Evening star., 1928-05-06

/ ing for the evening. Din would stand
| in the doorway or perch on the bed,
watching her as she made up her face
| in the pattern of the day-~-cream, rub
/ bed in: powder; an expert application
/ OF mandarin rouge high up on the
! chcekbones and near the temples, then
! a busting OF powder again. A scarlet
/ cupid'S bow painted on her lips, de-
/ ceiving no one. and not meant to. A
black line marking the plucked eye
/ browS Nail rouge and buffer, Powder
/ on her throat. A generous spray of
| perfume on hair and arms. dab OF
/ 1t Just behind the cars and just above
/ the upper lip. for preparedness.
( Din'S eyes were round and owliSh.
/ She was mathematically aware OF every
pair Of silk stockings possessed by
| Bobby Her information regarding
! BobbyS pink silk underwear. her bottles
! of perfume, cold cream; her mysterious
and somewhat grrbby array of scissors.
/ burniShers and various red Stutis with
/ which she was forever Smearing lips,
/ cheeks. and nails was complete.
/ To Bobby's surprise and annoyance.
I she had said gravely, one evening, after
/ regarding her elder sister In the corph-
/ Gated art of making up:
When / grow up I'm not going TO
! put stuff like that on my face all the
! time"
"Oh, aren't you, Miss Nosoy! And
/ why not?"
! Din looked at her sister. straight
She shrugged her thin little shoulders
/ with 2 startlingly grown-up air, oh,
won't Not by the time I'm grown
up. I'll be different from you"
Suddenly Bobby Comet saw herself
10 years hence. old. done for, out of
it. the bloom gone. Din would be 20,
fresh. different. Different from her
Already she was learning different
things at school. wearing clothes unlike
those Of Bobby's childhood.
%& x
DRESSED. Bobby emerged with an
~ unwonted dash of genuine scarlet
flaming oddly beneath the artificial col
oring on her checks She addressed her
mother:
PITY a person can't even dress in this
house without having that brat nosing
around Sitting right on top of YOU.
No more privacy in this joint than in
the street"
Mrs. Comet turned from the window
to eye her irate and dreSsy daughter
Are they wearing en- as short as that
again, for Hem sake! And what's
eating YOU now? What's she done?
What YOU done, Dine Tell mamma"
Nothing" replied Din gravelv Il
didn't do a single solitary thing"
Tell mamma! Tell mammal MINI
icked Bobby. in a cold fury Shes the
one that counts It's always Din Din
Look at the shoes you buy for her and
what you used 10 buy for me WHEN /
was kid. Anything was good enough
for me, Now she's got tn have the toes
ftfct fatEf {nlN M
everything Look Mt what she gets to
eat. and whet got! She's got to have
her chops and her spinach, And at
school! French And special this and
special that. and all this new hygiene
stuff. You learned on me ard Be S.. all
right We sure got the worst OF H."
Mrs Comet met this outburst mildly.
Done the best / could for you with
what | had to do with. Your pa never
was big Garner"
"Oh. don't know" This from Henry
Comet. from behind his evening paper.
i guess I've ALWAYS provided as good
as the next one. Good enough for me
anyway, if it isn't for your tony daugh-
ter"
This dump!" In contempt. from
Bobby, on the wing.
1T ! could OF had this. time | was
married. I'd thought was in paradise"
began Mrs. Comet. in reminiscent
mood. Two rooms is what we had.
over on Tenth street. and had 10 20 to
The hall for every drop OF water And
thought | was lucky 10 have that. and
maybe you will. too. some day, II you're
not"
But Bobby Comet had fung out of
the house
Mrs. Comet returned TO her window
Henry Comet went hack n his paper.
DIN pursued some quiet game OF her
own. sometimes you saw Henry
Comet. silent. sparse. dried-up. regard
ing this family OF his over the ton OF
his paper And his eyes were the eyes
OF stranger looking upon strangers.
Henry Comet had come OF a good old
Vermont family. Perhaps he, too had
his secret thoughts Sometimes MIR
and Mrs. Comet and Din went to the
movies in The evening. Frequently
Henry Comet went alone. He liked
romantic pictures. with deeds OF dash
and daring In them.
Such was the Comet family life.
Theirs was the spendthrift and almost
working class Readymade clothes.
white shoes. Sunday papers. telephone,
monograph a radio. pork roast ice
cream. the movies A somewhat sordid
household, certainly. but comfortable.
too. Bookless. OF course Extrayagant
with It's quarters. Its haif-dollars and
It's dollars.
II Miss Bobby Comet had been less
initiative and less adaptable she might
have been more content But all about
her. in a luxurious city. she saw luxury
Seeing it. she craved 1t. Craving II. she
reached out for IL and got. now and
then, a handful Being fundamentally
a pretty decent girl, and further sus-
tanned by the fairly solid background
of the Comet household. she worked
hard. earned her money. spent IT self
ishly. took what was offered and gave
no thought OF tomorrow.
TER escorts were. as rule. dull and
somewhat paunchy gentlemen.
grown weary In the pursuit of business
Her youth attracted them, and her
commonplace prettincss. her fiippant
tongue, her audacity her SuperciliouS-
ness. She possessed. too. a certain
bubbling quality most refreshing 10
these doggishly inclined gallantS
Bobby Comet took what these offered
and gave little i'm return, She was
alert. greedy calculating. frank. There
was nothing pathetic about Bobby's
position with regard 10 these gentle
men They were the victims. She the
desp0iler When she had been younger
---iS or l7~~she had gone about with
boys Of her own class She had fire.
auented the public dance hall at the
height Of the craze. where she and her
boy had performed with incredible ex-
pertnesS the intricate mechanical steps
NJ the day. She almost never now
went about with such rs these
She and her friends discussed their
social triumphs with a frankncss and
unconcern that would have appalled,
their victims Of the preceding night.
ANY good?"
"Oh. yeh Dinner AT the Royale."
show"
"Yeh Music Box
HAuat,s