“Oh, how-do, Gary! I was just wondering if you had changed your apartments or something,” called the girl whom he hoped some day to marry. “Did you just get in?”
“No-o—certainly not! I’ve been having a fit on the floor! Say, I heard you ringing the ’phone a block away. Every tenant9 in the joint10 is lined up on the sidewalk, watching for the Black Maria or the ambulance; they don’t know which. But I recognized your ring. What’s on your mind, Girlie?”
“Not a thing in the world but a new shell comb. If I’d known you were so terrifically cross this evening, I wouldn’t have a lovely dinner all waiting and a great big surprise for you afterwards. Now I won’t tell you what it is. And, furthermore, I shall not give you even a hint of what you’re going to eat when you get here. But I should think a man who could recognize a certain telephone ring a block away might smell fried chicken and strawberry shortcake clear across the city—with oodles of butter under the strawberries, and double cream——”
“Oh-h, boy!” Gary brightened and smacked11 his lips into the mouthpiece, just as any normal young man would do. Then, recalling his physical discomfort12, he hedged a little.
“Will it keep? I’m in a starving condition as usual—but listen, Pat; I’m a savage13 under my shirt. Just got in from location away up in Topanga Cañon, and I never stopped to get off anything but the rainbow on my cheeks and my feathered war bonnet14. Had a heck of a day—I’ll tell the world! You know, honey; painted warriors15 hurtling down the cliff shooting poisoned arrows at the hapless emigrants—that kind of hokum. Big Chief Eagle Eye has been hurtling and whooping16 war whoops17 since ten o’clock this morning. Dinner’ll have to wait while I take a bath and clean up a little. I look like a bum18 and that’s a fact. Say, listen, honey——”
“Aw, take that mush off the line. Ha-ang up!” Some impatient neighboring tenant with a bad temper was evidently cutting in.
“Aw, go lead yourself out by the ear!” Gary retorted sharply. “Say, Pat!” His voice softened19 to the wooing note of the young male human. “Best I can do, honey, it’ll be forty minutes. That’s giving me ten minutes to look like a white man again. You know it’ll take me thirty minutes to ride out there——”
“You could walk, you bum, whilst you’re tellin’ her about it. Get off the line! There ought to be a law against billy-cooin’ over the ’phone——”
“Seddown! You’re rockin’ the boat!” Gary flung back spiritedly. “Better make it forty-five, Girlie. It may take me five minutes to lick this cheap heavy on the third floor that’s tryin’ to put on a comedy act.”
“Say, one more crack like that an’ I’ll be down to your place an’ save yuh some valuable time. It’ll take me about two seconds to knock yuh cold!” The harsh male voice interrupted eagerly.
“Are you there, Pat?”
“Right here, Gary. How did that get into a respectable house, dear? You ought to call the janitor20.” The girl he hoped to marry had spirit and could assuredly hold her own in a wicked city. “Take your time, Gary boy. But remember, I’ve the biggest surprise in your life waiting for you out here. Something wonderful!”
It is astonishing how a woman can pronounce a few simple words so that they sound like a hallelujah chorus of angels. Gary thrilled to her voice, in spite of an intensely practical nature. Patricia went on, after an impressive pause.
“Never mind that noise in the ’phone, Gary. It’s just some mechanical deficiency caused by using cheap material. Never mind the grease paint, either. You—you won’t always have to smear21 around in it—partner!”
While he hurried to make himself presentable, Gary’s thoughts dwelt upon that word “partner” and the lingering sweetness of Patricia’s tone. Patricia Connolly was not a feather-brained creature who would repeat parrotlike whatever phrase she happened to have heard and fancied. She did not run to second-hand22 superlatives. When she told Gary that she had a wonderful surprise for him, she would not, for instance, mean that she had done her hair in a new fashion or had bought a new record for the phonograph. And she had never before called him partner in any tone whatever. Gary would have remembered it if she had.
“What the heck is she going to spring on me now?” he kept wondering during the hour that intervened between the ’phone call and his entrance into the scrap23 of bungalow24 in a bepalmed court where Patricia had her milk and her mail delivered to the tiny front porch.
The extra fifteen minutes had not been spent in whipping the harsh-voiced tenant on the third floor; indeed, Gary had forgotten all about him the moment he hung up the receiver. One simply cannot annihilate25 all the men one abuses in the course of a day’s strained living in Los Angeles or any other over-full city. Gary had been delayed first by the tenacity26 of the grease paint on his person, and after that by the heavy traffic on the street cars. Two cars had gone whanging past him packed solidly with peevish27 human beings and with men and boys clinging to every protuberance on the outside. When the third car stopped to let a clinging passenger drop off—shaking down his cuffs28 and flexing29 his cramped30 fingers—Gary had darted31 in like a hornet, seized toe-hold and finger-hold and hung on.
And so, fifteen minutes late, he arrived at Patricia’s door and was let into Paradise and delectable32 odors and the presence of Patricia, who looked as though Christmas had come unexpectedly and she was waiting until the candles were lighted on the tree so she could present Gary with a million dollars. Her honest sweetness and her adorable little way of mothering Gary—though she was fours years younger—tingled with an air of holding back with difficulty the news of some amazing good fortune.
