Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-08-02

The telephone rang for the third
time since they had sat down to din
ner. The maid, in her Hurried haste
to placate the tyrant, set down the
dish of fried eggplant from which
George had been about to help himself
on the sideboard out Of his reach.
George and his wife sat listening in
silence. The maid returned and said.
Il think it's for you, Mrs. TAFT"
George sighed and produced the eve
ming paper, which had been tucked
under his leg against this precise con-
tingency.
He didn't particularly care about the
news, of which he had already read
the uneXcitfng headlines, but he did
want to register a not unamiable pro-
test against these continual Interrupt
lions of their dinner. Emily insisted
on making a more or less formal meal
of it. She'd have been mildly ANNOYED
with him if he'd gone to the SidebOard
and helped himself to the eggplant
while the maid was. at the phone
Then why couldn't she instruct Anna
to say to these importunate teie-
phonerS that her mistress was at din.
ner and ask them to call her in an
hour? 1t wasn't as If they ever had
anything to say.
There was no use saying this to
Emily. He knew her argument as
we'll as his own. Annals morale would
be ruined if they short-circuited her
services by helping themselves. and
then where would they be when they
had people in to dinner? But if he
didn't want the meal interrupted by
telephone calls. why did he insist On
their dining at the bucolic hour of six
instead of seven when most of their
friends did?
OF course Emily knew his answer to
that, too. by dining at six they could.
whenever they felt like it, go to the
hrst show at the AlcaZar and see the
picture right end to. instead of from
the middle of the fourth reel. Also thew
could find Il convenient place to park
the car. And they were home again
by nine. so that if George had any eve
ming work to do there were couple of
solid hours left for it. And as for set.
ting an example of prOpriety to Anna,
George felt 1t was rather hard. Ever
since their first child, George, Junior.
mad been two years old, George, Senior.
had been submitting to innumerable
small infringements upon his personal
liberty under the plea of setting a
proper example. But now that Junior
was in college, and his younger sister
In a boarding school, 1t seemed to
George at forty-three that he might be
allowed to tilt back in his chair if he
liked and empty his pipe scrapings
into the dessert plate. There was no
good saying any of that, either for
Emily knew it as well as he did.
Well, he knew her answer. too.
though this last word was one she had
never said. After all, they didn't live
in New York nor in Philadelphia nor
even in Chicago. They lived in Avo-
mia, Illinois. George had good law
practice in Harrison county, but the
great cities and the great corporations
had never summoned him, and 1t was
p
three-that they mover would. Avonia
and the movies and the bridge club
and months vacation at Mackinac
island was about his speed.
He doubted very much if Emily, as
regarded her own potential speed
granted a conjuga' partner of suffi-
cient hOrsepoWer-acquesc Emily
might well believe she was born for
better things. She'd been a good deal
of belle in her day. She was too loyal
to lament lost opportunities in his
presence. let alone to fling them at him
they might he lying ready to her hand
made him walk warily. She should
make the best of AvOnia in her own
way and if there was a faint flavor
of absurdity about some of the refine
ments she insisted upon, and about the
Seriousness with which she took her
committees and her classes and her
clubs, it did not behoove her husband
to rail, no matter how often they
called her from the dinner table to the
telephone
He had had time 70 think as far as
this, his mind slipping rapidly past the
familiar landmarks just as his eye slid
down the columns of the newspapers,
before he perceived that Emily was
not. this time, talking to any member
of her drama committee, nor to any