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The Wingham Advance Times, 1934-12-20, Page 6IU` RAGE SIX "i,ITT( ar c a : 74, By Sarah Addington Pr ve-*4 scG� • qU (1IAMM1A A C.1{-Tfi\-Ij S 41. Thurscjay, Dec. 29th, 1934 vt0;„,''5•-,1°,'r'kK�+���'b''+Gy"y�r wx .rr, xw.UCw 5r�vam u . 341:v�3.V. ;;C 010 t ' JOY' 7t. he: .StQry. of a...Chnstmas 'Been Diffeient ' th6 for Jey •. "But what do you do on Christmas after you've lost your child?" Sue `asked herself blankly. Her mother's Y telegram had brought her to face the problem squarely at last: "Think yttu had ,betterchange your mind darling and come to Kansas City after all. We all long for both of you," "Of course," Sue thought now, "we've got to do something." Thin was Thursday. Christmaswas three days' off. .They hadn't talked much about Christmas, site and Duncan Duncan shrank so from touching their grief with words, When her mother's first letter of invitation came, Duncan had merely said, "No, I think nut, Sue,. n r S s e' n n ctnd, the subject had not 'been'`.me tioned again; She had been wonde ing for weeks about Duncan, He ha not yet set his face forward `as sh had been able to do. She,' Sue, ha 'brought herself finally to make Kay's death a -new (though how cliff icult and weary) starting point. Bu Duncan was still stopped in hi tracks. He had his work and he wen' to it every day, but his work did no help much, Sue knew. It was not that he had loved hi child more than she did,' or that h was less courageous -indeed his .self control amazed her constantly, Bu Ray had been—Sue had always recog nized this -in a very special sense Duncan's own creature. He and hi daughter understood each' other fron. the rnomenf Kay- was born. - Dunca had lost himself in losing Kay. Some- times Sue thought she had lost them both, too., But they must settle something about Christmas. The day had to be lived through. The job was hers, to see that Christmas was somehow peade bearable to two ;persons for 1?t last year Kay had matte Christ - 1114§ j yous. the did her marketing, trying to think. She bought beefsteak because Duncan thought it the only fit food ''fits 'tall and spinach because It was good for them and avocados because she never had got over thinking that avocados were exotic even when only twenty-five cents apiece. She bought holly, massy armloads of it. "We'll look like Christmas, any- way." ny- way , She carried her holly home and decked the rooms and made for Dun- can deep, richapple tarts. But what about Christmas? What abort it? She could not find the answer. Because Christmas was the children's festival and here there were no chidlren. When Duncan came home, . the gray -faced, lined, weary -looking Dun- can, who made no murmur of his grief, the house was cheery with red berries and green branches, their table was set in front of the fire and candle -lighted. Duncan's face smooth- ed. "Nice," .he said. She waited on him busily, lovingly, Duncan rewarded her: he ate tonight as if the food were food and, not saw- dust. Her heart beganto flare with trope. If she could just help Duncan to get around the corner. If she could teach him that sorrow wasn't desola- tion, that it could be lived with and assimilated and made a part of growth. Duncan leaned back, full of apple tart. He lighted his pipe and, pulled at it lazily. All the terrible, deep slashes in his face were eased; his eyes were quiet on the fire. "1 wonder who thought up homes," he said. "Smart guy." She didn't dare mention Christmas now. Duncan had found a little in- terlude of peace. It was only a mood of food. and fire and holly, but for Sue it was enough, for the moment, { "I'll settle 'this Christmas business ! somehow," she tlNought. Tt came time for bed. They went into the hall past Kay's door stand- ing open. At first, their feet had al- most betrayed them at this last hour of the day. Now they went straight by, Duncan with his gaze ahead, Sue always letting her eyes rest for a mo- ment on the dim, familiar outlines of Kay's earthly little world, her white crib, her bureau, her tiny rocking chair. There was no small girl now to extricate from her wild rtunple of blankets, to kiss gently on her cool little forehead, to look at lingeringly before they both tiptoed out smiling . c free of Jane .Hiainpin•eys at the Char- ity Bureau. "My dear," said Jane in.her deep fresh voice,. "Sit down." ;She was a large, plain woman with outdoor col- or and shrewd eyes, She had been. at her:job in the Children's Depart- ment at the Bureau for twenty years: She nodded now approvingly, "Von are looking all right. 