The Glenwood post., 1924-03-20

The telephone rang for the third
time since they had sat down to din
ner. The maid. in her flurried 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.
Geor';e and his wife sat listening In
silence. The maid returned and snid.
~ 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 uneyciting headlines, hut he dill
want to register a not unamiable pro-
test against these continual interrupt
tions of their dinner Emily insisted
on making a more or less formal meal
of IT, She'd have been mildly annoyed
with him IL 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
W soy W tClC-
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 MS
well 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 Oh
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 1t, go to the
first show at the Alcazar and see the
picture right end to. instead of from
the middle of the fourth reel. Also they
could find a 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 1t. And as for set
ting an example Of propriety to Anna,
George felt 1t was rather hard. Ever
since their first child, George, Junior,
had been two years old. George, Senior,
had been submitting to innumerable
small infringements upon his personal
liberty under the plea Of setting u
proper example. But now that Junior
was In college, and his younger sister
In boarding school, 1t seemed to
George Mt forty-three that he might be
allowed to tilt back in his chair II he
liked and empty his pipe scrapings
into the dessert plate. There was NO
good saying any Of that, either, for
Emily knew 1t 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 a good law
practice in Harrison county. but the
great cities and the great corporations
had never summoned him, and II wns
becoming clear to George-at forty
three-that they never would. Avonia
and the movies and the bridge club
and months vacation at Mackinac
island was about his speed.
He doubted very much II Emily, as
regarded her own potential speed
granted a conJnRal partner Of sufi-
cient horsepower-acquiesce Emily
might well believe she was born for
better things. She'd been good deal
Of IL belle In her day. She vas too loyal
to lament lost opportunities in his
presence. let alone to fling them Mt him
as missiles, but consciousness TINT
they might he lying ready to her hnnd
Tmnde him walk warily. She should
make the hest Of Avonia in her own
why. and II there was fuInt flavor