The Wilmington morning star., 1947-10-10

She saw Sam come and take
his place before the altar. . .
"There is only one Sam" her
mother had said.
She scarcely saw Edna Cas-
tine, the matron of honor. For
Teresa coming down the aisle
absorbed her whole mind. . .
Teresa wearing electric blue. . .
But was not Teresa flame and
electricity and a high wind
blowing? Teresa with a look of
determination. . D ermina-
ton? Not ecstasy? Yet the col
or of her would dye all of a
mans days and all Of his nights.
"Whom God hath joined to-
gether. . >"
Sam kissed his wife tenderly.
Alison held her breath.
Then the chauffeur who had
brought her mother and her to
the church was driving them
through this windy October
night to Edna and Philips house
in Virginia.
Kitty said in a tired voice, II
wish we were going home"
Alison opened her gray eyes
wide. Don't you want to 60 to
the party?"
Kitty laughed. but there were
sad little cracks in her laugh
ter. "Of course l do. Why should
I say a thing like that? It'll be
fun. Champagne and dancing
like old times to me. You've
never been to a party like this.
Good for you to see how things
are done when they're done
right" Her eyes narrowed
thoughtfully. "But I keep think
ing what Teresa said when she
came up to see us last summer.
She said, 4 am never going to
marry anybody
"She changed her mind when
she met Sam"
Didn't she though? I guess
he's the kind of a boy to change
a girls mind"
HE isn't a boy"
Kitty tilted her too-yeuow
head and laughed again. "He's
"a. Eight years older than you,
my sweet. But when you're 20
Sam will be %. The day will
come, you see, when you'll be
contemporaries"
The great brick colonial house
sat proudly upon a hill. Bril-
liantly lighted tonight, it could
be seen for miles around. As
the large black car assembled
with ease, the headlights gave
Alison brief glimpses of forma
gardens and the dark green OF
old lockwood. Like long waving
arms the tall trees bent in the
wind over the roof of the house.
Inside the house was so large
it seemed to dissolve her will,
so that for the next few hours
she was like a puppet on a
string-eXcept that she had eyes
that could see and a mind that
would remember.
The receiving line.
Teresa's lips were as cool as
her eyes. The look of determina-
ton was gone. If she had not
still been sunburned, Alison
thought, she would have looked
pale with relief.
Glow pretty look tonight,
darling" was what she said. 1t
was all that she said.
Didn't she notice, Alison
thought, that she was not wear
ing the aqua dress?
Sam leaned toward Alison and
touched her cheek with his lips.
1t was like rockets bursting in
the air. And Sam was look
ing at her with an expression
that would haunt her from this
moment on-as if he were try
ing to convince himself of some
thing he could not believe. . .
And then she was moving along
the line.
Then faces floated up as faces
in a dream and voices spoke in
her ear. "And who are you, my
dear?" 'I'm Teresa's sister,"
"Really? 1 didn't know Teresa
had a sister" She saw her
mother with a glass of cham
payne in her hand and she was
flirting a little with a small,
dark. foreign-looking man. Kit
tvs plump hands were so nerv-
Gus the champagne was spilling
slightly on the most conserva-
tive frock she had ever owned.
Perhaps she was afraid that If
the little man left her she would
be alone and no one else would
talk to her. And there was food,
beautiful food. heaps of it, and
dresses that rustled as they
passed and soft music and sure
ly a thousand candles burning
from silver candelabra.
A young woman with smooth
dark hair and a gay, wise,
worldly face stopped before her.
She wore a blouse that glittered,
She and Teresa we're the only
ones who were sunburned.
"You must be Teresa's sis
ter" she said. Her eyes were
dark and merry. They were also
eyes full of secrets. "And yor
must be suffering through this
as 1 am, though for different
reasons. You don't know who
am. do your"
"No."
"I'm Nicola, Edna and Phil
ip's sister. the n they dom
talk about if they can help it
I would come home for a Wis
it and run into something like
this"