'Tin going to be all right, Jane. Give pie time. Jane, you can d ;Some- thing for me'" w% igh JH[ave Illustrated by Janes R Hammon CHM "iaP"-V4fi st i r �±„�.��s w�+,� .may . wk" s ��a ' "" g ^. r✓t sm �c,. , , apo r '` �i •�f�'`+d'Y•""• M ,it3 .' ' f'o• " :WPPr'i ,: 5':� ..•" !..r a i �:�"'" ". `�+ -Mkt :z kW` `°"�y'}' v~;pi .+.r.�• __ , •.r �y+�'"+i.,:c. at•.:�i",,T:,e"�'.'�..F'.fit+�'G�"��`•��e:";F'�i�s��':���s�/ ue ,akl ,, Small, e him up Duncan whirled knobs Joey, -- ����� and dials wild - "Maybe aybse there'll be carols, saki Joey, looked patiently at Sue. I ' „ Duncan. "Shall I turn on the radio?" "Do' You knowwhatY „ Mike "Let's s e if we can get China," y yOn"rC ,�ptnl, l said excitedly. "No, I guess not -..please," ' to do tonight?" asked Sue. y D dd He' � rose and began wandering- 6 Tongues unwound, eyes livened bRosa and Mike shook their heads. around the room. Sue sat there, frig- �, "You're coins to hang t faces ened sinided. They were indeed loss` h 6 up your I 1 g � hung up. Even Joey, his. •r• idea this stockings, all of yrnu!J Y; gray eyes.' Sue Went back to the apartment, excited, stirred,' plc iced, panicky, ,Slie began to lay in food. 'She made s S rue 11,t. and more lists of things to be bought toys, clothing — for the :Medici,: ' and Joey. She cooked' Duncan's: din - nee ner in red-clteekecl flurry. Above all, jlie wondered what Duncan would: say, What Duncan said w•a: crib and Duncan' cove red is allright to have hint in 'Kay's cru h, she said to Duncan. uncap nodded, "Poor little. be Y - gar, . In an tour four stockings ht ❑ from the mantel and it was tune for the Medicis to go' to bed. "You want .I should sleep in with id and bleak. What 'a madi "' 1 =' n ", had been: Four hyenas Gamin to c ?" intent on a fine tower he was making,. gWhat f of , said Mike. breathe r g9 vhooli .and scream and shoat and "For SantyClaus. So he d ha cl and hopped about on can fill his hands, and knees, raise the roof when what she wanted then; ?' e s, scooping tip new him?", host jerked her: head toward blocks. ryas a on Mike took a big sniffle and consid- the nursery, After supper :and ered this matter. Rosa and Bella "Well I had thought—dotoo c the lighted tree,• y, painfully .• n you want Joey was ' ;sleepy to hang up his. too liirleotitsl grinning suddenly; like little to, Rosa? stockings, so,Duncan bore him to titre nursery. Sue took off the small shoes. 'sake!" l pillow and her own teats I]ut Ihuican, thinkofthem! Tho.e for 'comfort. For it .had been too three in a tenement alone. And Joey! hard hard, Were At breakfast, Ditiieaii sat cl uneasily, "Weil,' 14e looked jOey, cerise entiously spooning up cereal. "lie ought to be fed up, he growled. "What?" "I want to borrow some of your children for Christmas," "My dear, you're an answer to a i prayer! I have fifty unprovided for, 'Want the whole lot?" iySue Laughed. "Four's m limit. g Two can -sleep, in Kay's room, ttivo on cots here and there, I want them to Come Christmas Eve and stay throguh until rChristmas night. I want them to hang up their stockings —I want to go through the whole 'show. I want them to be little rag- tag kids that wouldn't otherwise have Jany Christmas. I want them to know i what a home is, at least for twenty- four hours, and what Christmas is," g ! Jane was going through a card cat- alog. +She pulled out a card. 1 "Here is a family. Name of Medici, if you please. Terribly down and out, 'Father killed last summer,_ mother in hospital, three children. How do they sound?" "All right,, How old are they?" "Rosa is ten. Mike eight and Bella six. They live in a tenement and Rosa keeps house They have a wretched aunt next door, our social worker looks in on them every day, we buy their food for them." "I'll take them. Now one more;" "T want you to have Joey Brown," said Jane. "He's going to be for adoption but we've got him at a baby farm being fed up. Nobody's look at him now, He never had a square meal in his life till we got him; he's never known a moment's health or happiness. He isn't thriving very well at the farm. Want him?" "`Yes!" Sue's eyes stared. "Jattie, how do you stand it? How do yoti stand seeing all these children starv- ing and sick and kicked around? Children! It seems so awful." "It is awful, and I don't always Stand it. Joey haunts me in niy dreams. But that's why the work is so nourishing to the soul . . I'll have the children delivered to you Christmas Eve, then. What time? About five?" "Yes, fine," "And Duncan can take