The Washington times., 1937-04-01

IlCC III Va OSNN1 NAANN1 ~ 1880
Beauty Shoppe. But if you didn't
know your Hollywood, it sounded
we'll.
When Marie walked up the ave
nue. from the car line, and passed
Mrs. Johnson's Boston Baked
Beans" sign and the O'Leary Tis.
ters' TAP, Toe and Acrobatic
Dancing Studio" and the Wood
wards Carpenter Shop and Tire
Repairing" and Jazz, Classical,
Piano, Voice and Banja" that the
new people from Lincoln had put
up on the corner, she thought OF
that.
1t was a pleasant enough street.
in spite of the signs and the gen.
eral air of wiStful slabbiness. The
houses were all large and COM
Portable, and though most of the
lawns were weedy and yellow,
oleanders were spreading tents OF
pink and rose bloom in the sum-
mer and hibiscus grew like weeds.
The JohnSonS' .1oinsettias grew 20
feet high and in Marie'S own yard
the lemon and orange trees
Haunted Waxy, fragrant buds and
blossoms, and the green or vel
low, or orange fruit.
put in spite of the signs and
the promised activity, it was a
quiet little street, for most of the
signs represented hope rather
than clients or customers, and ex-
cept for the johnson twins, and
the OLeary radio and the Dur
ney's parrot and the hooking
birds, it was sleepy little street.
Sitting in the window in the
front room, taking care of the
Circulating Library" would have
been hopelessly dull business for
most young, attractive girls. But
Marie was seldom bored, and
never unhappy. She had her own
resources, most of them secret.
Right now her big interest in
life was the Letter Club. The Let.
ter Club, and a certain Edward
Wilson. Hence the emphasis on
ths sound of things. Her name,
the address, Hollywood. Things to
write about-to Edward.
They'd been corresponding for
a year now.
TITS just a letter friendship,
Marie said. Doesn't mean a
thing!" But she went to see THE
Barrets of Wimpole Street" four
times, and recommended it to all
the library patrons.
you know, it's the love story
Of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert
Browning - the great love that
grew out of the letters they wrote
each other before they ever met"
she explained to the less literary
ones.
Great love - great NONSENSE"
her mother said.
But Marie'S mother, whose H.
cense to run beauty shop was
made out in the name of Julie
Bronson (CharleS Bronson was her
third huSband) had had her TO-
nance, or romances, early, and
now she was, as she said, past all
that.
Marie, at 81, had had no TO
nance.
That is, none worth mentioning.
To Julie, big, aggressive, still hand
some, that was equivalent to say
ing Marie didn't want any.
To Julie, romance, like opportu-
nifty, was something to be snatched
from a jealous, hostile world. But
Marie, who was so unlike the ener-
getic, busting Julie as to appear
not even a distant relation, had
never learned to snatch anything.
The only opportunity she had ever
seized was the Letter Club, and
that was with fear and trembling.
It was a dull Saturday night,
almost a year ago, when her
mother and stepfather, whom she
called Charlie, had gone to see a
movie, and she had volunteered to
stay home and tend to the library.
Tired of sitting at her little desk
at the window she had wandered
into the back parlor" which was
1.-THE Beauty Shoppe." On a little
table by the dryer was a stack of
thumbed movie and confession
magazines. The last customer had
left one open, at correspondence
club page.
There it was. Edwards letter:
world traveller, age "a, bored
with homecoming and civilization.
would like to hear from other
bored souls with ideas. Kicked
out Of two colleges and three coun-
tries. Address E. T. Wilson, Blue
Creek Ranger Station, CalaveraS
County, California"
In a page full of II am a young
man of 18"-'I am a girl of 81
and am five feet three inches tall
and weigh a hundred and thirteen
pounds page full OF naive de-
scriptionS and fervent promises to
ANSWER all letters from pen pals"
this one stood out, stark and inso-
lent.
She hadn't meant to answer it.
Just to write letter for fun, and
then throw it away.
But she did mail it, and the thing
had gone on and on, until now she
knew all there was to know about
Edward, and he knew all there was
"a know about her We'll almost