Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise., 1938-10-14

buyer, IF you would give me per-
mission to phone to some of my girl
friends? / know half-a-dozen girls
who are going to Florida before Christ
mas, and these organdie evening
gowns with the little capes and ruff
files are just the adorable things they'd
fancy"
"Go to it," allowed Miss Shellifsh
well-pleased.
With Renita Parrish in the condi
tion she very often was (poor Re-
nita. she'd hate to report her, but it
was obvious that half the time she
didn't know what she was doing) it
was delightful to have someone around
with initiative.
Renita herself came into the Miss
es' Dress department while Ann was
at the telephone. Miss Shellfish had
gone.
Renita walked little unsteadily.
Her face was flushed under her au-
burn hair, her green eyes strangely
bright.
$50? You here? Telephoning the
boy-friend, huh?"
Just minute, Miss Parrish. It's
business I'm after. Excuse me, will
you?" said Ann continuing what she
was doing.
Renita drew up a chair beside her
at Miss Shellfish's desk and fixed her
eyes, with definite hostility, on the
very pretty face of the new salesgirl.
1t was eleven o'clock in the morn
ing, and this was Rentals first ap-
pearance in the store.
Last night she had 'phoned Cor
don Gavin at his rooming- house, want
ing him to come down to her apart
ment in the Village, but his landlady
had informed her that the young man
had gone out.
Renita suspected that this informa-
tion was on his own orders. She had
called up SO often that the astute
landlady recognized her voice. Dodg-
ing her, was he? Or probably out
with Ann Delafield?
Hating her own company, and ex-
tremely low in spirits, she had headed
for "The Pepper Pot" in search of hu-
man and liquid cheer.
Her quest was most successful, but
disastrous next morning, for she had
slept til half past nine, and wakened
with an appalling hangover.
Bromo-seltzer, aprising, were of no
avail
But she had contrived to dress her
self and wend her way back to her
late scene of conviviality in search of
"a pick-me-up."
Three stiff drinks in succession had
lifted the hangover, but substituted
in it's place certain unsteadiness in
the feet and buzzing in the head.
Poor Renita!
Provided she could get past the
timekeeper and the detective at the
employees entrance, everything would
be okay. Why not, in fact, slide in at
the main entrance?
There would be no trouble with Miss
Shellfish, the old fool!
Every time Renita looked at the lit
tie spinster, it was as though her own
unloved future rose before her, like
a dreadful warning. For marriage,
particularly marriage with Gordon
Gavin, if it could possibly be accom-
plished, was what Renita wanted more
than anything else on earth.
Hadn't she left her cheerful little
hotel and furnished a tiny apartment
in Greenwich Village with the idea of
entertaining him solo, of making him
so comfortable that she would become
absolutely essential to the lonely,
moody boy?
She didn't mind how poor he was,
how unsuccessful. If necessary she
would work her fingers to the bone
to support both of them, and do it
gladly for love.
The three thousand dollars she had
saved in her ten years of working (Re-
nita was twentyfive) would give
them a start.
Now, with everything going beauti-
fully, enter Ann Delafield, the girl
from his own background, from his
happy, carefree past!
So close she was to Ann at the tele-
phone that the latter felt the sweetish,
sickly odor of spirits, cut her short
her business conversation and got up.
She smiled, half-frightened, at Re-
nita, but contrived to say brightly,
''I've been sent here to work on the
floor. I think it's perfectly lovely
department, Miss Parrish" but
got no further for with brusque