thein back •,-oh, could you keep Joey until Mon - lay? It's a longish trip up to the Tutt to suet there was heart's ease in re -living these scenes. To Duncan there was merely anguish. arm. He oughtn't to make it at night:' "I'd love to." "All right, I'I1 have somebody col. In the middle of the night, Sue had lett him Monday morning; The Me. sudden, flashing inspiration, At ten dicis'you can take back, Bless you, e next'rnornieg site was in the of -day dear. You're a grand girl." J. I . Don't you want to, really? I can can- cel the whole. thing. Jane would un - Iderstand. If you really don't want to." "My name's Wickley, not Scrooge. But suffering cats, fdtir kids in an apartsnent!" "I know." she giggled shakily. "Well," said Duncan, "this is Fri- day. Tomorrow's the day.' Where do we begin?" "Buy buying a Christmas tree. Conte on." Sixth Avenue was choked with Christmas trees leaning against build- ings, lying on the sidewalks. Duncan -who considered himself a connois- seur of Christmas trees—inspected thein harshly and made a final choice. It was a big Christmas tree, Kay's had been so tiny so as not to over- whelm her. They took it home on a. taxi and setit up in the dining room. Sue re- solutely- went to the closet where the ornaments were kept in their box Her hands trembled as she brought it out. Duncan's jaw went hard for a moment. Then he opened the box "Here, you hand 'em to me, anti I'll put 'em on," Duncan consideree himself pretty good at artistic effects too. "We'll have to get more lights tomorrow," he growled, "These fey won't make a' dent on this big baby." She handed him the golden balls the silver tinsel, the painted tin bat. bles, He hung and draped and fast, ened with busy care, Then she picked up a tiny red cotton Santa Claus iron the bottom of the box,' Kay .liar' screamed with delight over that hush ble little doll, had pickedit off th, tree and hugged it to. her fat stom- ach, laughing. "Clausie," said Sue briefly. The' had. been Kay's name for him. Duncan took it, held it motionless= a moment, Then suddenly he laid i against his •cheek. "Kay, IKay," he muttered chokingly. She turned away and bore the box out of the room, When she returned Duncan was 'cocking a criticaleye at the tree. "Looks ` all right, I guess." "It looks fine, It's midnight, Dune —Let's tarn in." The tree was ready behind closed doors, packages were heaped in a closet, stockings laid out, beds ready, an "imported colored girl was busy with Christmas Eve supper in the kit-, diet they had made up Kay's bed and her nurse -maid's cot ,they had handled !her small chair, her little clothes - 'hangers, Sut was exhausted now and chill, caught again in the sharp tal- ons of torment. "You're tired, Sue." "Terribly. This was "record -time stuff." She smiled up at hint waver- inly. "I'm sorry, Duncan. •It's nutty, the whole thing," "It may not be so nutty." "Yes, i't will be. Because I don't want then'. And neither do you." "Well, we ought to want them. If we have any Christmas spirit in us at all." She thought: "Duncan's more old- fashioned than I am. He really .be- lieves in thee Christmas spirit. I don't. Because_ I haven't got it my- self. How colud .I,, after losing my baby?" The bell rang. She jumped at the'. sound. Duncan rushed to the door. It was Jane herself and her four charges. "No," said Jane. "I'm off. Have a good time ,all of you. .Goodbye." The four came silently into the liv- ing room. Three pairs of brown eyes and one pair of gray eyes stared sol- emnly. "Well," said Duncan heartily, "here you are. Let's take off coats, shall we?„ "I'll help Joey," said Sue. The gray eyes looked up at her submissively. "Here we are. Hat first!" She re- moved his little round knitted cap. "Now the coat!" She tugged at the sleeves. Obediently he pulled his arms out. His mitten got caught.. He worked away manfully. "Oh!" she laughed. "What a stubborn mitten," and put her hand up his sleeve. Wh a narrow, scraggy arm. But it w a childish arm and the touch . thri ed. her. Joey still said nothing nor chan ed expression. The Medicis over wi Duncan were equally noncommittal "They're shy,thought Sue. "Goo ness, we must do something about it She bustled around, chattersng. brightly. 