Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1922-07-20
CHAPTER vIlI-continued.

T.
The train came then, and he put
me on board, and he kissed me again
but ! was expecting it this time, OF
course. Then / whizzed off, and he
was left standing all alone on the
platform. And l felt so sorry for him
and all the way down to Boston kept
thinking Of him-what he said, and
how he looked, and how fine and splen
did and any-woman-would-be-p roud-of-
him he was as he stood on the plat
form waving good-by.
And so / guess | was still thinking
of him ana being sorry for him when
/ got to Boston. That's why couldn't
be so crazy and hilariously glad when
the folks met me, l suspect. Some
way, all of a sudden, / found myself
wishing he could be there, too.
OF course, / know that that was
Mad and wicked and unkind to Mother,
and she'd feel so grieved not to have
me satisfied with her. And wouldn't
have told hkf Of it for the world. SO
] tried just as hard as / could to for
get him-on acsount of Mother, so as
to be Loyal to her. And l did most
forget him by the time I'd got home.
But IL all came back again little later
when we were unpacking my trunk.
You see, Mother found the two new
white dresses, and the dear little
shoes. / knew then, of course, that
shed have to know ALL mean, how
she hadn't pleased Father, even after
all her pains trying to have me go as
Mary.
"Why, Marie, what in the world Is
this?" she demanded, holding up one
of the new dresses.
/ could have cried.
/ suppose she saw by my face how
awfully | felt cause she'd found it.
And, of course, she saw something
was the matter; and she thought it
was
Well, The first thing I knew she was
Hooking st me in her very sternest,
Sorriest way, and saying:
"Oh Marie how could you? I'm
ashamed of you Couldn't you wear
the Mary dresses one little three
months TO please your father?"
/ did cry, then. After all I'd been
through, to have her accuse me of get
ting those dresses Well, / just
couldn't stand it. And l told her so
as well as l could, only was crying
$50 by now that / could hardly speak.
j told her how it was hard enough to
be Mary part of the time, and Marie
part of the time, when | knew what
they wanted me to be. But when she
tried TO have me Mary while he wanted
me Marie, and he tried to have me
Marie while she wanted me Mary-I
did not know What they Wanted; and
! wished ! had never been born unless
i could have been born a plain Susie
Or Bessie, or Annabelle, and not a
Mary Marie that was all mixed up till
didn't know what / was.
And then l cried some more.
Mother dropped the dress then, and
took me in her arms over on the
couch, and she said, "There, there,
and that I was tired and nervous, and
al wrought up, and to cry all wanted
yte. And by and by. when was calm
er l could tell Mother all about it.
And / did.
/ told her how hard / tried to be
Mary all the way up to Andersonville
and after / got there; and how ther
I found out, all of sudden one day
that father had got ready for Marie
and he didn't want me to be Mary
and that was why he had got Cousin
Grace and the automobile and tn
gefaniums in the window, and, oh
everything that made it nice and com
IL and honey. And then Is when the,
bought me the new white dresses an
the little white shoes. And l toll
Mother, of course, it was lovely to b
Marie, and liked it, only knew sh
would feel bad to think, after all he
pa.ns to make me Mary, Father didn'
want me Mary at ALL
81 don't think you need to worry
about that" stammered Mother. Blu
tell me, why-why did-your fathe
want you to be Marie and not Mary
And then I told her how he said he
remembered what I'd said to him
the parfOr that day-how tired &c
being Mary, and how I'd put on MI
rie's things just to get little vacatio
from her; and he said he'd never TO
gotten. And so when it came nes
time for me to come again, he dete
minedsto fix it so wouldn't have
be Mary at all. And so that was VIII
And / told Mother it was all RICH
and of course / liked it; only it d
mix me up awfully, not knowing whi'
wanted me to be Mary now, and whi'
Marie, when they were both telling n
different from what they ever had b
fore And that it was hard, when "
were trying just the best you kne
how.
And began to cry again.
And she said there, there, on
more, and patted me on my shoulde
and told me needn't worry any MOI
And that she understood it, if
ididn,f In fact she WAS hppinnil