The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-05
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR


booth beside Alison he said,
Theresa wouldn't come to a
place like this. Comparisons i. . .
Do you mind?"
:; "But in fairness to her, our
lives have been very different. "
81 grant that. Surely I have
never been less than fair to
her."
"You love her ="
| He folded his arms on tn e
edge of the table. "I'm defeat
ed. Sans beaten me twice. All
during the war l wondered what
would happen when he came
back to see his daughter.
There's a lot of bitterness and
love mixed up in that. I don't
think they themselves can get
it quite Strengthened out. Ap-
parently they haven't got over
each other"
J. She felt annihilated. "You
think Sam loves her?"
j The ash of his cigaret crum-
pied on the red porcelain table.
He didn't see it.
1 81 think he'll marry her
again. Isn't that enough? And
isn't it high time l called the
whole thing off? You're a girl.
j You can't see Teresa as a man
sees her. No one can possess
her because she possesses her
self. That's what makes her
fascinating. Men want to try to
break her down."
"Can Sam?"
He shook his head negative
ly. His voice was unusually in
tense. "Not even Sam. Teresa
has lived without love for more
than three years. She's lived like
a hermit telling herself that her
career and her child were
everything. She's tried to de-
spise men, but she hasn't sue
ceeded. She wants love, needs
it. But a man is only a side
issue to her; flash and it's
gone. 1t would be the same if
she hadn't had a new dress for
more than three years. She
would have to have a new
dress. But after she wears the
new dress few times she
wants to throw it away"
Sam, his vitality, his warmth,
his strength compared with a
new dress
He said, eff Teresa were not
so strongly sexed she could be
a successful career girl and
that would be that!"
She reached for a cigaret and
lighted it before he could assist
her. She had to do something
to keep her hands steady.
"You know all these things
about her, Philip, yet you'd
have married herr"
He nodded. eyes. Yes. Which
makes me into a case of re-
tarded development or some
thing. The perennial adolescent
and his first love. Love is a lit
tie like habit-forming drug. It
isn't easy to break the habit
when it has a firm hold on
you.'' He took off his glasses
and smiled at her YEARLY.
''Would it embarrass you if 1
told you you could assist in the
cure?"
II like you very much, but
"You're an exciting girl.
You're a lot Of the things l
tried to dream into Teresa,
things that simply weren't there
That's so easy to do. We want
our love to be perfect. That's
one of the reasons why we get
hurt because tie person won't,
can't live up to the image of
perfection we've built up in our
minds. It's one of the stages of
love. And the last stage is when
you accept her faults, knowing
you'd rather have her than an
other girl who could better live
up to that image of perfection
That's how it is. I'll tell
you no lies. You're tired and
sleepy. Let's 60 home"
She sat with his arm around
her and her head on his
shoulder all the way home. It
was a good arm and a good
shoulder, she thought half-con-
sciously. You didn't have to
worry about anything. You
didn't have to think if you didn't
want to. All the things you
needed to soothe damaged
spirit Philip could give you. And
he was taking you TO mouse
that was the nearest thing to a
home you had known snce you
Ihad left Vermont. Her room
was waiting and the bed and
in the morning breakfast would
be brough in. There would be
fresh flowers on the tray and
the morning paper. Nothing for
gotten. Maybe love could evolve
from this creased existence .. :.
Sh opened her eyes. It's al
most daybreak, she thought.
And don't believe any OF these
things I'm thinking. I don't want
substitutes for Sam. I want
Sam.
She and Philip walked up the
| broad stairway together.
eff you catch up on your
sleep by tomorrow afternoon,
Alison, will you drive in with
me and have tea with my ven