New Britain herald., 1928-01-05

lis heart beating against hers un-
 der his coat and she was very happy. Long afterward she remembered
 the scene in the kitchen as one of
 the last of their briefly happy mo-
 ments together It would come b., l to her--thc stove and the dishes
 sparkling in the artificial light, the ] toast on the table. and the blue shirt
 folded and lying beside it.
 l She looked at the blue shirt now
 and sighed to herself at the thought i of the next wash day. She hated ! wash day--not only beca use it repre- i scented hard work. but because it
 was so sloppy and so soapy, some- I how
 She loved comfort and luxury. How much she loved them she never had known until they were taken from her. She hated the little flat that
 morning as she went around it with
 a dustcr and carpet sweeper. Ut would be lots more fun 10
 take care of it # it were pretty" she
 said to herself. wishing for the hun dredth time th>s she had spent her :, fathers check on things for the
 house instead of on that gray-green
 dress from Angoulemc's.
 But at half past eleven, when shn | began to get dressed to go to meet [ n 1ny, f1o hon l. -fpIt fNr J,.
 gray-green dress. She put 1t on
 under the new brown velvet coat,
 and it was very stunning.
 At half past twelve. when she was
 ready 10 start. t was still raining.
 And, oh boy. what rain like this
 will do to q brown velvet coat" i thought Lily, standing in the front
 windows looking at the downpour.
 She knew that it would ruin it. | Finally she decided to telephone l for q taxicab from the janitress' $ suite in the basement.
 1 She had no money to pay for the drive down town. but she knew that i Staley would be waiting for her fin
 front of the Hightower building and would pay the driver for her. |.
 And. sure enough, there he was, standing at the cu,bstone with a large umbrella in his hand, waiting for her.
 "I was afraid you wouldn't come.'
 he said to her when they were in lis own big closed car. and on their
 way to the Park Lane restaurant on
 Albemarlc street.
 As they turned the corner n pie ture flashed out of 1.ily's memory
 for an instant-the memory of the first day she had seen Pat in this , street. She closed her eyes, and that feeling she had had for him swept back to 1ler-that feeling that
 there was no one like him any where. and that without him life was unbcarable.
 "Yes, felt like that last Spring." she tol1 herself few minutes later
 as she and Staley settled themselves | at little corner table in the Park
 Lane restaurant where yellow-shao cd lights mad4 sunshine above then.
 But Iife's pretty unbearable with kim. a.s matter of fact" she went : on thinking. and then. like an echo ! of her own thought. came Staley's voice asking q question:
 Well, how are things going, Lily? ! Any bcttcr""
 1 Shc shook her head and smiled
 fnintiy. "No-Oh. well. 1 shouldn't
 say that citaer.." she told him. ! Pas family presented me with r
 wedding gift and what DO you think it was" Sonnt thing 10 make me do : nor" and better work for their [ precious Fat. \ washing machne." Stal"y reared over that. "I can't imd3in" you doing th" washcrwo- | man act. h" said. and then his face | Sobcrrd. "t;aIzooks, Lily. know ! It's non" of my husiness--lut it hur;a in" dp 10 think of you living i ih" way you'r2 living. You cant go on ihl> way. You weren't made. for this sort Of thing. A washing
 machine: What Il" they think you
 ar''---;t peasant woman "''
 Lily picked up her coffee cup and
 drank daintily. Above ii her jewell like 'y"s smiled at Statcy. No. They think if makes wash day easier for me-" she said. Ana so ii does. But honestly, Staley. you're right about the other thing you said. l can't go on living the way l am, I don't mind the wor, so much. but l haven't any friends or any kind of gayety or amusc- Inant. l might be dead for all the tun l have these days-and I don. know how 10 change things for my- s' If. ] Just seem to be caught in that littl" flat the way an animal is caught in trap in the woods" Ii did not $" m 10 Lily that she Was being disioyal and unfair 10 Pat by pouring out her unha ppiness and IiSconttnt to the man who had been Pats riNal-and still was, for the