Page:Bad Girl (1929).pdf/184

 "Oh, Edna, I couldn't."

But in the end Dot took five of them—not six, because of the one Edna had given her for Christmas.

So her bag stood ready with all the beautiful nighties within. A manicuring set, a bottle of Ed Pinaud's Lilac, and a box of Three Flowers face powder were added to the list of necessities. Irrelevant is mention of the fact that the lilac spilled in the bag, and Dot, who had looked forward to enjoying its cool fragrance through long, hot days in the sanitarium, was unable to replace it. She cried a little over the tragic end of the lilac. It was so easy to cry nowadays. Everything made her feel like crying. It would have been nice to have toilet water. Probably everybody else would have it. But the first bottle had been an extravagance; so the second was an impossibility.

The days grew hotter. Dr. Stewart came on the last call he would pay her before his trip. Dot felt that it was the last visit he would ever pay her. Surely it would be the unknown Dr. Simons who would share that strange, burning session of pain with her. She almost wept as she said good-by to Dr. Stewart. He had been so kind, so understanding.

The last diaper was hemmed, the last bellyband stitched, the last tiny dress edged with delicate lace. Sue Macy had presented Dot with a white wicker wardrobe that had four layers upon which to lay the baby's clothes. On top there had been a large satin bow of pink ribbon. Dot had ripped it off with a hot anger that was all out of proportion to the affront. Didn't Sue know that Dot's child was going to be a boy? Tenderly Dot replaced the offensive pink bow with the blue ribbon that had been on the sacque which Eddie had brought. A bow under the child's chin would annoy him anyhow, and it looked pretty on the basket.

So all the baby's clothes reposed whitely in their proper