The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-07-12
After Ten Years
BY MARION RUBINcAM

Spring day can be. AS she stood
there it occurred to her suddenly that
almost exactly two years ago she had
had stood at this very same window
on an almost identical day debating
whether she should go to a party at
Cora's, and whether, if she went, she
would dare take out a perfectly new
silk skirt into such a downpour. She
smiled now at the idea of having
nothing more serious than that to
think about. What a lot had hap
pened since!
There was the noise of a closing
door behind her, and she turned
abruptly as her mother came into the
room.
IT'S awful weather" Mrs. Parke
croaked, her voice coming hoarsely
from her throat. at seems as if
Spring would never come"
Mile turned again TO the contem-
plation of the drenched world out
doors.
You always say that, Mother" she
answered. 81 don't believe weather
ever was made that suited you"
Mrs. Parke, stretching woollenI
shawl closely round her shoulders
croaked some indistinguishable ans
wer and settled down to her book at
| the table.
| Mile went on. Its beginning to
clear up already, the sky is lighter.
| shouldn't be surprised if the rain
stopped by the time Paul and Patty
4 arrive" and she peered optimisttcally
at sky that looked capable of q
never ceasing downpour.
Even this insignificant remark
| showed what change had come over
Mile. A great deal had happened to
! her in two years. Fundamentally she
was the same shallow, Indifferent
character, but in a thousand little
ways she was a new person.
! Disconnected lines were sometimes
visible around her face, but they were
not always present She looked five
years younger than she had looked on
that other day when she stood and
! glowered from the window. The
I phone rang and she ran out to answer
lit. She came back to report:
/ Cora wants to know when I'll take
Paul and Patty to see their new house.
III wish ours was built. l think even
Paul would be impressed with it. l
hear Mrs. Werner is going to build out
there too"
She went back to the window again,
but kept up cheerful stream of COM
ment.
THAT makes the sixth house to be
built out there. There's been a lot of
change in the town since Paul was
here before Do you know thai.
Mother? A lot has happened in two
years"
Mrs. Parke grunted Nothing has
) happened" she said, eve are all
here just as we ever were"
She spoke with the point Of view
! of an old, old lady, to whom change
means nothing. She had planned all
her life to live with one of her mar
ried daughters, instead of alone in her
old house She did not care which
? one it was. And here she was living
comfortably with Millicent and Hum
phrey, with her own room, her own
: friends, her own income again. Fol-
Humphrey had paid back to her the
money that he had lost. She no Ion
ger regretted the sale of her house
She no longer thought of the unhappy
Winter in the city. Everything was
quite as she had planned it should be
. Consequently it seemed to her that II
had always been so.
Mile, watching from the window
saw a mans figure running through
the rain. 1t turned up the path te
the door.
Here's Humphrey" she said, ant
: ran out to the room to open the dool
| for him.
f He was stamping wet feet on tbs
. porch. and shaking himself as though
y to get rid of the weight of rain tina
e had fallen on him.
You're soaked through ant
through" Mile scolded, busting
e about him with certain affectionat.
4 officiousness, taking away his hat anC
gloves and helping him off with hi
coat why did you come home OF
: day like this? You could have hireC
5 car at the station"
y Think a little shower like thi!
e would hurt a hardened lumber jacl
d like me-" Humphrey asked, with ;
o damp arm around her shoulders. BE
sides, we don't want to bring gu
g new brother home in a hired jitne7
h when I've got a brand new carl" H
IL was into a dry coat and out of tn
= house before Mile could protest
r. Half an hour later he drove up an
y Mile ran out in the rain to gree
o Paul and Patty, who were on for
2. visit at the end of their honeymoon
d TomorroW-The New and the Old
ei Miss LEO and Miss Han, recently OF
| dained in the cathedral at HankoN