Girl to Come Home To (26 page)

So as soon as he reached home he went to the telephone and called up the Sandersons’.

Rodney came to the phone.

“Hello, Rod! I just wanted to tell you that you left an enemy in the church aisle when you went away, and you better be prepared for almost anything. I think you’re due to meet her shortly, so get in touch with your Guide. I don’t know just what form this will take, but I didn’t want it to get you unawares, and it will be plenty. Get on your armor. And oh, Rod, tell Beryl I’ll be over in about an hour, and if you need any help call me also. See you subsea!”

So Rodney was warned, but not definitely. And certainly Mr. Sanderson was not warned, for it was he who opened the front door for Jessica when she arrived, just as dinner was being put on the table and the family were on the way to the dining room.

Mr. Sanderson bowed courteously and showed the caller into the small reception room nearer to the front door than the living room, where the more intimate guests were always taken. The he stepped to the dining room door and called, “Rodney, here’s a caller for you.” Then under his breath he whispered as Rod went by him, “Got your pen ready? It’s probably an autograph!”

So Rodney came to stand in the doorway and looked into the room.

Jessica had taken pains to sit in the most sheltered corner of the room where she would not be seen, or at least recognized at once by the person entering, and so Rodney came all the way into the room and looked around, and then seeing her he said “Oh!” in a tone that was anything but flattering.

Jessica put away a delicate handkerchief with which she was doing a preliminary plaintive weep, and rising came toward him. “Rodney,” she said softly so that her voice would not reach to the other room—not
yet
—“I have something very important to tell you. Something that when you have heard you will be glad I told you. It is something I felt you ought to know, and for the sake of my old-time fondness for you I have put aside my natural timidity—”

“What?”
said Rodney sharply. “What did you say? Your
natural timidity
? I don’t remember that. But go on. Let’s get it over quick. You are holding up my host’s dinner.”

“That won’t matter when you have heard what I have to say.”

“Go ahead,” said Rodney, flinging up his head impatiently.

“But Rodney, there is something else I want to ask first, for my own sake. I want you to do a personal favor for me.”

“Yes?” said the young officer looking her straight in the eye with a wry grin on his lips. “I thought there would be some catch. Proceed!”

Jessica drew a quivering breath and swept a swift glance of reproach at the young man, but she hurried on, knowing that he was quite capable of terminating this meeting without notice, but she meant to get in her work this time.

“Well, then, Rod, I want my ring back again. I’ve suffered no end of trouble to think I ever gave it up, and I want it back again. Please, Rod. Be good to me. I’m so sorry I ever gave it up. Please give it back!”

“What do you want it for?” asked the young man with almost a sneer on his nice lips, because he didn’t believe anything this girl was saying.

“I want it to remember you by!” she said with almost a sob, and a quiver between every word.

“Yes? Well, I wouldn’t care to be remembered by you, even if I had the ring. And I haven’t got it!”

“You haven’t
got
it? What have you done with it? You haven’t given it to that other girl yet, have you? Oh,
Rod
!” And Jessica’s head drooped, and she bowed her face in her hands. “Oh, Rod! I didn’t think you’d do that!”

“I certainly did not give it to any girl,” said Rodney severely. “I wouldn’t dishonor any other girl by giving her a ring that had been returned to me in scorn by a girl who had no honor herself.”

There was a solemn pause while Jessica took in this implication, and then she cried out in a good simulation of despair, “Then what
have
you done with it?”

“I sold it to a dealer in China two years ago. I didn’t want a thing like that cluttering around my life. I hated the sight of it and the thing it stood for. Thank God it is gone from my thoughts even, forever!”

“Oh, Rod! How
can
you be so cruel to me? You once used to love me!”

“The more fool I,” said Rodney. “I only thought I did, but I am grateful that I was made to see what you really were before it was too late. And now, was that all you came to say? I could not get that ring back even if I wanted to, and I would not even if I could. So that is my answer to that. Now, what else?”

