Glacier County chief., 1939-12-22
Home for the Holiday


Oh, well-she shrugged again, meet
ing the coat as she had met the warmth
why worry about unimportant de-
tails? After ten years and a divorce
and a spectacular stage career, one
can't be expected to remember an ex-
husbands top coat!
Clarissa closed the closet door and
went back to the living room, and
standing in front of the mirror re-
moved her beret. Even in a house
alone she ran a comb through her
short tousled curls-some folks would
never take her for a serious actress
until she could train her hair to lie
smooth-and powdered her nose and
drew a lipstick across a mouth that
was less smiling than it should have
been, under the circumstances.
The mink coat was slipping back
from her shoulders. She tossed It aside
onto the sofa that she and Arthur
had bought at auction during the first
month of their marriage. They had
upholstered the sofa themselves, and
she had Dashed a thumb with the tack
hammer and Arthur had kissed it to
make it well.
She crossed to the Misunderstanding
had found that during their first sum-
mer. They had rubbed it down with
lemon oil and pumice until the wal
nut was mellow. There were all sorts
of things on the whatnot-an Indian
arrow head that they dug out of the
zinnia bed, and porcelain vinaigretta
box and souvenir spoon, and a conch
shell. If you held the shell to your ear
you could hear the sea roaring far
away.
Clarissa lifted the conch shell in her
hands and held it to her ear. Yes, the
sea was roaring against some distant
sandy beach. Perhaps it was the beach
Of that Never-Never Land where the
boats that start out bravely on a voy-
age and fail to get there, find a COM
promise harbor. Her boat and Arthurs
had started out so bravely on a voyage
and had failed
Her reverie was broken by the sound
of the hall door slamming violently.
BY the sound of voice calling, Are
you in the living room. Buttonface?"
And then Arthur stood in the doorway.
with his face beaten red from the cold
and a big parcel in his sweater-clad
arms. And Clarissa. staring at him,
gers and heard it crash into a million
pieces on the hard old floor
Clarissa's first thought was that Ar
thur had expected her, for he had
called out "Buttonface." as Buttonface
in those moments that were half ten
der and half casual. And then she
realized that he hadn't expected her,
surprise. And Observation-Disclosures
found herself wondering who he had
expected, and who he now called But
tonface. She said weakly
why, Arthur" and Arthur said,
also weakly, You don't look the same
as you do behind footlights. I mean
not so sophisticated You look the same
as you used to look when we lived
here"
And Clarissa told him, Il always was
a chameleon"
Arthur set his parcel down on a
convenient chair-it was a lumpy par
eel in a brown paper sack, and it
could only contain groceries. He walked
slowly across the room, one hand ex-
tended. You're the last person I ex-
pected to see, Clarissa," he said, "the
very last"
Clarissa touched the extended fin
gers with her own. Shaking hands
with Arthur at this moment had a
fantastic quality. She said
That goes double, Art" and Ar
thur said, Il never dared come back
before-not since we left" and Clarissa
said, II was never here either" and
Arthur stopped to pick up the broken
fragments OF shell.
It's curious" he said in muffled
voice." that we should have chosen
the same time!"
Il don't know as it's so curious"
Clarissa disagreed. She, too, stopped
over and started to pick up shell sliv-
ers. After all, it's Christmas eve-or