The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-05-18

De so crazy anu HIIdElOuSly gao Wnen
the folks met me, / suspect Some
way. all of a sudden, found myself
wishing he could be there, too.
Of course. / know that that was
bad and wicked and unkind to Mother
and she'd feel SO grieved not to have
have told her of it for the world. So
tried just as hard as / could to for
get him--on account of Mother, so as
to be loyal to her. And | did most
forget him by the time I'd got home
But it all came back again little later
when we were unpacking my trunk
You see Mother found the two new
wh+e dresses, and the dear little
shoes. / knew then, of course, that
she'd have to know ALL mean, how
she hadn't pleased Father, even after
all her pains trying to have me 60 as
Mary
"Why, Marie. what In the world Is
this?" she demanded, holding up enc
of the new dresses.
/ could have cried.
l suppose she saw by my face how
awfully / felt cause she'd found Ii.
And, of course, she saw something
was the matter; and she thought it
was
Well, the first thing l knew she was
looking at 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, l just
couldn't stand it. And l told her so
as well as l could, only was crying
so by now that / could hardly speak.
l 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
did not know what they wanted; and
/ wished ] had never been born unless
/ 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 l 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 / was tired and nervous, and
all wrought up, and to cry all / wanted
to. And by and by, when l was calm
er I could tell Mother all about it
And l did.
/ l told her how hard l tried to be
Mary all the way up to Andersonville
| and after l got there; and how then
l found out, all of a 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 rhe
geraniums in the window, and, oh,
everything that made it nice and COM
fly and honey. And then 10 when they
bought me the new white dresses and
the little white shoes. And | told
Mother, of course, it was lovely to be
Marie, and liked it, only knew she
would feel bad to think, after all her
pains to make me Mary, Father didn't
want me Mary at all.
Il don't think you need to worry
about that" stammered Mother. But,
! tell me, why-why did-your father
| want you to be Marie and not MaryT'
! And then l told her how he said he'd
remembered what I'd said to him In
the parlor that day-how tired I got
being Mary, and how I'd put on Ma
rie'S things just to get little vacation
| from her; and he said he'd never for
| gotten. And so when it came near
| time for me to come again, he deter
mined to fix it so l wouldn't have to
be Mary at all. And so that was why.
| And / told Mother it was all right,
| and of course / liked it :; only Ii die!
| mix me up awfully, not knowing which
wanted me to be Mary now, and which
Marie. when they were both telling me
different from what they ever had be-
fore And that it was hard. when you
were trying just the best you knew
| how.
And l began to cry again.
And she said there, there. once
more, and patted me on my shoulder.
and told me needn't worry any more.
And that she understood it, if /
didn't. In fact, she was beginning
| TO understand a lot of things that
she'd never understood before. And
| she said it was very, very dear
| of Father to do what he did. and that
| needn't worry about her being dis
| pleased at 1t. That she was pleased,
and that she believed he meant her
to be. And she said I needn't think
| any more whether to be Mary or Ma
RE; but TO be just good, loving little
daughter to both Of them and that
was all she asked, and she was very
sure 1t was all Father would ask, too
| / told her then how I thought he
| did care little about having me there,
| and that knew he was going to miss
me. And / told her why-what he'd