Then Jessica lifted her anguished head and looked him in the eyes with fire of anger in her own. “Yes, there is something else. And this is for
your
sake. I have found out that the girl you are going with now has a false heart. It is ironic that you should select two girls who are neither of them true to you. This girl you are courting here in Riverton is engaged to be married to a rich handsome fellow, of high birth, in New York, and she is to be married to him within a very short time. She has her trousseau bought, and her wedding dress is waiting for the time when he is expected home to claim her. I thought you ought to be told that before your affair here goes on any further. I had intended leaving Riverton myself a couple weeks ago, but I delayed till I could get opportunity to tell you this before it was too late. Now, I don’t expect you to be grateful at once, but I’m sure when you find out that what I have said is true, you will write and thank me.”

Rodney stood looking at her with almost fury in his eyes for a moment, and then he said with dignity and severity, “I am too angry to answer you as you ought to be answered. It would be better for you to go now. I don’t care to talk with you anymore. Shall I open the door for you? Good afternoon. And don’t try anything like this again.”

Rodney’s voice had been clear and decided, and the people in the other room could scarcely help hearing, though Mr. Sanderson did his best to create a diversion by dropping the brass tongs on the tiles of the hearth and tapping a spoon against a glass by his place. The family had not sat down, they had been sort of waiting for Rodney, but little by little they all perceived that Rodney was anything but pleased by his caller, and they all had more or less the feeling that he might presently need them to come in and say something that would make her leave. Mrs. Sanderson even ventured the thought to herself that if she went in and invited the girl to stay for dinner with them she would then take the hint and go, and she suggested this in a low tone to Beryl, but Beryl shook her head decidedly. “No, Mother, you don’t know her. She would stay and put a crimp in the whole works.” So the mother desisted, meditating whether or not it would be best for them to sit down and start dinner.

But just then to their great relief Jeremy breezed in and walked right into the dining room with his cheery greeting. This made the conversation so general that it could but be heard in the front reception room. The next sound they heard was the front door closing emphatically after the unwanted guest.

It did not take Jessica long to realize as she walked angrily down the pleasant street toward her bus that she had overstepped herself in this visit. If she had only stopped after the request for the ring and not gone on to tell about Diana, with all that horde where they could hear what she was saying, she might have had some effect. But now she saw that she had only made Rodney very angry by trying to run down Diana. Well, at least Diana had heard her and knew that she had made good her threat. She had attained that much. And she had made known the truth, or what she supposed was the truth, to Rodney. Though it really never made much difference to Jessica whether what she told was the truth or not, so it hit home on somebody and hurt, preferably the people she didn’t like.

So Jessica went on back to Riverton and hunted out Louella to commiserate with her. Of course Louella told her she had been very, very brave, and she was sure something drastic would come of all this, but secretly she decided that she would stay away from the Graemes for a while till this blew over, or else she would be blamed with it all by Donald, who was rather plain-spoken and didn’t mind hurting when he thought it would do some good.

But Jessica, weeping herself angrily to sleep, resolved that next she would go up to New York, hunt out that officer Diana was engaged to, and put trouble to brewing there for Diana when she got home to put on her wedding dress, which she felt pretty sure Diana would do, now that Rodney knew the truth about her. He hadn’t said anything, still these closemouthed soldiers knew how to shut up, but they smoldered inside. She was sure she had seen fire for somebody in Rodney’s eyes. He might blame her at first, but Diana would have to account for it all, and it wouldn’t be so fine for him. She doubted if he would go to church tonight with her. Perhaps she would go herself just to find out.

Before Jessica fell asleep that night she decided it would be a good thing if she were to go up to New York the next morning and hunt out that bridegroom of Diana before Diana got home. For undoubtedly she would be leaving Riverton in the morning, after what she must have overheard today.