'Duncan too, was all car ial hospitality. The four sidled tog ther and stood wordless, "Let's sit by the fire," suggeste Sue. The four sat as told, stiffly. Mik aC as 11- g- th d- d- e - d e, who needed a handkerchief ,sniffle loudly. Rosa's brilliant eyes looke secretly around the room. Bella hun monkeys.' "Joey, too," said .Duncan: "He going to hang up his stocking," Joey, turned inquiringly towar Duncan, It Duncan smiled at int helpfully. "Would that, like Jgeya„ "Yes," whispered Joey': A faint 'de eyes. played in his "You know about Santa :Clan went you, Joey?" i t on Duncan. Joey hesitated. "Maybe he doesn't," said Sue, "I do!" screamed, I3ella. "1 knot about him! He comes down th chimley—» "Then you telt Joey. Now you al tsten while .Bella tell Joe l' S n h D a W r e tt it it y. about "Well, look—" Bella turned to Joey Ha's an old man with whiskers an e comes down the chimley-" Sue and Duncan left the room soft y. In their bedroom she fell into unoan's arms. "Oh, goodness!" "Yes, the poor little tykes. They re scared: stiff." "Dune., we must handle them right e must make them happy and mer - y, How can we? They're so 111 at asci' "We'll keep trying. They'll loosen p, After all, they're kids, aren't ley?" . At that moment Mike came rush- ig "Look, is that a radio out there?" "Yes," said Duncan. "Want to turn on?" Sure!" Mike bolted, and crashing. sound and 'fury filled the apartment, Sue produced blocks, and Bella and 2nnsa got down on the floor with Joey to show hitn how to ,build. Mike and Also the little new sailor suit that -the B Charity Bureau. had bought him,. and - slipped hint into his charity sleeping suit. She held him in her arms a mo- ment. Then she laid him in Kay's "I could kinda look out for 'ani" "That'll be fine," The Medicis began to explore their valise under' Rosa's shrill command. "You, Mike, here's your comb." One comb was all that Mike bad brought. He slept in his underwear, it was ex- plained, and lie had, lost the tooth- brush the "settlement lady" had giv- en hila: Rosa and Bella were more fully provided for. They had two flannel nightgowns. Undressed, the .Medicis were not very fragrant, but when baths were suggested, nobody was tempted."We wash in the mornings"' said Rosa,with dignity. They saw Rosa into bed, opened the window and turned out the light. "Good. night!" Sue called out , peer - fully: Mike and Bella were .in two cots at the, far end of the living room. "You two all right?" Sue asked. Sure!" said Mike.' "Missus."' `It was Bella speaking - timidly. ' "Yes?" Sue went over to her. "1 wisht my mother was here." "Off course you do." "She's sick."," "I know she is. Bur 'she'll be well'soon and then she'll come home.' again." "Yes." Bell looked comforted, "Now, go to sleep, so Santy can. come" Bella smiled shyly. "I'm glad I'm here, Missus." Sue bentdown and kissed her. "I'm glad you're here too, Bella." Sue went to her room and sankdown on the bed. "It's Christmas Eve and I'm dead and 1 can sleep. Isn't that wonderful?" "You're wonderful," said Duncan. tcan: He pulled off a shoe. The living room looked like Pom- peii just after the eruption. Paper - was everywhere, dolts,: books, boxes, ribbon, . games, balls, more: boxes.. more paper, more ribbon. Three childrenrraged around the room. One. of them (Mike) steered a wild and giddy course in a red painted wag- on. Another (Bella) stood and shrill- ed hril - ed away at a mouth -organ. The third' (Rosa) held aloft a monkey -on -a - stick. The fourth child, a small pale lad, squatted on a stool and giggled help lessly.' First he giggled at the pion - key, then at Mike, then at Bella whose cheeks were red and blown out - and whose music was insane and co-. mic. He had been giggling since ear- ly morning,. Twice he had giggled. himself off his stool. Duncan and Sue, haggard and drawn, stood watching, "Wouldn't you think they'd wear - down just a tittle?" asked Duncan, "Yes. But they're making up for all the other Christmases." - "Gosh, I'm tired. Every bone. aches," She smiled absently. Her eyes' were o.n Joey, He caught hergaze, looked happily at her, and gig- gled again. "I hope it doesn't' kill him," she said. They had suggested naps but the 'ilea tnet with howls and jeers. At five o'clock the storm had spent, itself, The Medicis,dropping in their tracks, tools to books and dolls. Joey tame over and l'ean'ed` against Sue. "Want to sit in my lap?"' He climbed up promptly. "Are you having a good' time, Joey? "Yes," he said softly: He laid his head' comfortably against her, ineffable cotitentt on his small, fine face. "Such a nice little boy,"' said Sue: She had wondered all day how She could feel so strongly. about Joey with Kay just gone, But she had begun to feel very strongly about him. Ev-. erything about him appealedto her, his small, poor body, his gentle. ways,; (Continued on page seven)