Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1930-02-21
LIVING IN
KITCHENS AND
CASTLES

a a.
x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&e~~~~$3
90 by D. ,. walsh,
JEANS blue eyes shone as she
opened the book Of samples
Look, Donald, isn't this fabric
- lovely2 do want to fix up the
kitchen and have It look like some
thing. Everything is old and drab."
Her husband shot hungry glance
toward the table. II had a hard day
at the office" he said unconscious
that he uttered a marital bromide,
land want my dinner. Put that stun
away"
The young face clouded and, had
Donald cared to look, he'd have seen
that her mouth dropped like that Of
a scolded child. After all, at nine
teen a girl is scarcely more than that
and Jean had never had the brides
Joy Of a new home. She had married
Donald for love and the necessities for
the wife who does her own work
would, she had vaguely supposed, nat
urally follow the honeymoon. Poor
Jean had never done anything more
strenuous than ride horseback and
dance and she soon discovered that
her husband had no intention Of re-
placing the worn furnishings that his
mother had purchased as bride. my
mother selected everything here her
self and surely, Jean, you should be
satisfied. I'm afraid you'll never be
the housekeeper that she was" he
sometimes ended.
The shabbiness was bad enough.
The slur of her attachments unendur
able, or so she felt. Donald was per
fectly able to refurnish the suburban
cottage II he chose. He did not, how
ever, choose to humor what he said
frankly was an extrayagant whim.
"Show me that you can keep house
with what you have-then talk about
this queer color scheme you rave
about. never heard mother speak of
having a turquoise blue dlshpan or
blue double boiler. Oatmeal tastes
good no matter whether it's put In
blue pan or one Of pink. Fads 1t is,
not sense"
The question of dainty brightness
became an obsesslon with Jean and
she skimped her work shamelessly.
The old sink grew accustomed to a
load Of solled dishes and the tin dish
pan grew more and more battered
from Joan's reckless handling. The
question Of acquiring Of some yards
Of turquoise fabric to cover the SCARED
table and cupboards brought the fam
lily Jar to climax. The material was
surprisingly inexpensive. Jean held
her sample against the dubious wood
Of the corner cupboard and, closing
her long-lashed blue eyes, dreamed
OF gay kitchen to match the bit Of
blue.
'Uncle Jim wrote that he'd take me
on his trip to Scotland If you could
spare me. He'll come back on the re-
turn trip Of the Empress. And" Jean
cried recklessly as abe saw the famil.
far negative shake of the sandy head
opposite, 'T'm going. Going, do you
heari Why should I stay here and
spoil my hands when I could be see
ing Edinburgh castle again7 love to
look at It by moonlight. Uncle Jim
and I are kindred spirits. He loves
poetry and ocean trips and things like
I do"
Donald cast a grim look down at
his plate. His mouth was set in a
stubborn line that matched the pink,
primmed lips of Jean. Once jeans
mouth had seemed made for laughter,
but the Understandings and the
bleak atmosphere of the faded old
home had changed her. She felt as
though Donalds mother still lived, in
spirit, in that house and that that
model housekeeper thoroughly disap.
proved Of the tired little bit Of
modernity who longed for a gay and
suitable environment.
go, II you WISH" the words shot
out abruptly; I've felt lately that you
were not satisfied"
II wasn't until she had been away
from home for three days that she be.
gan to regret her hasty departure.
Her uncle had been unexpectedly de-
tained in Chicago and Jean, resentful
Of her husbands lack Of argument
against her fitting, had not notified
Donald Of her unexpected stay at the
Congress. Donald had put her in a
taxi to go to the station, where she
would meet her Uncle Jim and had
then hurried Off to his office. "As
though" she had told herself feraely,
"he were glad to be rid Of me-" She
had scarcely glanced at the cluster OF
spicy carnations he had bought for
her-had been ungracious when he
handed her the latest Galsworthy
book to read on her trip. "As though
I wanted to read anything to improve
my STYLE" she had reflected. Jean
sometimes wrote poetry which Donald
smiled at. "Any way the title fits the
case for Swan Song is what I'd sing
II felt like singing anything I'd
have liked something frothier."
But Chicago without the quiet but
companionable Donald seemed q des-
ert to the spoiled girl and even the
evenings Of theaters and concerts had
not consoled her. Her Uncle Jim had
listened without comment to her lame
excuses for not insisting that Donald
spend his evenings with them, but she
had the impression that he disap.
proved.
"The skyline In wonderful" she
heard a woman at the next table say.
like great gray castles against tur-
quolse, those buildings are"
Jean fell into one Of her dreams
promptly. Again she was In Edln-
burgh looking down first al the gay