The Nevada County picayune., 1922-04-13

1t aint there" I knew, of course he was thinking of his wife. She's some cross, l guess, and has two warts on her nose.
 There was more, quite lot more, said. But I've forgotten thesrest. Be sides, they weren't talking to me then, anyway. So l picked up my thread and slipped out of the store, glad to escape. But, as 1 said before, didn't find many like them.
 Of course know now-what divorce is. mean. And it's all settled They granted us some Kind of a decree or degree, and we're going to Boston next Monday.
 It's been awful, though-this last year. First we had to go to that hor- rid place out west, and stay ages and ages. And I hated it. Mother did, too. know she did I went to school and there were quite lot of girls my age, and some boys; but I didn't care much for them. 1 couldn't even have the fun of surprising them with the divorce We were going to have. found they were going to have one, toO-every last one of them. And when everybody has a thing, you know there's no particular fun in having it yourself. Besides, they were very unkind and disagree able, and bragged lot about their divorces They said mine was tame and had no sort of snap to 1t, when they found Mother didn't have a lover waiting in the next town, or Father hadn't run off with his stenographer, or nobody had shot anybody, or any thing.
 That made me mad, and I let them see 1t, good and plain. told them our divorce was perfectly all right and genteel and respectable; that Nurse Sarah said it was. Ours was going to be incompatibility, for one thing which meant that you got on each others nerves, and just naturally didn't care for each other any more, But they only laughed, and said even more diSagreeable things, so that l didn't want to go to school any longer, and I told Mother sO and the reason, too, of course.
 But, dear me, l wished right of that hadn't. I supposed she was going to be superb and naughty and disdainful, i and say things that would put those girls where they belonged. But, my stars How could I know that she was going tv burst into such a storm of sobs and clasp me to her bosom, and get my face all wet and cry out: "oh, my baby, my baby-to think have sub- jected you to this, my baby, my baby v
 And couldn't say thing to com- fort her, or make her stop, even when I told her over and over again that l wasn't a baby. l was almost young lady; and I wasn't being subjected to anything bad. I liked it-only l didn't | like to have those girls brag so, when our divorce was away ahead of theirs, anyway.
 But she only cried more and more, and held me tighter and tighter, rock ing back and forth in her chair. She took me out of school, though, and had n lady come to teach me all by myself so I didn't have to hear those girls brag any more, anyway. That was better. But she wasn't any happier herself I could see that.
 There were lots of other ladies there - beautiful ladies - only she didn't seem to like them any better than l l did the girls. I wondered if maybe they bragged, too, and I asked her but she only began to cry again, and moan, "What have I done, what have I done Y"-and I had to try all over again to comfort her. But l couldn't t. She got so she just stayed in her room lots and lots. l tried to make her put on her pretty clothes, and do as the other ladies did, and go out and walk and sit on the big piazzas and dance, and eat at the pretty little tables She did, some, when We hfst came. and took me, and just loved if. They were such beautiful ladies, with their bright eyes, and their red cheeks and jolly ways; and their dresses were so perfectly lovely, all silks and satins and sparkly spangles, and diamonds and rubles and emer- dds. and silk stockings, and little bits of gold and silver slippers.
 And once I saw two of them smok- ing. They had the cutest little eiga- rettes (Mother said they were) in gold holders. and I knew then that l was seeing life-real life; not the stupid kind yon- get hack iG-a-counlry- town