The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1944-02-17
HEREB 7O1A]
Bx JOSEPHINE LAWR ENcE

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spent money, perhaps saved with
difficulty, to make herself attrac-
tive for her husbands return.
They had had one round of
highballs and Either was mani
Testing uneasiness about the din
ner, when the house phone rang.
Someone asked to speak to Mrs.
Wright on the outside phone, Sa-
rah Daffodil said. She had just
locked her door, ready to start
for her dinner engagement, when
the ringing bell had called her
back.
| Andy took Muriel down to the
first floor, waited for her in the
hall. When they returned, the
girls embarrassment was evident.
II don't know what you'll think,
Dace-Hugh isn't coming" She
sounded close to tears. 'These
people he went to see have ask
ed him to stay for dinner and go
to a show. I told him we'd al
ready accepted your invitation
and that we were waiting dinner
for him, but newell, he wants
to go to the show. I don't know
what to say, Dace, there isn't any
thing I can say to excuse him."
But after they were seated,
with the silver at Hugh's place
hastily removed and the colorful
fruit cups before each guest, Mu-
riel made one more attempt. It
was because Hugh was soldier,
she declared, the Army did moth
ing to foster unselfishness in the
man in service. II suppose when
they have to sacrifice so much,
nothing should be asked of them.
. Hugh has forgotten how to be a
husband-he's so used now to
having fuss made over him that
he thinks he can get away with
anything he chooses to do"
The yellow candles burned
steadily, their shining light re-
Elected in Candace's great, soft
eyes. IT think that thousands of
men who see service will find it
hard to settle down to normal,
ordinary living" she agreed.
"Sure." Halsey Kenneth put
down his fork. "You take the
Air Corps. Aviators get a dozen
thrills a day, every flight is a
gorgeous, pulse-racing adven-
. ture. Those fellows won't be
able to settle down to a hum
drum existence, once they're dis
charged. They'll be restless, al
ways wanting to be on the go,
impatient of drudgery, eating
5 their hearts out for the spectacu-
= lar"
What are you trying to do
= scare Dace?" Leila Orion chal-
r lenged belliberently.
: She didn't scare worth a cent,
; Dace smiled as Either brought in
} the turkey. "The secret is to
: marry your man first-ahead of
/ camp, or ahead of war. If he's a
t husband before he's a soldier
: well, I think you both have a
greater chance of being ahappy
when he comes back"
l After dinner, when the living
4 room had been restored to it's
: single function and the brightly
r blazing fire drew the group to
: sit in a semicircle around the
= hearth, Minnie said that her
brother would soon be called for
selective training. cts all right
= to say for a year-call it a years
; training, if it makes you feel any
better. He's lived through a de-
preston and maybe we will live
. through a war;"
l II wonder if ours is the lost
l generation you hear about" Hal
sey Kenneth lighted a cigarette
for her, avoiding her eyes.
5 Muril Wright, her face turned
} from the fire, laughed cynically.
: ''Generations have been lost for
3 the last thirty years, haven't
they? It's an old story"
''No-Minnie's right Andy
= said and for all his calmness he
: managed to gain their attention
t ''We-the ones who got out of
high school between 1880 and
l 1935-have played out of luck
J. That's not a whine, just state
> ment of fact. We tramped our
;. feet off looking for jobs, and
= those we got were poorly paid
= and led nowhere. We couldn't
> marry, because we had to help
r out at home, for no one had much
l work. Between our dependents
= and our small wages Dace and
. had to stay engaged three years
), Nobody's fault-we just didn't
get the raisins when our cake was
= sliced"
To Be Continued