Page:Angna Enters - Among the Daughters.djvu/303

 Crofter Hotel in Denver—because they have given up their careers for those society boys. Be at the beck and call of someone like Horta Cornwallis. That woman with her invitations to cocktails on Athenée stationery scared her. It was lucky to have found Ranna, who was probably just what she had been wanting all along without knowing it. A lover-friend who was teaching her how to be an artist like Simone. But she couldn't tell Mother about Ranna. Not yet anyway.

"I'm having the best time working. I feel I'm not wasting my time. If you want to be a star you have to keep at it," she instructed Mother.

"My goodness, you can't work all the time. You'll be old before your time."

"Well, it's like this. If I go out after the show I'm all in the next day even if I don't drink much. You have to drink some or the men get sore. Anyway I don't feel like it. I'll bring Vida back from Ilona's for supper. Clem and Semy asked if they could come and I said all right, but not that Herold—so maybe Semy won't come. You phone Reuben's for sandwiches, those big specials."

"That'll be nice. Clem's such a nice man. Don't forget to drink a glass of milk before you go—you've got to make up those three pounds."

"You're jealous because you had to let out your clothes in Congress. I'll bet you and Aunt Mabel had coffee and fresh cake every afternoon."

"We did. And then of course for supper we had com every night when it was ripe. You know how I love com on the cob. Vida's mother came over for coffee too in the afternoon, but I don't think anything could put weight on Alma Bertrand because she never seems to enjoy anything, and then he drinks so. But Alma and I became better friends."

"Well, don't you lose an ounce. It's very becoming. You look like my kid sister. Like an ad for Pond's cream. Congress certainly agreed with you."

"I hate to think how you neglected yourself while I was away."

"Vida and I had a high old time. We'd talk all night and at two or three in the morning we had Reuben's send us the special."

"I'm glad to hear you ate something. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I first saw what a good-looking girl Vida is now." Rh