Page:Jay Little - Maybe—Tomorrow.pdf/128

 to make it foam, still careful not to soil the leather seat; then he drank heartily, cupping it between his rough hands so that his face was caught in the foaming pool of brown. Watching him, Gaylord knew what it was he had felt. It was, he realized with a stab of happy recognition, friendship. This realization actually seemed to ease the tension in his mind. At last I've got friends, he thought. Now I've got two and last week I didn't have anyone. How lucky I am to have Bob … and now Glenn … he shook his head to clear it of the happiness of his thoughts, and resolved to thank God tonight for his good fortune.

Rogers turned to him. "Want another?"

"No," he faltered, "unless you do."

"I've had enough … Durn, I've had so much fun I hate to go home!"

Gaylord sat bolt upright. "Let's go for a ride."

"Let's do … I don't have to go home right away. I just love this car … rides so easy …"

As they drove past a large two story colonial mansion, Gaylord said: "Isn't this a beautiful place? I just love it." He looked at it, admiring its huge columns. "I'd just love to get in it and fix it up. It's a mess on the inside. I just can't understand it, especially since the people owning it have money. If it was mine I'd re-do the inside completely. I'd hang new drapes and carpet and have more fun. They do have some lovely antique pieces but they need recovering and a new paint job. They have one little chair that I'm just crazy about. I think it's French. It's so dainty you'd almost be afraid to sit in it. But it needs a new cover … it's all in shreds."

"Who lives there?" Rogers inquired, looking at the house.

"Mr. and Mrs. Steves. He's the president or something of the Second National Bank. Mrs. Steves's father built it."

"When he died he left it to Mrs. Steves. She was an only child and he left her a fortune. He died a long time ago and when they moved in they left everything just like it was. Still has real dark varnished woodwork and the darnedest looking light fixtures."

"Ugly, huh?"

"They sure are. I think they used to be gas and then they had them wired. Lord, I would have taken them all down and gotten some 118