Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1922-04-06
CHAPTER III
The Break Is Made.

finished her story, only she shrugged
her shoulders again, and looked back,
first one way, then another. AS for
her calling me "chatterbox she al
ways calls me that when she's been
doing all the talking
AS near as l can remember, have
told Nurse Sarah's story exactly as she
told it to me- in her own words. But
of course l know l didn't get 1t right
all the time, and know I've left out
quite a lot. But, anyway, it's told a
whole lot more than l could have told
why they got married in the first place,
and it brings my story right up to the
point where 1 was born; and I've al
ready told about naming me, and what
time they had over that.
OF course what's happened since,
up to now, / don't know all about for
/ was only child for the first few
years. Now I'm almost young lady,
standing with reluctant feet where
the brook and river meet" q read
that last night. l think it's perfectly
beautiful. SO kind of sad and sweet.
1t makes me want to cry every time
l think of it, But even if l don't
know all of what's happened since
/ was born, 1 know a good deal, for
I've seen quite lot, and I've made
Nurse tell me q lot more.
know that ever since / can remem-
Der I've had to keep as still as mouse
the minute Father comes into the
house; and l know that never could
imagine the kind of a mother that
Nurse tells about, if it wasn't that
sometimes when Father has gone off
on a trip, Mother and / have romped
all over the house, and had the most
beautiful time. / know that Father
says that Mother is always trying to
make me Marie and nothing else !;
and that Mother says she knows
Father'll never be happy until he's
made me into stupid little Mary"
with never an atom of life of my
own. And do you know? it does seem
sometimes, as If Mary and Marie were
fighting inside of me, and l wonder
which is going to beat. Funny, isn't
it?
Father is president Of the college
now, and don't know how many stars
and comets and things he's discov-
cred since the night the star and I
were born together. But l know he's
very famous, and that he's written up
in the papers and magazines, and is
in the big fat red who's Who" in
the library, and has lots of noted men
come to see him.
Nurse says that Grandma Anderson
died very soon after l was born, but
that it didn't make any particular diff
ference in The housekeeping; for things
went right on just as they had done.
with her giving the orders as before !;
that she'd given them all alone any,
way, mostly, the last year Grandma
Anderson lived and she knew just
how Father liked things. She said
Mother tried once or twice to take the
reins herself and once Nurse let her,
just to see what would happen. But
things got in an awful muddle right
away, so that even Father noticed it
and said things. After that Mother
never tried again, guess. Anyhow,
she's never tried it since l can remem-
her. She's always stayed most of the
time up in her rooms in the east wing,
except during meals, or when she
went out with me- or wenG to the
things she and Father had to go to
together. For they did go to lots of
things, Nurse says.
1t seems that for long time they
didn't want folks to know there was
going to be a divorce. So before folks
they tried to be just as usual. But
Nurse Sarah said she knew there was
going to be one long ago. The first
| ever heard of it was Nurse telling
Nora, the girl we had in the kitchen
| then; and the minute / got chance /
asked Nurse what it was-a divorce.
My, can remember now how scared
| she looked, and how she clapped her
hand over my mouth. She wouldn't
tell me-not word. And that's the
| first time l ever saw her give that
| quick little look over each shoulder.
iohc . uoLC II ioto VI LINES SIHCe
AS l said she wouldn't tell me, so
I had to ask some one else. | wasn't
going to let it go by and not find out
not when Nurse Sarah looked so
scared, and when it was something
my father and mother were going to
have some day.
didn't like to ask Mother. Some
way, l had a feeling, from the way
Nurse Sarah looked, that it was some
thing Mother wasn't going to like. And
| ! thought if maybe she didn't know
| yet she was going to have it, that
certainly didn't want to be the one
to tell her. So I didn't ask Mother
what divorce was.