The Little Moment of HappinessKelland, Clarence Budington
General
The Little Moment of Happiness
Kelland, Clarence Budington
Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction
“Then monsieur must apply to the police. All addresses are known to the
police.”
“But I don’t know her name—only Andree.”
“Name of God!... Can such things be? Oh, these Americans! Who has seen
their like? Not know her name, not know her address. It is of an
impossibility!... Does he speak truly, monsieur?” she demanded of Bert,
who nodded in the affirmative.
“_Mon Dieu!... Mon Dieu!..._” she exclaimed, and waddled off to the
kitchen as if she dared no longer trust her body in the presence of such
a madman.
“There,” said Bert, “now you know what a respectable body thinks of you.
Apparently she thinks all Americans are in the habit of cutting up such
capers. Most likely she believes addresses don’t count with us because
we live under trees like savages, and never go back to the same tree
twice....”
“Anybody who doesn’t do things exactly as you yourself do them is a
savage. We think the French are barbarians, the French think we are
barbarians, and the English consider both of us savages.... Come on,
it’s time we were starting.”
When they reached the street Ken began to walk swiftly, as if by
hurrying now he could make the day pass more quickly. At the office he
plunged into his work, taking only the briefest period for lunch. At
five o’clock he was on his way toward the Place St.-Michel to take up
his sentry-go there. Somehow he was confident he would see Andree. What
she did with her days he did not know, but he imagined she went into the
city. Certainly she went somewhere, and to return she must traverse the
square from the Metro station over at the left. He, therefore, took his
station by the rim of the fountain and watched each passer-by. It was
tiresome to watch and wait; the people did not interest him as they had
always interested him before. Quaint couples passed unnoticed; children
stopped to stare at him as he sat on the flat rim of the basin; venders
of Rintintin and Ninette dangled their worsted dolls before him in vain.
Once or twice he thought he saw her coming, and stood up eagerly, only
to sink down again, disappointed.... And then he saw her coming; it was
she unmistakably; there was no mistaking that tam, that flimsy little
dress, that slender figure and her quaint, abstracted walk.
Long before she saw him he was groping for words, searching for the one
thing to say, because he knew that there must be some single thought
that should be put into words.... There must be some eloquent sentence
which would explain all, gain forgiveness for all. But he could not find
it. His French was gone; his English would not take form.
She crossed the square with little steps that seemed almost stiff, her
body very erect, as always, and her eyes seeming to see nothing that
went on about her. He fancied a shade of sadness was added to the
gravity of her face.... She did not see him until he stood before her
and spoke, and it was no eloquent sentence that he uttered, no wonderful
thought that he put into words.
“_Mignonne!..._” he said.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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