Page:Frank Owen - Woman Without Love (1949 reprint).djvu/123

 Eighth Street down near Sixth avenue. He looked painfully forlorn as he sat at the counter, dunking his doughnuts and growing more miserable by the minute.

Now she had called at his apartment. If the two tiny rooms could be dignified by such a name.

After she had looked over Doré's pictures in the Inferno and declared they were heavenly, she asked: "Were you surprised to see me today?"

"Yes, I was," he admitted.

"I came down to see if you had gone abroad. I hoped I could arrive in time so that I could go along."

"Oh, I'm still here," he said helplessly.

"Well, why haven't you been bothering with me?" she persisted. "I haven't seen your car littering up the Avenue for days."

"I decided to go out of your life," he said bluntly.

"Melodramatic," she declared. "Quaint, too. Also funny because you decided to step out of my life at the self-same moment that I decided to step into yours."

"I don't feel like laughing," he growled.

"It's true, isn't it?" she said sweetly.

"Maybe."

"Well, what's the matter? Why don't you like me, Jimmy? Don't you think I'm good-looking?"

"You're too damn good-looking," he burst out. "You're swell."

"And do you consider that any reason for throwing me over?"

"My God, I never threw you over!"

"Oh yes you did, but I bounced back. Jimmy, you're the first fish I ever cared for. Some girls feel very sad when they lose a pet gold fish. However, that's nothing compared to the staggering blow of losing a pet Whale. You can't blame me if I fight a little."

Jimmy shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.

"Come on," he suggested, "let's go out and get something to eat. I'm not very flush today and the best I can afford is a fried ham and egg sandwich. If you eat it slow it'll last long.