Then, after she had made that New York swell understand what had been going on, and put a crimp in Diana’s plans, she had only one more thing to do. She had to find out just where Rod and Jerry were located, what work they were doing, and somehow get into their offices and hunt up those papers her husband wanted. Then she would have her blue diamond, and that was all she cared for in life. After she had that, maybe she’d get a divorce and hunt up some nice returning officer for herself, for she was done with Rod. The way he had looked at her when he put her out of the house had settled that for her definitely.

Then she went to sleep.

I
t had been a bit embarrassing for Rodney when he came back to the dining room, to meet the family that he had come so to respect and love. He felt shamed and humiliated, until he suddenly realized that that was what Jessica had wanted, and that was why she had come there, just to humiliate him, in return for his avoiding her. He smiled to himself wryly.

“What’s so funny, Rod?” asked his brother. “You certainly didn’t sound like a comic opera in there. We could hear a lot of what was said. I suppose you realize that?”

“Yes,” Rodney said, smiling. “I knew you couldn’t help it, unless you all got up and shouted or went out in the kitchen and got spoons and pans and had a band parade. In fact, I
wanted
you to hear
some
of it. Though I certainly am ashamed, Mr. Sanderson, that I should have disgraced your home where you have so kindly made me welcome.”

“Not at all, boy! Don’t worry about it for a minute. We all knew of course that you couldn’t be enjoying the session very much yourself.”

“No,” admitted Rodney, “I wasn’t. It was just the dread of something like this happening sometime that made me almost not want to come home from war, but I knew that was foolish. It had to be got over with, and that was all. But I had hoped that fool girl had grown up since she got married and learned a little sense. But it seems I was wrong. Mr. Sanderson, I’d like you and your wife to know that at one time when I was a kid in high school, I thought that girl was the most beautiful creature on the face of the earth, and I fancied myself very much in love with her. I even got her a ring. And then when I’d been over in the war about a year she sent that ring back to me with attempts at proper apologies. She said she was going to marry a rich man, and she knew I would understand and forgive her. Well, I was pretty young then and the war was grim, and for a while I thought everything was gone. Death was everywhere. Nothing was genuine. But after a while I met the Lord, and then all was different. I was glad He had saved me from a girl like that.

“Forgive me, Mrs. Sanderson, for spreading my mistakes and troubles out before everybody, but since you had to hear some of it, I’d rather you would understand.”

“Go on, Rodney,” said the smiling mother. “Just act as if we were your own people and tell what you want us to know.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Sanderson,” said Rodney with gratitude in his voice. “I appreciate that. There isn’t so much more to tell, but—do you know what that girl came here for today? She wanted me to
give her back
the ring she had returned!”

“I hope you didn’t do it,” said Mr. Sanderson amusedly. “Though I don’t suppose you’ve carried it around in your vest pocket all these years.”

There was a twinkle in his eyes that set everybody laughing merrily and relieved the tensity of the atmosphere somewhat.

“No, I didn’t give it back,” said Rodney fiercely. “I told her I had sold it to a dealer in China and that even if I
had
it I wouldn’t give it to her. But there, I’m just ashamed that you had to meet up with my poor young mistakes. I hope I’m not that bad any
more
, but still one can never tell. I guess heaven may show up some more mighty big failures yet.”

“Well, we won’t worry about those now, not with the God you have to forgive and cover them up with His own righteousness. Mother, I wonder if there are more hot mashed potatoes out in the kitchen? And more gravy, too? Jeremy and I both want some more, don’t we, Jerry, my boy?”

And so the routine of the pleasant dinner table went on, and the incident of Jessica passed into the annals to be forgotten. After all, it had not troubled anybody but Rodney, and they all loved Rodney and wanted to comfort him.

The talk fell into more practical lines. The young men told as much as they could, as much as regulations allowed them to tell, of their own present prospects. The place where their work would be located at first, and the importance of what they were to do. There were shining eyes about that table as they all realized that immediate far separation was not to be their lot.

“Does Mom know yet?” asked Rodney anxiously, looking at his brother. “She’s been rather worried, I know, though she hasn’t said much. I hope you told her something, Jerry. We hadn’t much time last night or this morning before church.”