Page:Angna Enters - Among the Daughters.djvu/67

 Congress is. She never smiles. She laughs or she's serious, one thing or the other. I'm not going to smile any more either, it looks silly, grinning. I'll laugh, or I won't. Imagine, light blue crepe de Chine for an everyday dress. I haven't even got that for a party. Not a single wrinkle or spot. I don't see how she keeps that way. She looks just like an angel.

The image of Lucy as an angel floating about in the sky had one ecclesiastical shadow. The Saturday after their first greeting Vida had asked if she was going to church the next morning.

Lucy looked at her in amazement. "Church! What for?"

Brought up to carry her share of the burden of Methodist sin, Vida quaked an instant for fear of seeing Lucy smote down. It is wonderful, was now her opinion, how brave Lucy is. It must be the enlightening effect of travel.

The first thing I'm going to do is travel, even if it means a fight with Dad. It sounds better to say my dad than my papa. Dad doesn't realize girls are like boys now. He's crazy if he thinks he can keep me locked up all my life. I'd sell my soul if Mama would let me dress as Lucy does … Luce, Luce, wherefore art thou Luce!

A blank interval after this exhaustive soliloquy cleared her mind for a new train of thought. That was the funniest thing how Harry Burden came up and talked to me when I took Lucy to Miller's for a soda. He never said hello to me before. I didn't hear him ask her to go but the next night he called for her in his auto. She hasn't been here two months and she's going out with boys. What do I care? I don't like boys anyway, especially Harry Burden. He thinks he's so smart because he's rich and has an auto.

"Vida—V-i-da!" screamed Mrs. Bertrand from the upstairs bedroom window. "You come right in, it's after ten o'clock."

There is no reason to scream so, I'm on the steps only a few feet away. Ma always screamed as though she thought no one could hear.

Mr. Bertrand thumped the pillow on his side of the bed. "Tell that girl to get in or I'll hide her."

Mrs. Bertrand closed the window against the sensuous night air as she saw Vida rise.

"I'm coming," said Vida sadly. She walked very slowly into the house after a lingering surveyal of the street. Rh