VII
But when you have a dead romance, you cannot leave it to rot on the
highway; you are driven irresistibly to bury it decently. In spite
of his solemn promises, Jimmie found himself thinking all the time
about Comrade Baskerville, and how he would act when he met her next
time--all the noble and dignified speeches he would make to her. He
must manage to be alone with her; for of course he could not say
such things with the jealous old hags of the local staring at him.
The best thing, he decided, would be to tell her the frank and
honest truth; to tell her about Lizzie, and how good and worthy she
had been, and how deeply he realized his duty to her. And then tears
would come into Comrade Baskerville's lovely eyes, and she would
tell him that she honoured his high sense of marital responsibility.
They must renounce; but of course they would be dear and true
friends--always, always. Jimmie was holding her hands, in his fancy,
as he said these affecting words: Always! Always! He knew that he
would have to let go of the hands, but he was reluctant to do so,
and he had not quite got to the point of doing it when, walking down
Jefferson Street on his way home from work--behold, in front of him
a trim, eager little figure, tripping gaily, with a jaunty hat with
a turkey-feather stuck on one side! Jimmie knew the figure a block
away, and as he saw it coming nearer, his heart leaped up and hit
him in the bottom part of his neck, and all his beautiful speeches
flew helter-skelter out of his head.
She saw him, and the vivid, welcoming smile came upon her face. She
came up to him, and their hands clasped. "Why!" she cried. "What a
pleasant meeting!"
Jimmie gulped twice, and then began, "Comrade Baskerville--" And
then he gulped again, and began, "Comrade Baskerville--"
She stopped him. "I'm not Comrade Baskerville," she declared.
He could not get the meaning of these unexpected words.
"What?" he said.
"Haven't you heard the news?" she said, and beamed on him. "I'm
Comrade Mrs. Gerrity."
He stared at her, utterly bewildered. "I've been that for
twenty-four whole hours! Congratulate me!"
Little by little the meaning of the words began to dawn in Jimmie's
stupid head. "Comrade Mrs. Gerrity!" he echoed. "But--but--I thought
you didn't believe in marriage."
There came the most bewitching smile, a smile decorated with two
rows of pearly white teeth. "Don't you understand, Comrade Higgins?
No woman believes in marriage--until she meets the right man."
This was much too subtle. Jimmie was still gaping open-mouthed.
"But then, I thought--I thought--" he stopped again; for in truth,
he had not known quite what he thought, and anyway, it seemed futile
to try to formulate it now.
But, of course, she knew, without his telling her; she knew the
meaning of his look of dismay, and of his stammering words. Being a
kind little creature, she laid her hand on his arm. "Comrade
Higgins," she said, "don't think I'm too mean!"
"Mean?" he cried. "Why, no! What? How--"
"Try to imagine you were a girl, Comrade Higgins. You can't propose
to a man, can you?"
"Why, no--that is--"
"That is, not if you want him to accept! You have to make him do it.
And maybe he's shy, and don't do it, and you have to put the idea in
his head for him. Or maybe he's not sure he wants you, and you have
to make him realize how very desirable you are! Maybe you have to
scare him, making him think you're going to run off with somebody
else! Don't you see how it is with a girl?"
Jimmie was still bady dazed, but he saw enough to enable him to
stammer, "Yes." And Comrade Baskerville--that is, Comrade Mrs.
Gerrity--gave him her hand again.
"Comrade Higgins," she said, "you're a dear, sweet fellow, and you
won't be too angry with me, will you? We'll be friends, won't we,
Comrade Higgins?"
And Jimmie clasped the soft, warm hand, and gazed into the shining
brown eyes, and he made a part of the wonderful speech which he had
been planning as he walked. He said: "Always! Always!"
