Evening star., 1940-03-01
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TOO oazeo 70 call him back, too
confused to think coherently, con-
scious only Of the thought that
Melvyn's presence in the house
would complicate matters, aware
with feeling of dread and shame
that he had already made her po-
sition more dimcult
But no, perhaps he hadn't.
Surely Eric would not believe any
story Helen's greedy mind could
conceive. Eric loved her, had chosen
to forsake a life of ease and luxury
just to make her his wife; surely
. man capable of such sacrifice was
also capable Of understanding, ca
pable Of forgiving her In the same
generous manner she had forgiven
him when he proved himself q
coward.
Decides to BE Silent.
She paced restlessly about the
apartment trying to think what to
do. She knew she should be feel
ing furious with Melvyn, and that
II she wished to avoid a repetition
Of the kiss the most sensible thing
she could do would be to have it
out with Jane that night, to make
1t crystal clear to her that any in
terest she might have in Melvyn
was of a plantonic nature. But
though she was keenly aware of
the right thing to do she was some
what loath to take this action.
In the first place, she could not
truthfully say she was angry with.
him. In . way, she felt sorry for
him-after all, she knew what it
meant to love a person who ap-
parently did not share the same
feeling for you. The fact that
everything was not going to turn
out in just the way she had hoped
1t would could not in any way mini
mize the suffering she had endured,
and the memory of that suffering
made it possible for her to under
stand just how Melvyn felt.
And, in the second place, she
could not tell Jane about the kiss
because creating scene over 1t
would only have the effect Of both
hurting and antagonizing Melvyn's
sister, and unless she was willing
to leave the apartment she could
not run the risk OF that. Yes, the
best thing to do under the circum-
stances was to dismiss all thoughts
Of the kiss from her mind with the
determination TO prevent similar
occurrences.
The little clock on the table
chimed $50 and Elaine suddenly
realized she would be late for her
singing lesson. At first she had
thought to remain at home for the
morning to unpack Eric's things and
to help Melvyn get settled when he
arrived. But since Eric's bags could
be unpacked almost any time and
since Melvyn had made it impos-
sible for her to offer assistance, she
decided the best thing for her to
do would be to leave the house for
q little while.
MonticelM Angry.
It was a full hour before she
presented herself at the studio, how
ever, for the dishes still had to be
washed and the apartment was in
need Of q good cleaning. As she
walked up the stoop to Monticelli's
house she knew that her eccentric
teacher would be furious because
she was late. And when Monti-
cell became furious :!
II should kick you'll" he beloved,
stepping back from the door. How
dare you keep the great Monticelu
waiting? Are you an artistic? No!
Are you even 4 singer? No! I
should throw you out! But won't.
Ha, you do not run away and leave
my studio filled with your crazy
friends!"
Elaine followed him down the
hall, wondering as to the real rea-
son he was 50 furious. Deciding
that it was because OF her crazy"
friends, whoever they were, she dis
missed the subject and launched
into an explanation of her tardi-
ness. But she had spoken only
few words before he silenced her
with an impatient gesture and flung
wide the studio door.
1T Is your duty to arrive on
time!" he ragged, stamping into the
room. He pointed trembling An
ger at Clara and Betty, who sat at
the piano humping out an un-
tuneful version of "Chopsticks." IF
you had arrived on time they would
not be here driving me crazy"
you were crazy before we ever
met you," Betty Jordan declared
frankly, glancing up from the piano,