Owingsville outlook., 1922-10-05
CopFrisht hY Ei~anos b Psrtsf
CHAPTER Ix-continued.


"a
Then she spoke of me, of my child
hood, and her voice began to culver
You can see things so much more
clearly when vOu stand of at n dis
tance like this, you know, than you
cnn when you are close Ia them!
She broke down and cried when she
spoke Of the divorce, and of the inilu-
ence il had upon me- and of the false
Idea of marriage il gave me. She said
Il WAS the worst kind of thing for me
the sort of life had 10 live. She said
grew pert and precJcinuS and worldly
wise, and full of servants talk and
Ideas. She even spoke Of that night
at the little cafe table when | glOried
In the sparkle and SpangleS and told
her that how we were seeing lifc-real
life. And OF how shocked she was
and Of how she saw theT what this
thing was doing to me. But II was too
late
She told more much more about the
later years, and the reconciliation;
then. some way. she brought things
around to Jerry and me. Her face
flushed up then. and she didn't meet
my eyes. She looked down at her sew
ing. She was very busy turning a hem
just so.
She said there had been time.
once. when she had worried little
about Jerry and me- for fear We would
separate. She said that she believed
that, for her, that would have been the
very blackest moment g her life: for
Il would be her fault, all her fault
l tried to break in here, and say,
'NO, no." and that Il wasn't her fault;
but she shook her head and wouldn't
listen, and she lifted her hand and !
had to keep still and let her go on talk
ing. She was looking straight into my
eyes then. and there was such a deep,
deep hurt in them that / just had to
listen.
She said again that IL would be her
fault: that II l had done that she
would have known that IL was all be-
cause of the example she herself had
set me Of childish willfulneSS and self
ish seeking of personal happiness at
the expense of everything and every
body else. And she said that that
would have been the last straw to
break her heart.
But she declared that she was sure
now that she need not worry. Such a
thing would never be.
guess / gasped little at this Any
how, / know | tried to break in and
tell her that We were going 10 sepa-
rate, and that that was exactly what |
had come into the room in the first
place to say.
But again she kept right on talking
and | was silenced before l had even
begun.
She said how she knew II could
never be-On account Of Eunice. That
/ would never subject my little girl to
the sort of wretchedly divided life that
I had to live when I was a child.
Gas she spoke / was suddenly back
In the cObwebby attic with little Mary's
diary, and I thought-what If 1t were
Eunice-writing that y
She said 1 was the most devoted
mother she had ever known; that /
was too devoted, she feared sometimes,
for ] made Eunice all my world, to the
exclusion of Jerry and everything and
everybody else. But that she was very
sure. because ! WAS so devoted, and
loved Eunice so dearly, that / would
never deprive her Of a fathers love
and care.
l shivered a little, and looked quick
ly into Mothers face. But she was not
| looking at me. | was thinking Of how
Jerry had kissed and kissed Eunice
month ago, when we came away, as II
/ he just couldn't let her 60. Jerry is
fond of Eunice, now that she's old
enough TO know something. and Eunice
adOres her father. / knew that part
was going TO be hard. And now to
have Mother put II like that
1 began to talk then Of Jerry. just
felt that I'd got to say something. That
Mother must listen. That she didn't
understand. I told her how Jerry
loved lights and music and dancing
and crowds bowling down and worship
| ing him all the time. And she said yes,
she remembered; that he'd been that
way when / married him.
She spoke so sort Of queerly that
again / glanced at her; but she still
was looking down at the hem she was
| turning.
l went on then to explain that
/ didn't like such things: that l be-
lieved that there were deeper and
higher things, and things more worth
while. And she said yes, she was glad.
and that that was going to be my saw
ing grace; for, Of course, I realized
that there couldn't be anything deeper
or higher or more worth while than
keeping the home together. and put
ting up with annOyances. for the ulti-