The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-06-17
Chapter 81
Little Miss Fixit

"A DELAIDE was so used to being
4 L the culprit that she didn't real
lie 1t was Brenda who was jam
ming the household machinery
now. Living grew daily more COM
pllcated in the old Burnham house.
1t was never anything really i'm
portant that went wrong; nothing
that interfered with the mems
work or upset their social engage
ments; nothing, in short, that &C
tually justified them in protesting
too strongly or meditating upon
changing their boarding place. It
was simply that all sorts of trifes
robbed their home life of its COM
fort.
Eric loathed onions; and FOR
four straight evenings practically
everything but the dessert was
favored by that vegetable. The
first night he was courteous about
1t, never even mentioning it; the
second he was dignified, and ate
little dinner. The third he con-
trived to call Adelaide's attention
to his untouched plate, and when
she asked him worriedly if he was
III. he said: "Onionsl" in a mar
tyred voice. The fourth night he
excused himself from the table.
took his hat and left the house.
land Adelaide had forgotten both
that he diSliked onions and that
they were actively present in at
least three of the dishes she was
servingD
Mac presented no Achilles heel
where his food was concerned. He
ate practically everything. What
drove him to helpless fury was
having his working tools dis
turbed. Evening after evening he
roamed about the house searching
for his softest pencil, his eraser,
once even for his portable type
writer. Ut was discovered even
tually in the broom closet!)
Mac argued, accused, exacted
promises from both Adelaide and
her handmaiden; and the next
evening he might return to find a
favorite small ruler missing, and
the sheets of copy which had been
neatly stacked on his desk so hope
lessly mixed that Page One was
followed by Page Nine and that by
Page Three.
Observing that an inquiring ex-
preston was beginning to dawn in
ISobePS eyes, Brenda saw to it that
one or two minor cataStrophes
overlook her also: her music was
miSlaid, her best handkerchief dis
appeared from its box on her
bureau, once she was perilously
close to being late while the whole
household searched vainly for her
car keys.
AT the end of eight days of this,
Adelaide became aware that all
was not well with her house
hold. She tapped alphabetically on
Brenda'S door as soon as the three
who were bound cityward had dis
appeared.
81 don't know what's the matter
with me-" she began forlornly. 81
seem to have lost my grip lately.
Everythlng'S going wrong. Eric is
so freeZlngly polite / know either
Grenadine has cooked something
the way he hates it. or she's lost
his best studs. Mac told me this
morning he'd make his own bed
after this. for GTenadine to keep
out of his room until he got his
new layout finished" She put d
limp handkerchief to her eyes. 81
never was what you might call a
terribly good housekeeper, but
even / never used to be as bad as
this. It's as though everything /
touched went wrong"
Without RemorSe
THE graceless child behind the
l. typewriter eyed her specula-
tively-and not a breath of re-
morse blew across her callous
young heart. Adelaide had the
happy faculty of putting I'M
pleasant things behind her with
remarkable celebrity. A month
from now she would have for
gotten this whole week. As for the
men, it would do them good to be
q little uncomfortable; make 'em
appreciate real domestieity when
they encountered it. And If Isobel
achieved her hearts desire, then
Brenda had every intention of
mentioning to her recording angel
that she deserved several figures
placed on the credit side of the
ledger.
She said guilefully: ''You need
q rest, Adelaide, that's what's the
matter. Everyone goes stale on a
sob that she's worked on too long.
Is there any place you could go
for little visit-say a week or ten
days?"
Adelaide frightened as she al
ways did at the prospect of going
somewhere.
81 could go to my cousins in
Springfield" she said. "Lucy's
been after me for years to come
and see her and her new house.
Or ! could go out about eighteen
miles in the country to stay
with q friend of mine that lives
there -"
Springfield" Brenda decided.
"You need to get farther away
than eighteen miles. When can
you start?"