The Washington times., 1935-11-11

us 1t simply isn't like that"
Slowly he picked up her coat
and turned her around and slipped
her into it. For a moment his
hands rested on her shoulders .
she could feel them, hard and COM
pelling, through the soft fur Of
her coat. Then Kipp was getting
into his coat, twisting a white silk
scarf Snugly under his chin. "If
you live very far uptown" he told
her briefly, internationally, well
haI you step on it,
Ann lived quite far uptown. She
lived in a duplex apartment on
East Seventy-eighth Street with a
girl named Carlotta Reynolds. She
had lived with Carlotta three
years now. Before that she had
lived with Judy Sleeper, who had
been Judy Parker then, and be-
fore that she had shared one room
and a bath with a girl named
Marge, who did a movie column
for a tabloid. Marge had been a
girl steve Cluett had known and
had asked to take Ann in when
she first came to New York. The
room had been on East Thirty
eight Street and had looked out
on a court and almost never had
any sunlight; but neither Marge
nor Ann had minded at all because
they were seldom in 1t, except to
sleep or dress.
That had been the winter Ann
sold hats to junior debs and
spent most Of her spare time
with the men who came into
New York from the universities.
She had felt more at home with
them that first winter than she
had with the men she met in
New York.
It had been a hectic, nervous
year in which she had had to
readjuSt herself to an entirely
new sort Of life. Her father had
died suddenly the summer before
and her mother had gone to
Detroit to live with a married
sister. AIMS father had been one
Of those charming, improvident
men who always manage to make
plenty Of money while they live
and leave none at all when they
die. Because Of this, Ann had
had to leave college and relin-
quish all hope Of studying in
Paris. Nevertheless. it was her
brilliant, irresponsible young
father she missed that first win
ter in New York and not her
mother.
The following spring Marge
married a Cornell boy and went
to live in Galveston, Tex. That
summer Ann stayed on alone in
the apartment on Thirty-eighth
Street but in the fall she met
Judy Parker and moved in with
her. This was also about the
time she met Alan.
The secoHd winter belonged
definitely to him.
The third winter belonged to
Ann Brooks, Incorporated. Alan
had gone to Paris and an aunt
had died opportunely and left
Ann couple Of thousand dollar
Liberty bonds. She said to Steve:
II have always been crazy about
clothes. I'm goins to spend six
months and a few hundred dol.
lars studying dress design, then
I'm going to open my own shop.
I think I can make a success Of
it. and at least it will give me
something to think about" She
meant something besides Alan.
At first she had made almost
no money at all, but by the time
the two thousand was practically
exhausted she had begun to
make little. Then in almost no
time at all she was doing very
well. In the spring of 1929,
Judy married Ted Sleeper and
Ann moved into the duplex with
Carlotta Reynolds. She had re-
covered completely, by this time,
from Alan.
She should think Of him to-
night. riding uptown with Kipp
through the usual six o'clock
traffic jam, quite dispaSsionate-
ly. For some time now she had
been able to speak Of him quite
calmly, as she had this after
noon, as ''a man she had once
known who went abroad to live"
He had gone unwillingly, sent
there by his firm to have charge
of their Paris office. He hadn't
asked her to go with him. She
had been nineteen at the time
and much more in love with him
than he had been with her. AS
a result, he had hurt her quite
badly. Not because he had meant
to but because she had been
foolish enough to let him. He
had said to her. quite honestly:
IF you are looking for love with
marriage. Ann, don't bother with
me because I shall never offer
you anything but love-" And she
had said: That's all right, Alan
-. that's all I shall ever want
from you"
(TO Be COntinued)
(CopyriRht, 1888, by King Features