Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1931-11-27
1T WAS YES
u TODAY, NO 50 4
TOMORROW !

q So
By FANNIE HURST

/ TNHE was one of those girls in the
clever position Of being able to
~ debate between her mind and
her emotions the adyisability,t
the pros and cons, the yeasaandA nnysy
of marriage. 9dia gas1 lsa8 fa
That is, she had a business college
degree, economic independence, and an
earning capacity that exactly tied that
of her on-and-off flance. On-and-off,
because Mercina, who was twenty-six,
was finding 1t difficult to reach de-
clsive state of mind about this idea
of marriage with a thoroughly per-
sonable young lawyer. Frank Conway.
There were after all countless con-
siderations which made 1t somewhat
more complicated than is usual for a
young woman like Mercina to settle
the matter Of her marriage. First, she
had not only been earning her own
living, and good one, for over pc
riod of six years, but there was every
reason for her to believe that within
the following six years her already
well established earning power could
double itself. The point was that dur
ing the six years, she had been wear
ing one-hundred-dollar tailor-made
suits, eighteen-dollar hats, correspond
ingly expensive lingerie and had TAX
en- on as a matter of course the habit
Of lunching at the towns smartest
restaurants and had snappy, expensive
business conferences over the dinner
tables of the best hotels.
Three times week florist dellv-
cred a two-orchid corsage, ordered by
her, at her apartment door. She lived
in n smart fiat on the correct side of
town, afforded a Filipino boy, who
could prepare an inlmltable dinner for
two; threw away her silk stockings
after the first ladder, and spent four
weeks of every summer either at a
smart Maine resort or on flying trip
to Paris, for purposes of refurblshing
her well-furnished wardrobe.
There was every reason for girl in
Mercina's position to hesitate over the
prospect of marriage to boy like
Frank; every reason except for one
outstanding impeachment to reason
she was in love with him. It was not
difficult to understand why. He had
the swift, clear, blond good looks that
Is so attractive when you encounter
it in American youth; he was intelli-
gent without, 1t is true, being brilll-
anti, witty in a frank appealing way;
clean, ambitious and head-over-heels In
love with Mercina.
"The kind Of young fellow out of
whom you can make something" was
Merclna's shrewd contemplation to
herself. Hell need pushing, and /
can do that. He Is the kind who can
make good after he has q clever wom-
an at his shoulders. am that" In
way she was right. There was rather
more ability than force to Frank Con-
way; rather more ideallsm than vigor.
A woman like Merclna was precisely
the right complement to his makeup.
The only thing narrowing in the en-
tire situation, was the thoroughly I'M
derstandable and yet none-the-less
nerve raclSing inability of Mercina to
make up her mind or having made It
up, to keep 1t made up.
After all, 1t was no small thing
starting over In life with young be-
ginner like Frank. Because of the
nature Of her work, its uneven hours,
Its evening demands, the occasional
need Of an out-of-town trip, IT was out
of the question to enter into practi-
col oh all
continue her activities afterward.
Marrying Frank meant creating a
home for him and all Of the domestic
appurtenances that go with It.
Not only did circumstances make
this necessary, but by temperament
Frank was the sort Of man, call 1t
old-fashloned II you will, who wanted
his wife I'm the home. In way II
was darling Of him. gave him GER
tain masterful aggressive quality that
sometimes Merclna found herself fear
Ing he lacked. 1t was appealing, all
right, but just the same, the matter
of making up her mind was none-the-
less complicated. II meant two living
on the income that had been scarcely
sufficient for an extravagant capable
young business woman to live on alone.
II meant that Frank. an outstanding
ly well-dressed young man, and Mer-
Gina, one Of the most chic Of the
younger business women around town,
must cut In half their expenditures
Actually, 1t meant more than that
housekeeping, even on the small, chic
scale to which Mercina had been ac-
customed In her fiat with the Filipino
cook was no Inexpensive affair and
once you had accustomed yourself to
orchids three times a week. they were
not, somehow, easy to forego, even in
contemplation.
And 80, off again, on again; up
again, down again, went Merclna's
spirits Yes, today, no tomorrow.
I'VE can't make the grade, Frank"
today; 1--WE will try It together, dar-
ling" tomorrow. II was hard on Mer-
Gina, It was hard on Frank, who even
in the moments Of his evaporation,
realized how authentic was her
dilemma.
"You have simply got to make up
your mind, darling, that you can't be
two things, In this particular sltu-
alton at least, at the same time
81 know that, darling, and dent