Patricia shared the bungalow with a trained nurse who was usually absent on a “case”, so that Patricia was practically independent and alone. Most girls of twenty couldn’t have done it and kept their mental balance; but Patricia was herself under any and all conditions, and it did not seem strange for her to be living alone the greater part of the time. Freedom, to her, spelled neither license33 nor loneliness; she lived as though her mother were always in the next room. Patricia felt sometimes that her mother was closer, very close beside her. It made her happier to feel so, but never had it made her feel ashamed.
She had evolved the dinner in this manner: while her boss was keeping her waiting until he had refreshed his memory of a certain special price on alfalfa molasses and oil cakes, etc., etc., in carload and half-carload lots, Patricia had jotted34 down in good shorthand, “chicken, about two pounds with yellow legs and a limber wishbone or nothing doing; cost a dollar, I expect—is Gary worth it? I’ll say he is. God love ums. Strawberries, two boxes—Hood Rivers, if possible—try the City Market. Celery—if there’s any that looks decent; if not, then artichokes or asparagus—Gary likes asparagus best—says he eats artichokes because it’s fun—Dear Sir:—In response to your favor of the 17th inst.,—” and so on.
Some girls would have quoted asparagus in carload lots, transcribing35 from such notes, and would have put alfalfa molasses on the dinner menu; but not Patricia.
On her way home from the office in the dusty, humming barn of a building that housed the grain milling company which supported her in return for faithful service rendered, Patricia shopped at the big City Market where the sales people all had tired eyes and mechanical smiles, and a general air of hopelessly endeavoring to please every one so that no harassed36 marketers would complain to the manager. Patricia made her purchases as painless to the sales girl as possible, knowing too well what that strained smile meant. The great market buzzed like a bee-tree when you strike its trunk with a club.
She bought a manila paper shopping bag, but her packages overflowed37 the bag, so that she carried the two boxes of strawberries in her hand, and worried all the way home for fear the string would break; and held the warm tea biscuits under her arm, protecting them as anxiously as a hen protects her covered chicks. By prodding38 with her elbows and bracing39 her feet against the swaying crush, and giving now and then a haughty40 stare, Patricia achieved the miracle of arriving at Rose Court with her full menu and only one yellow leg of the chicken protruding41 stiffly from its wrappings.
She dumped her armload on the table in the kitchenette and rushed out again to buy flowers from the vendor42 who was chanting his wares43 half a block away. She was tingling44 all over with nerve weariness, yet she could smile brightly at the Greek so that he went on with a little glow of friendliness45 toward the world. At the rose-arched entrance to the Court she tilted46 her wrist, looked at her watch and said, “Good Lord! That late?” and dashed up to her door like a maiden47 pursued.
Yet here she was at seven, in a cool little pansy-tinted voile, dainty and serene48 as any young hostess in Westmoreland Place half a mile away. Even the strawberry stain on her finger tips could easily be mistaken for the new fad49 in manicuring. Can you wonder that Gary forgot every disagreeable thing he ever knew—including frowsy, unhomelike bachelor quarters, crowded street cars, all the petty aches and ills of movie work—when he unfolded his napkin and looked across the table at Patricia?
“Coffee now, or with dessert? Gary, don’t you dare look question marks at me! I can’t have your mind distracted with food while I’m telling you the most wonderful thing in the world. Moreover, this dinner deserves a little appreciation50.” Patricia’s lips trembled, but only because she was tired and excited and happy. Her happiness would have been quite apparent to a blind man.
I do not mean to hint that Patricia deliberately51 fed Gary to repletion52 with the things he liked best, before imparting her won-derful surprise. She had frequently cooked nice little dinners for him when there was nothing surprising to follow. But it is a fact that when she had stacked the dishes neatly53 away for a later washing, and returned the dining table to its ordinary library-table guise54, Gary looked as if nothing on earth could disturb him. Mental, emotional and physical content permeated55 the atmosphere of his immediate8 neighborhood. Patricia sat down and laid her arms upon the table, and studied Gary, biting her lips to hide their quiver.
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1
shrilling
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的现在分词 )； 凄厉 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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nagging
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| adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责 | |
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jingle
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| n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵 | |
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persistency
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| n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数) | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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itching
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| adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 ) | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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smacked
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| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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whooping
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| 发嗬嗬声的，发咳声的 | |
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whoops
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| int.呼喊声 | |
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bum
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| n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨 | |
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19
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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janitor
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| n.看门人，管门人 | |
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smear
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| v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑 | |
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second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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25
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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26
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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28
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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29
flexing
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| n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌 | |
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30
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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31
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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32
delectable
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| adj.使人愉快的；美味的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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34
jotted
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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35
transcribing
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| （用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的现在分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音） | |
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36
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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37
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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38
prodding
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| v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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39
bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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40
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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41
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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42
vendor
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| n.卖主；小贩 | |
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43
wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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44
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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45
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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46
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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47
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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48
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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49
fad
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| n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好 | |
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50
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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51
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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52
repletion
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| n.充满，吃饱 | |
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53
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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54
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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55
permeated
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| 弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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