Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1946-08-09

words-had become ,rrevoc,h,.
great weight seemed to uft !,
qCei coniem;men,. warm,nn -.
.''N.hS. Stepping ali through
II an oiG-tasEioned word" no
! sounI himself saying 1t doesn't
! belong III our world
| II | prove that II does?"
| tie waited again before he so,,
slowly: IN believe you. my dar.
!inS." lie pickec up ncr nnnd
has Ups ~ ~
lie heard ncr say. sottIy: "Don
th"i WAS what you wanted. WASN'T
1t. Don? Not with pity. Win
love"
Her nnscr,ips SLID away from
ms mouth. down the groove in his
Chrrk. gently. as II she hoped TO
Sihooth Tie crease out, and then
more urmly. more purposcly. ms
though that VAS what she mad
I meant 10 10 all the time.
The taxi turreo INTO a side
street The driver cooked nis
HEAD, asked: Which number,
| ma am ,"
ON: She seemed slightly star
lied. as II that simple question
HAD moved her from one world tn
another. She pcered through the
window. The house on the cor
her. The on with the canopy."
Nh!!e lie PAID the tare, q door
man, siN-toot OF Ireland. dressed
up like an admiral. rushed out TO
Tile curb. Miss Gilrlorcm Thank
heaven! SwItChboarGs been cr,zy
Everybody calling about YOU" Tho
doornan gave Corbctt a critical
stare. ana touched Nlna's elbow
held the umbrella over her head.
Here. you run night i'll I'll bring
up your bags
Corbcit followed her through a
lobby OF thick piled Turkish RUGS
lnldid SiIt-swabbcd tables. high
backed rcG-cushioncd chairs. The
elevator man wrung her hand
Gees. I'm glad 10 see YOU" When
the car stopped. the white door of
an apartment swung open and n
wIde-hosomec Ncgrcss in wine
coiored pophn tung her arms
around Nina. Honey chile. 1 was
almost skecrcd waitc. You fcclin'
good? You amt nurt?"
He tc!t envys pang. Old home
week Tor Miss Gilmore. He shifted
his mud-cakcd. scufcd shoes awk-
wardly on the rug OF the FOYER.
she called: Come IN. Don. Come
III. dear. We're home"
He went into ncr living room
IL wasn't nome. not any kind of q
nome lie mad ever Known 1t was
something out of one of her maya
zines: sleek ana Gash:rs. original.
costly; turquoise blue walls, thick.
roUSh-teNtured oyster white rug.
chairs cInnabar red. He sand:
Hey! How'd We get here? Two
dirty tramps"
She pulled of her nat and fur
jacket, lung them down en- q
chair. Make yourself comfortable.
Don. Take OFT your coat. Throw
1t Gown any place Now the
hrSt thing well do is have q few
good stun drinks. Forget all the
terrible things"
lie stared at ncr and he
laughed. Why. 1t happened to
everyone. Fear. shock or strain
81: The same things TO each sem
sItive person It caught Made them
wan; TO run. hide. escape. The
ZZle was clear. ner swift
changes oi mood. ner rasped
ecSes. She mad repeated his pat
tern precisely. The Sunday Don
CCTUctL
The maid brought in n tray. 1t
haG Scotch, small bottles OF soda.
al lCc-paIl. q UiS bowl OF crackers.
Nina started To pour. The tele-
phone rang. She said: Darn,
TEND bar. Don." went to the hall
and picked up the receiver.
Hello" he heard ner say. Yes.
it's Nina. In person. What? ?" Her
voice rose. YOU mad a terrible
time! YOu were upset" She
snortcd INTO the phone. My pet
what did YOU feel? What did
YOU see? Your secondhand suf-
fcrlnSs! You make me sick. YOU
had terrible tlme!" She banged
the phone into Its cradle, strobe
back 10 the living room. Her eyes
flashed. Imagine that! My best
friend. My very best friend. Call
ing me up to let me Know what
terrible time she's mad worrying
about me. Got a headache. Her
stomach upset Because she .;new
I'd be on the Palm Queen Please
be sorry tor her. Poor larling,
she suffered. Why. 1. she'd nave
had TO SO through just one half"
She stopped because Don was
laughing. Laughing with head
thrown back. from deep down. I'M
til tears jumped from his eyes ald
strcamcd down the grooves !. his
cheeks. ....-..-.--
TIE end.