be about all she could man
age. Tom knew that if she walked
in the park she would hang on the
arm of the man she was with. Gladys
never hung. In the first place, Gladys
was a full four or five inches taller
and came up to Toms shoulder.
Before he had seen the golden girl
he had never thought much about it,
but after that he noticed that Gladys
walked along independently unless he
happened to hold her elbow as they
passed thru a crowd. And Tom would
have liked her to be the clinging vine
type.
And then the clothes of the golden
girl! Every time he had seen her on
sunday afternoon she had had on a
golden brown suit of some silky ma
teriaI that shone in the sunlight,
gold lace hat and even her stockings
had golden clocks embroidered on the
sides But it was her hair that seemed
to Tom the most wonderful thing
about her. 1t was the goldiest golden
he had ever seen and fluffed out dis
tractipgly under her hat. Today she
was wearing long dolman-eape with
| the same golden tints.
At this moment in his raptures
Gladys came out of the door of the
boarding house, closed the screen door
without a bang and Joined him.
''Well?" she said.
Gladys always said "welP' in Just the
same way every time he came In
that well she seemed to ask worlds
and Tom wondered if they did marry
if she would continue to say we'll in
just that way for the rest of their
lives. But Tom had not asked her yet
and as he looked from her blue tri-
cotine suit and tan oxfords back to the
golden girl in her dolman and high
heeled slippers he determined not to
be hasty. He would not ask her to-
day at any rate. There was always
plenty of time, and besides he was
fairly sure that Gladys never went out
with anyone else, and so until he gave
the signal there was nothing she could
do but wait
She's a pretty little kid, isn't she?"
he said, indicating by a jerk of his
hand the golden girl with her dog who
was by now almost opposite the board
ing house.
Gladys looked in the direction he
had pointed out and dropped her eyes
to her glove button. She did not reply
Don't you think she's pretty ?"
prodded Tom.
"A pink flush ran up from her neck
to her cheeks as she averted her eyes
Tom glanced at her brown hair with
up and started down the steps beside
her.
You know, Gladys" he said slowly
Il can't stand a catty girl
She paused at the bottom step. Per
haps you'd rather not go to the park %
she said quietly.
Instantly Tom was sorry: indeed, he
had been so the moment the words
were out of his mouth, for in all of
the time he had known Gladys she had
never shown the slightest hint of the
trait he had mentioned. And, anyway,
the thought of a whole, long Sunday
afternoon alone without Gladys, whom
he had come to look upon as his logi-
cal companion, seemed impossible.
Come on, I was only Joking" he
said, trying to laugh it off
But in spite of all that he could say
or do he felt all afternoon that there
was a tiny cloud between them. He
started topic after topic of conversa-
ton, only to have it fall flat. He took
her to the lions cage, a place where
she usually loved to go, but she stood
there stolidly and only smiled vaguely