Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-01-02
CHAPTER XXVII
An Unexpected Guest

An Unexpected OuSSC
The telephone rang as | stood IN the nan
looking out through the screen door with
unseeng eyes, and 1 hurried to answer IT,
Norman might have stopped somewhere
to telephone back to me- Already ne mlghe
have repented leaving the house in anger,
but when 1 took off the receiver, it was MOTH
ers voice that spoke to me.
Joan, am leaving on the afternoon train
to go to your grandmother, were her tlrst
words. "She has had a stroke"
For a moment the thought of my own trou-
bles vas swallowed up in my sympathy FOR
mother, for, although grandmother was OLD,
and we had been expecting something of the
kind for long time, 1 knew how mother
would feel about it.
I'm at my wits ends about Edith, Z moth
er went on. "She's visiting one of her schooI
friends now, but she's coming back Saturday,
and she's so headstrong, Joan, l, don't like
the idea of her staying here at the apart
ment alone"
Instantly l responded with the only thing
there was for me to say. Send her right
out here to me, dear, and don't think anoth-
er thing about it. I'd love to have her."
Mother seemed relieved, and l was more
than glad to be able to ease her mind With
the promise to let me know if anything seri-
Gus happened and the assurance that there
was nothing more that [ could do, she rang
off.
The thought of having Edith with me was
cheering 1t took my mind off myself, and
was sure that Norman would be pleased.
He and Edith hadn't met until the wedding,
for she had been at fashionable finishing
school when Norman and l had first met,
but they had seemed to like each other, and
was eager for chance to know my little
sister better 1t had seemed to me during
the last few years that we had grown apart.
Edith's ideas @Eere so different from mine,
and she was so brutally frank about things,
and so utterly lacking in sentiment. But
|,
her with me, and 1 Immediately set about
having the guest room put in order for her
arrival
How soothing it is for woman who is
not happy to potter about with household
tasks. Mary was busy with her own work,
so 1 took the preparing of the guest room
into my own hands. | was busy transferring
some of my personal things from my room
to Ediths when the telephone rang again,
and [ hurried down to answer it, sure that
this time it must be Norman.
Again 1 was doomed t. disappointment,
for it Herbert Livingston.
I'm moving out to Hilton on Saturday."
he announced Immediately, and there was
glad ring in hfs voice. He sounded almost
boyishly enthusiastic, and I was appropriate
ly responsive. 1t would be good to have Her
bert SO near, above all now that Edith was
coming, and on impulse / asked him to dim
ner on Saturday night.
The minute [ rang off, however, I won
dered if 1 had done right. Edith would prob
ably think Herbert stody, and I knew that
Norman was bored with him. Well, Edith
could amuse Norman and 1 would take the
entertaining of Herbert on myself. That
would solve the problem, and my spirits rose
again at the thought. If [ had known at that
moment how things were going to work out
and that there would come a time when I
would almost hate my own little sister, l
would not have been so satisfied with my
plans. It's just as we'll that we don't know
before hand just what fate has in store for
US, so that we can meet our problems one at
time.