The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-09-07

with simple dignity, put the situa-
ton before her. She didn't say any
of the things she might have said
about not wanting to be dependent
on her aunt. She simply said that
she had found something that she
wanted to do and knew she could
do. She had her figures and her
facts and asked for the loan of two
hundred dollars.
Olivia said at once that she
would give her a check and that
Cecily was to forget it. Cecily saw
her aunt through new eyes that
morning. The two, for the first
time, recognized the tie that was
between them. Olivia, Watts had
once gone to man to borrow
money for her musical training,
and she never forgot how hard it
had been to ask for money.
Olivia had not meant to take ad-
vantage of her niece. pressing her
into service as she had. It was sim
ply that Cecily had made it too
easy for her. She thought about it.
after Cecily had left. Cecily. who
had kind Of beauty then, visit
full happiness that Olivia had
never seen in her before. She de-
cided that she really must do
something social for her, introduce
her to more young people. speak
to Gloria about including her cou-
sin on her parties.
Olivia basked in the pleasure of
doing something kind
Everyone had. been kind. Hilda
and the Fennellys had arranged to
have her chairs and lounges, lamps
and bronZeS, and her books packed
and sent to her with. maximum
speed. Ted Pryor had offered her
collection of twenty-four pho
tographic prints for twenty-five
dollars for the lot. Mr.. Calder had
said he didn't mind if she painted
Mexican scenes on the white walls.
Lem Soderson. the village cdrpen-
ter, had worked for three nights
building the bookcases that lined
the small shop and painting them
a glowing white. Mrs. Keefer, who
ran the big inn, said that Cecily
might put up he poster right over
the inn desk.
New Friend
EVEN Joe Garfinkle, who ran the
~ local garage, turned out to help
her. He supplied her with the
names Of all the summer people,
trucked her things from the rail-
road station and helped her I'M
pack, refusing payment because
he said she was Just one of the
people who'd bring business to
him.
1t had taken her but five days to
ready the shop and an hour after
she had set the bronze bowl filled
with yellow flowers in her win
dow the opening morning, her first
customer - old Mrs. Jonathan
Brewster. who was rich enough to
drive about in an ancient limou-
sine came in and promptly
tucked four love-stories under her
arm. asked Ceeily a dozen ques-
tions about herself and departed.
There were other customers, and
IN one day Laura Atwill
came in.
1t was one of the days when
Cecily had to run down to the rail-
road station and Laura volun-
teeredi o5keep the shop for her un-
til she returned.
| When she left that afternoon,
| Cecily had made a friend. A week
later. Laura had moved into the
shop with small stock of knit
ting yarns and the understanding
that the profits thereof were to be
entirely hers in hange for
which she would keep the shop
for few hours a day.
1t was an advantageous arrange
ment for both of them that had
nothing of monetary value in it.
Cecily needed a friend. someone
who spoke her own language. And
Laura Atwill. who at thirty-five
had wandered about the world
seeking place for herself in her
loneliness since the deaths of her
husband and child six years be-
fore, found it in the shop in WICK
! erSport.
Laura was slight and pretty. But
you didn't see her prettiness I'M
til she came out Of herself when
she was interested in something
she was talking about.
Cecily thought she must have
been very interested in showing
/ the shop to Donald Hemingway
the day that he came in to see it.
He had returned the following
day and was obviously disappoint-
ed to find that Laura wasn't there.
She was in the next time he came
and Cecily found something else
to do. That day Donald bought
Ted's photograph of the skyline of
New York and biography.
! Cecily had thrilled to the vague
suggestion of a romantic attrac-
ton between her widowed friend
| and the bachelor bank president.
He was so exactly what Laura
needed.
I'm awfully good at fixing up
romance for other people but a
| little weak on my own, Cecily
thought, and went back to cata-
| loguing box of new books which
had arrived that morning.
I She took the top one out. She
read the title. Ride the Rainbow,
and wrote it neatly on a card.
Then she looked at the authors
name. She wrote: Cdllen, Philip.
i Nice name. Philip Callen, but
I've never heard of him before, she
Thought.
When next she thought of that
name, it was after the Canadian
cruise and. of all the names writ
ten there on her books, that was
the one marked for her by some