The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-01-23
THE
MODEL
SON
g g
BY Fannie Hurst
GO. Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate,

It's. 4AWIIZ knew she was
MI blessed with model son."
1Nl She also knew that the
term had come to carry with
it sort of ridiculous portent.
Some wag had said that model
child" wan one built in small imi-
tation Of the real thing.
Mrs. Yawita knew better. She knew
that "model son." as applied to hers,
meant the kindest, most considerable,
most obedient and high-principled boy
in the world.
Gentle old lady that she was, she
would have clawed out the eyes of
one who said otherwise.
AS matter of fact, there was no
one who could have said otherwise.
Ben Yawitz, rotund little fellow with
a kind, shining, circular face, short,
dimpled hands and the gentlest eyes
imaginable, was impeccably the good
son and the decent, respected and re-
specting citizen. His picture-framing
establishment, which he had inherited
from his father, was known over the
area of large neighborhood for its
reliability and good standing. The
Yawitz family, which had consisted
of three while the father lived, occu-
pied the apartment over the store,
and for SO years had paid rent pune
tiliously for their premises.
Ben had developed the business
nicely. He not only took care of
large neighborhood clientele, but ham
died the map-and-picture framing for
two high schools and large natural
history museum in the district.
His mother always said of him that
he should have been an artist. Pos
sibly. He took genuine pleasure in
the mounting and framing of the vari-
Gus bits Of art that came to him, and
was tireless at discussing the mount
ing of bridal or communion photo
graph. He even dabbled a bit in wa
ter-color himself, and once sold to
young bridal couple who set up house
keeping in the neighborhood, framed
painting Of the little street scene be-
fore his shop.
1t had brought five dollars. Mrs.
Yawitz kept the identical bill paid
for 1t pinned to a little envelope
Of lavender sachet in her lower dress
er drawer.
OF course, time and time again, up
to the time Ben approached his for
ties, the subject Of the possibility of his
marriage had not only been discussed
among friends and neighbors, but be-
tween the two themselves.
II never want to stand in the way,
son, of your marriage. No mother is
entitled to monopoly of the life Of
a child"
'Im not the marrying sort, mother"
''You will be some day, son."
''Then there will be time to talk Of
it."
That time came and yet, strangely
and little terribly, there was never
talk of it between mother and son.
1t had all come about like this: A
neighborhood girl who had recently
moved into the district, but who al
ready had had time to acquire for
herself the reputation of being gay"
came into the shop one day for the
purpose of having a picture of herself
framed.
Strangely enough, it was Ben's little
clerk and not himself who took the
order, but it was Ben himself who did
the framing. 1t was an enlarged snap
beach. Tawny and blowing were her
short, bobbed curls in that photograph,
dimpled and adorable her short legs
and, for touch of nonsense, she slung
large, Happy sun hat filled with sand.
Ben could scarcely believe that it was
not what he called fancy picture"
until, on the day of it's promised COM
pletion, the subject Of it herself ap-
peared, just as adorably saucy, just as
piquant as the photograph.
1t began to happen almost at once.
Aimee, who had never even known,
much less been loved by, anyone of
Ben's stability, was quick to react to
the sense of protection. Ben might
prove a dull evenings diversion, but
he was sure, good meal, warm,
first-class seat in motion picture the
alter, and sometimes even a taxi.
Aimee, naughty, shrewd, elfish and
soubrette, was quick to sense all that.
She even put up with the occasional
concert. 1t gave her an absolutely I'M
precedented sense Of anchorage to go
about with this quiet, serious-eyed,
oldish-young fellow. She hOoted about
it to her friends and yet, deep inside
of her, something cold was thawing.
Gradually it was borne in upon the
troubled Ben that his mothers sup
posed reticence was not reticence at
all. She did, not know, apparently, by
one of those miracles when the per-
son most involved is the last to hear