United States -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction
They said little on their way to the train. She stood on the rear
platform just before the train pulled out. They had tried frantically to
get a lower berth, but unsuccessfully. "Don't look so tragic about it,"
she laughed. "It's like old times. These last three years have been a
dream--a delusion."
He looked up at her, as she stood there in her blue suit, and white
blouse, and trim blue hat and crisp veil. "Gad, Emma, it's uncanny. I
believe you're right. You look exactly as you did when I first saw you,
when you came in off the road after father died and I had just taken
hold of the business."
For answer she hummed a few plaintive bars. He grinned as he recognized
"Silver Threads Among the Gold." The train moved away, gathered speed.
He followed it. They were not smiling now. She was leaning over the
railing, as though to be as near to him as the fast-moving train would
allow. He was walking swiftly along with the train, as though
hypnotized. Their eyes held. The brave figure in blue on the train
platform. The brave figure in khaki outside. The blue suddenly swam in a
haze before his eyes; the khaki a mist before hers. The crisp little
veil was a limp little rag when finally she went in to search for Upper
Eleven.
The white-coated figure that had passed up and down the aisle unnoticed
and unnoticing as she sat hidden behind the kindly folds of her
newspaper suddenly became a very human being as Emma regained
self-control, decided on dinner as a panacea, and informed the white
coat that she desired Upper Eleven made up early.
The White Coat had said, "Yas'm," and glanced up at her. Whereupon she
had said:
"Why, William!"
And he, "Well, fo' de lan'! 'F 'tain't Mis' McChesney! Well, mah sakes
alive, Mis' McChesney! Ah ain't seen yo' since yo' married. Ah done heah
yo' married yo' boss an' got a swell brownstone house, an' ev'thing
gran'--"
"I've got everything, William, but a lower berth to Chicago. They swore
they couldn't give me anything but an upper."
A speculative look crept into William's rolling eye. Emma recognized it.
Her hand reached toward her bag. Then it stopped. She smiled. "No. No,
William. Time was. But not these days. Four years ago I'd have slipped
you fifty cents right now, and you'd have produced a lower berth from
somewhere. But I'm going to fool you. My boss has gone to war, William,
and so has my son. And I'm going to take that fifty cents and buy thrift
stamps for Miss Emma McChesney, aged three, and Mr. Buddy McChesney,
aged six months. And I'll dispose my old bones in Upper Eleven."
She went in to dinner.
At eight-thirty a soft and deferential voice sounded in her ear.
"Ah got yo' made up, Mis' McChesney."
"But this is my--"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account