The Coolidge examiner., 1932-04-01
CHAPTER II
dith.

D
~ like any other day. 1t was a
silly little girl idea that you woke
up that morning different; older
and bigger. Edith sat up and
craned around for a look out the
window. OF course, it didn't really
matter what kind of day it was,
since her birthday treat didn't de-
pend upon the weather. She and
her mother were going to matinee,
to see a play that sounded rather
jolly, Captain Applejack."
The original idea, dads, for the
celebration of her birthday had
been a dinner party; four couples.
They could play cards afterward, or
dance. II had tempted her. 1t was
so satisfactorily grown-up, and dig
nifed. 1t would have been perfectly
slick-if things had been right at
home or even not so horribly wrong.
There was nothing to show, from
the outside, that anything was
wrong. Except for Eds being away
at college there was nothing about
the household to make it look differ
ent-to an outsider-from what it
had always been.
But If she brought any of her
friends home with her she was sure
they'd guess. Even If dad and
mother refrained, as they probably
would at a party, from getting into
one of their terrible rows, just the
way things felt would give every
thing away. She couldn't even be
sure that the girls going upstairs to
lay aside their wraps mightn't dis
cover that all dads things were in
the spare room and that mother was
living alone in the room that had
always been theirs. They'd draw
their own conclusions from that,
most likely. But what would those
conclusions be?
The intolerable thing was that
Edith couldn't be sure. She hadn't
been able to draw any, herself. And
she couldn't even have talked to her
best friend, Agatha Willard, about
that. She was almost glad that
Agatha had gone away to boarding
school in the East. 1t made ii
easier, somehow, to keep up the
bluff. Only, what was the use? Oh,
dear, what was the use of anything?
She felt her throat getting stiff
and abruptly she turned, beat up
her pillow and lay down again. 1t
was nowhere near time to get up.
She had better go back to sleep if
possible.
Her mothers voice called to her
from the next room. The communi-
eating door stood open, as it usually
did. these days. You awake,
Edith? Happy new year! Come in
and give me kiss"
Edith sprnng out of bed and with
out stopping for bathrobe or slip
pers, for the cold floor felt good
| OhhCA AS1 1CCI anu the SuIll dlE uS-
licious as it bathed her body,
padded into her mothers room.
After the kiss Edith sat for q mo-
ment, stroking her mothers firm
smooth arms, but at the question
How does it feel to be seventeen %
she desisted.
Il don't know" she said. "I was
| just thinking about that. OF course
I've been practically seventeen for
quite long time and I'm not sure
that that wasn't nicer-having it to
look forward to, | mean. Because
what I've got to look forward to
now is eighteen, and that is not so
thrilling. l mean this is practically
the end of-well, of growing up.
Mother wouldn't it be nice if you
could pick the age you wanted and
just stop there? What age would
you pick?"
ITO go back to, you mean?
Yours, l guess" Some change in
the quality of the voice caught the
girls ear. Then she turned a puz-
zled look on her mother.
But if you'd stopped then, I'd
never have been born-would II"
(TO BE CONTINUEDl