Evening star., 1936-04-17

@ AMARA was in the tub When
her mother departed. She lay
on in the healing, restful hot
u water reading magazine,
resting her head luxuriously against
the tub. The telephone rang.
Like a flash she was out OF the
water and had caught limp, damp
towel about her dripping body. The
blessedness of 1.-THE exquisite relief
and Joy of hearing Mayne's voice!
"Mayne where are you?"
"At the hotel. Have yo missed me?
tell you it's been three years since
last night"
But I thought you were down at
Pete's?"
"Pete's? Is the gang down there?
It's the first I've heard Of it."
mo. I don't suppose they are-I
don't suppose they'd go down in this
deluge. But when I didn't hear from
you I thought you might be down
there"
Go down there without you, is that
it?"
Her delicious childish laugh broke
out. 1t was good to laugh again.
But where have you been?"
'Why, Berman was here, Tam
you knew that? I had to talk to him
practically all night; there were three
Of them up here and today he asked
me to go down to his married daugh-
ter's place in San Jose and. eat fried
chicken and hot biscuits. I'm just
home. I came home on the train with
seven hundred babies and thousand
kids"
She was laughing again, joyfully.
"And now what are you doing?"
What am 1 doing? Well, that's
what I called up to ask you. Had
your dinner?"
Moo. I'm just out Of bath. In
fact. I'm not quite out"
IT see."
Luckily. you don't" said Tamara.
"I'll tell you, Mayne-no. We can't
either. We can't have dinner here
because all we've got is some boiled
onions and half cream cheese. But
I'll tell you-"
Nonsense, it isn't up to you" he
said. I'll be up in 20 minutes and
we'll 20 somewhere and have dinner"
"Oh, lovely!" said Tamara. "Oh,
Mayne, whatll I do after Tuesday?
I've nearly died today! I wish Feeney'd
take mel"
Its rotten shame" he said. But
never mind, I'll come up and get you
in a quarter Of an hour"
"Okay, chief!" the girl sang rather
than said. They laughed. IL minutes
later. to discover that in their eager
ness to get together they had both
lessened the time. Buttoned into her
coat. with his arm under her elbow
and her head lowered against the rain.
Tamara laughed again as she ran
from the downstairs doorway to the
car. All the Sunday night world was
twinkling with lights against black
ness, and flashing with diamonds and
lances of rain.
Where are we dining?"
"Never you mind, gal, but your
dinners all ordered"
They went to his hotel Tamara
turned bright, inquisitive eyes to his in
the elevator.
Forget something's"
mo. You're dining with me on
this wet evening, Miss Todhunter.
Afterward we can go downstairs and
dance if we like-there's a program
every Sunday evening"
"Oh, what fun, Mayne!" Tamara
exclaimed when they reached his
softly lighted, warm big rooms to find
a wood fire burning and two walters
noiselessly completing arrangements
for dinner before the hearth. She
went into his bed room to spread her
damp coat on the bed, peep at her
self in his high dresser mirror.
''Mayne, I'm washing my hands with
your towels" she called.
Go ahead, dear, use anything you |
see!" he called back. When Tamara |
came out she hooped her fresh clean
hands over his face as he sat on the |
big blue davenport. and he caught the |
scent of sweet soap.
You and I use the same tooth |
paste. Mayne."
you've been in there and seen my
fxings before, Tam?"
Yes, but only when there was a |
crowd here. don't believe I've ever
been up here when you were alone"
you like oysters, don't you?" Mayne
asked as the men began to serve the
dinner. Come on, Tam, I'm starving. |
Its almost o'clock"
This is fun!" the girl said, shaking |
out her napkin. And I thought this |
was being one of the saddest-hor-
Tiblest-days of my life!"
Rain, eh?"
"Oh, not only the rain. But Lance"
Tam said, squeezing lemon, came |
home last night simply-simply de-
funct. And poor mama had roaring
othache-Sunday. of course. Don't
you always get them on Sunday!
And Coral"
She related the whole story.
"We've been running downhill, and
that's the truth of 1t, Mayne. My |
thirty-fiye a weeks been all we could |
depend upon, and the rents almost |
that. Now Lance has got job-a vile |
jebn-Tamara said, very young and
earnest with her Redeemed cheeks and
rounded blue eyes, "but still it's fifty a |
week. He's a starter, or timer, or
something down at the dog track in
South San Francisco-where they race
whippets, you know. Coral simply is
down and out, and Jesse Straut-
that's the man mama in a perfectly |
crazy fit married few years ago
doesn't send her a cent any more, and
consequently we're-well, running
down."
"Pretty tough on you, Tam. You
could manage on your own salary"
She was cutting into 3-inch steak.
"Why the serious look, Tam9"
IT was going to say that Coral was
going to get married, but that's all of"
the girl said. "Oh, and poor girl
downstairs killed herself today-they
think she'll die, anyway. 1t was too