The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-09-15
Chapter IA
Another Visit
I'VE COULD charge thirty-fve
VI cents and -"

Another Visit
I'VE COULD charge thirty-fve
cents and -"
Laura put down her pencil.
''Cecily Stuart, have you lost your
mind? Thirty-five cents for that
kind Of meal? In the first place,
we'd 20 broke. In the second place,
these colonists have lots of money
and would be glad to pay reason
able price for such grand food"
Cecily wasn't thinking of the
colonists. She was thinking of a
young man whose throat looked
thin. A young man who lived in a
ramshackle shack at the end of a
lonely road. A shabby transient
who had the manner of a cavalier.
A man who might be able to pay
thirty-five cents for a nutritious
meal.
That's the banker influence"
she said, pretending to scold.
We'll, it's your business" Laura
said resignedly and went to work
20 help Cecily get the word around.
Olivia protested the plan.
"Cecily, if you want to run a
book-shop as a whim, that's all
right but I'd rather you didn't go
in for restauranting. What will
people think?"
Philip said he thought it was
great fun and he was proud of
Cecily. He said. he'd be there at six
with other guests from Darelea.
Promptly, Cecily said she'd rath-
er ne didn't. 1t wasn't party, she
said, and she would get along more
efficiently without them if they
wouldn't mind.
She was annoyed with Philip.
He had refused fatty to autograph
copies of Ride the Rainbow.
Its not cricket" he said. IF ]
were a Shaw, l might, but I think
it's a bit of showing off for me to
GO It"
She thought crisply that that was
the frs. time Philip had objected
10 showing off. But she didn't press
the point.
If he would only stay away the
night of the supper.
He did, granting her that point
Cecily and Philip seemed always
TO be exchanging move for move,
She didn't like it but she had some
thing else to think about.
She had tomatoes and pimientos,
spaghetti and salad on her mind.
She had to think of card tables
ard linens and service.
Oh. she found a great many
things TO think of so that she
wouldn't think about whether or
not Locke knew she was having a
supper that she wanted him to
come to.
She had said specifically on the
little note she yrote to the sum-
mer cottagerS that her Suppers
were from six to eight. TWAS quite
plain that this was not to be Sc
ries of parties such as her first one.
Party or not, her first supper
was a great success. She served
twenty. suppers at fifty cents a
.pieee-Laura having won her point
and made few cents over six
dollars.
And by eight thirty, the last OF
the supper guests had departed for
the movies, and Cecily paid small
Archibald his quarter for helping
with the dishes.
Laura had been invited to play
bridge with the MacGregors and
Cecily had insisted that she GO
along with them. She really need
ed no help. 1t had been amazingl"
simple to put away the food in the
ice-box. which was a recent addi-
ton. and TO burn the paper plates
ard cups.
She thought: Laura was right.
could have charged a dollar and
they would have paid it willingly.
But / thought surely he would
come and he couldn't afford SO
much. If / had known
Party over?"
Only The Man Who
CHE dropped the plate she held
~ in her hand. as his voice star
tied her, and bent over to pick il
up, taking a long time to do it SO
that he would not see how sud-
denly crimson her face had turned
when she heard his voice.
When she got the pieces to-
gether. she couldn't hold them in
her hands. Her hands were fool
ishly trembling Oh, she thought,
this confusion is ridiculous. He is
only a young man who
She couldn't get any further. He
was only the young man that she
had wanted to see more than any
one else. He was only the young
man who had been haunting her
He was only the person who turned
her thoughts inside out, who made
the world seem entirely new. He
was only the person who reduced
her now to a state where she could
only say foolishly, ooh, I'm glad
you came. / didn't think you were
going TO-"
i've been hanging around starv.
ing for the last hour" he said. "And
now. it's over"
"Oh, no, it isn't" she said quick
~. 81 haven't had mine. Wen +.
wen have it together"
She heaped his plate with the
steaming. succulent spaghetti rich