The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-21


the house, and heaved a sigh of
relief as she pried herself from
behind the wheel.
'I'm either going to have to
diet or stop trying to drive" she
said comfortably as she had said
thousand times before. II
starve myself, drop few
pounds-and then I laugh it back
on again!"
"If you lose so much as an
ounce, I'll-I'll sue you," Cathy
threatened. "You're just exact
ly the way want you darling!'
''Then I'll make an apple pie
for supper, with lots of CHINA
mon and sugar." said Aunt
Maggie cheerfully, and put her
arm about the girl and held her
close. "It's good to have you
home again, chick"
"1t's good to be here, darling
used to dream of the place
and of you" Cathy kissed the
plump cheek and looked about
her. 'But you're terribly
spruced up, darling. Fresh paint
and the pickets all in the place. -
"Well, what did you think /
was going to do with all that
money you sent home-spend it
in riotous living?" demanded
Aunt Maggie. ''I finished paying
for the house, and then I put in
electricity and waterworks a n d
some new furniture, and painted
it-and made a deed out in your
name"
Tears were very close and she
finished tartly, "And now, for
Pete's sake. cut out the .weeps
and come on in. I know you're
worn out"
She unlocked the kitchen door.
Since she made her trips to
and from town, seven miles
away, in the Betsy-Bug, and
since the garage was at the
back of the house. the front door
was rarely used, and seldom
even unlocked. Aunt Maggie led
the way in and Cathy was
properly impressed with the
spick-and-span kitchen with it,
new electric stove and iceb y
and hot-water heater, the shin
ing greenland crcam-c o o rec
linoleum, the perky green per
Gale curtains with their yellow
tulips tumbling gaily over tn
background of green.
Aunt Maggie took her proudly
through the house and Cathy
was deeply touched at the. shin
ing order the freshness and un-
deriable charm Of the little
place
"This is your room, said
Aunt Maggie, and stood back to
look at it. The cream-colored
walls, the ivory woodwork, the
honey-maple furniture, the glaz-
ed chintz draperies with the ruff
fled organdie looped b C k be-
meath them. eff you don't like
it, we'll heave it all out and start
over again"
''Like it? l love it! You're a
darling" said Cathy warmly.
"Phooey!" said Aunt Maggie,
once more her brisk, vigorous
self. "Your clothes are IN t h e
closet-the stuff you left behind.
Maybe you'd like to get out of
that uniform and into something
cooler. There's plenty of water
for hot bath. I can't get used
to the fact that there's always
plenty of water for a hot bath,
with that electric heater in
there. And I'll fix us some sup
per "
They had had supper and the
dishes had been washed and put
away, and Aunt Maggie and
Cathy were on the wide, old
fashioned front porch when a
car came swiftly out from town
and skidded to a stop at the
gate. A man leaped lightly over
the low gate and came running
up the walk.
1t was dusk, but Cathy would
have known him in pitch-black
darkness. even before he spoke.
She sat very still in the gre IN
painted porch glider, dim fig
ure in her pale blue linen frock.
She could not have stood up or
gone to meet I'm if her life had
depended on it Her knees SEEM
ed to turn to rubber, and her
heart was beating so fast that
ner body seemed shaken with IT.
'Csthy!" SAID Bill. His voice
was little more than a choked
whisper, yet to Ca .hy IT was like
a great shout that. made h r
heart turn over. "Cathy-on, my
dearest-is it really you?"
He came to her, stumbling
little, and knelt beside her and
drew her into his arms, holding
her close and hard against him,
Neither OF them knew that at
the first sight of him, Aunt Mag
gle had risen and left the porch.
They had forgotten Aunt Mag
gle; they had forgotten every
body save themselves and each
other. ,|
There was a long, blessed in
terval. It might have been mo-
ments, it might have heen
hours; neither of them knew nor
cared. It was enough that after
long, long months of waiting,
they were. together again. B t
when at last he held her a little
awav from, him and could look