The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-11-09
Chapter %
A Confidence

A Confidence
You know, Buff, you're the first
L girl friend Pve ever had" Iris
said, one afternoon, TRULY I've
never been popular with my own
sex, for some curious reason"
THAT reason" Buff remarked
dryly, would not be hard to find.
d'you Think"
Iris laughed a little. MEN, you
mean? / suppose so. But I can't
help being attractive to them,
Buff. It was said so simply,
without boastfulness, that the
young hostess took it at its face
value.
II suppose you can't now" she
replied. IT'S second nature with
you. You have to have your daily
dose Of masculine admiration, or
your nerves will blow up. I've
known a lot of people like that,
men as well as women. What I'd
like to know" she went on casu-
ally, curling one foot under her in
fashion she had when she was
interested, sis how you got started?
And what you really get out of it?
Take Van now. He's simply OBJ
sesSed by you. He spends so much
time doing soap figurines of you
that he'd starve if Webby and I
didn't feed him. He's not talented,
he has no money, he's not attrac-
tive personally. In other words,
he's absolutely useless to you, Iris.
And yet you fling him the word
here, the glance there, that keeps
him on leash. Would you mind
telling me why?"
Il suppose it's hangover from
my childhood" Iris said at last.
My mother was a famous singer,
really great in her own way. We
travelled about, and everybody sat
and adored her because of her
voice. l was hardly out of baby
hood before started envying her,
started hoping I could sing, too,
better than she could, even. But
hadn't sign of voice. had some
thing else, though - looks" She
paused to smile reminiscently at
the fire.
Your mother wasn't beautiful"
mo. Homely, in fact. She didn't
mind-at first. No one cared what
she looked like as long as she had
that magic voice of hers. But as
grew older and-well, prettier, her
voice began to go back on her. She
resented me then - terribly. She
tried to keep me child as long as
she could. / was having affairs with
men when she was still putting
socks on me-"
What do you mean by affairs
with menu" Buff inquired casually.
Nothing immoral, if that's what
you're trying to find out" Iris'S
lovely voice was quite as light in
tone as was Bluffs. Flirting with
hotel clerks and travelling sales
men; with orchestra men as | grew
a little older; finally with my
mothers managers. That's what
caused the rows. Oh, yes, we rowed
bitterly. She threatened to put
me into convent; to turn me out
without cent 1t wasn't a pretty
chapter in my life" she finished.
Buff swallowed. 1t was not in
deed pretty, she thought; and un-
willing sympathy for the lonely
child stirred her heartstringS.
"You-ran away? Earned your
own living?"
Iris lifted surprised eyes. 81?
Work? AT what, my dear? No, ! did
something a lot smarter. l played
my game under cover after that.
kept in the background and helped
Mother pretend I wasn't there. But
Imade up for it by getting as many
men crazy about me as I could"
Repelling
THE younger girl gripped the
L arms of her chair. This cold
blooded confession repealed her,
dissipated like mist the newly
formed pity she had been feeling
for Iris. Her scant knowledge of
psychology told her that the girl
had done nothing more. dreadful
than build a defense mechanism
against her mothers jealousy; that
it was, at that time at least, en-
tirely unconscious on Iris's part.
Still. she could not keep trace of
hostility out of her voice when she
put her next question.
Are you still doing that? Trying
to make men fall in love with you
just to satisfy your vanity?"
Iris was not offend e d. She
laughed, and turned her head a
trifle to see her reflection in the
mirror.
"You like to put things in plain
words, don't you? But you're right,
of course. It was sink or swim
with me, those last years with
Mother. If l hadn't taken refuge in
a sense of my power over men, I'd
have turned into shrinking and
terrified shadow that kept itself in
the background. And where, / ask
you, would that shadow have been
when Mother died? She left me
only a few thousand. I've had to
make them 60 long way"
Howl"
Not even this blunt question Of
Tended the guest.
"Just any way ] could find. If
woman is pretty and is willing to
help out some man in scheme
that's not too too scrupulously
honorable, she can always make a
nice profit. / suppose that horrifes
you. but you asked me-" She sent