The Flower Brides (22 page)

It was then she caught that strong whiff of his breath and knew that he had been drinking.

“Let me go!” she cried, struggling frantically against his viselike grip. Then, suddenly she slumped, relaxing and becoming a dead weight on his hands. Her feet slid out from under her and she went down in a pitiful little heap on the ice. Laurie had to execute a number of frantic gestures to keep his own balance, while other skaters came on and piled up in a heap upon Marigold.

The spill partly sobered Laurie, and looking half ashamed, he picked her up and helped her over to the bench.

“Now,” he said half savagely, “what did you do that for? You know you did it on purpose. Why did you do it?”

“Because I did not like the way you were holding me, the way you were skating. It—wasn’t—respectable!” She was almost in tears. “I—didn’t know you ever acted that way, Laurie! You never did before!”

“No?” he said, lowering his heavy, unhappy eyes. “Perhaps not! I was trying to teach you a few things. Trying to open your eyes to life!”

She stared at him in unspeakable horror.

“Laurie!” she said. “You
did it on purpose
? You knew how it would look to those around us, and
yet
you did it? I thought you were my friend!”

The look in her eyes scorched him deeply, but he suddenly tottered to his feet. “Oh heck!” he said. “Have we got to be tied down by little antiquated ideas of propriety? You’ve just spoiled this whole evening for me! I’ll find a real skater who knows how to take things! Just sit here and watch us and see what you think the world cares!”

He flung away from her in a long, sweeping curve, grace and skill in every movement; and darting in among the skaters, he came to a flashily dressed girl who was executing some startling tricks and bore her off in his arms, holding her close and looking down into her impudent face surrounded by bleached hair. A face with a tip-tilted nose and a painted mouth. He caught her around the waist with a daring leap and swung her off with him, drawing her closer and closer until she lay with her face almost against his as they glided crazily on. Everybody was watching them, and they knew it. Marigold’s cheeks burned as she turned her eyes away and began hurriedly to unlace her boots. This sort of thing was not supposed to go on here. As she lifted her eyes after putting on her street shoes, she saw an attendant on skates was approaching the two. Laurie could see him coming, too, but he went right on. Laurie doing a thing like this! Oh, it was unspeakably awful. Laurie who had always been the pink of propriety. Laurie was
drunk
!

She fastened the buckles of her shoes with fingers that were numb with sorrow and shame, and then with her heart beating wildly, she slipped behind the crowd of watchers and got away out of the building while Laurie and the girl he had picked up were skating off with their backs to her.

She did not realize until she was in the trolley that she had left her skates lying on the bench with the bag she always carried them in. They were a gift from Laurie and, before this, greatly cherished. But now they did not matter. Nothing mattered but to get away, not to have to talk to him again with that awful frown upon his face, that thickness of speech so foreign to him, that roughness upon him. Actually swearing at her once! Laurie had never sworn in her presence before.

She felt cold as if she had a chill as she rode along, watching the streets anxiously, in a hurry to get home. She wanted to hide her face in her pillow and ask God to forgive her for having let Laurie lead her so far into the world that this thing could have been possible tonight. She felt as if she could never get over the shame and the humiliation of it. Laurie, bright Laurie, so devoted before! And he had scarcely spoken a friendly word to her tonight. Oh, how long had he been drinking? Was it a habit with him? How was it that she had never seen him under the influence of drink before? Could it be that because he was angry with her about the party he had deliberately taken a drink or two to show her she had no right to frustrate his plans? Oh, surely he wouldn’t be as mean as that! Did liquor change men and make them into fiends like that? She had supposed that one had to be a seasoned drinker to have it make such a difference. The men she had always known would never think of drinking. Never until Laurie had taken her for the first time to a nightclub had she been among people who were drinking, and never before had she been offered liquor. Of course, hers had been a guarded life. She had always known there was a world in which habitual drinking, social drinking, hard drinking went on, but it was not her world. And she had been shocked when she saw Laurie once toss off a glass of what he told her was “only a light wine.” But she never knew he drank enough to get under its influence, and she felt almost stunned with the idea.

When she reached her corner and got out of the trolley, she looked around her fearfully. Laurie would likely follow her as soon as he found she was gone. She couldn’t conceive of Laurie letting her go, not the Laurie she knew, and doing nothing about it. Even a little drunk he would surely follow her to be sure she had gotten safely home.

But there was no Laurie in sight, and with relief she went up to her apartment and locked herself in. She did not turn on her light at first but, flinging off her coat, threw herself on her bed and wept. The old-time happy companionship with Laurie that had been so beautiful a thing in her life was spoiled, ruined. She could never think of Laurie again, no matter what happened, without heartache. The things he had said that night, even though he was not himself, had seared their way into her heart and disillusioned her.

The tears came at first, a deluge of them, until she was worn out. And gradually her thoughts grew steadier and she could look things in the face.

She had gone out to face her problems, and the problems had become more than just the simple matter of firmly refusing to go to nightclubs. They had come swiftly to be the giving up of a lot of things that she had thought were dearest of all in life to her. And as she lay there facing facts, one by one many pleasant things of the past were torn away!

Then suddenly, as if someone had spoken the words, she heard Ethan’s voice reading that psalm:
“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him…. I will be with him in trouble.”

Was that a promise for
her
? Could she rest quietly upon it? She had handed over herself to her Lord, as crucified and risen with Him, could she not trust herself utterly to Him?

And so she fell asleep.

An hour later, her mother called again to know if she was all right, and she wakened, surprised to find herself on the outside of the bed. After she had hung up the receiver she undressed quickly and slipped back into bed, too sleepy to think about anything.

In the morning when she woke, she was startled to find it was very late. She had forgotten to wind her alarm clock and had overslept. And there was the whole thing spread out before her, all that had happened the night before!

However, she had no time to think. She would be late to school unless she hurried.

She sprang out of bed, dressed as rapidly as possible, and was about to get herself a brief breakfast when there came a tap at the door.

She opened the door quickly, thinking it was the milkman coming for his money. Here would be another hindrance.

But when she opened the door, there stood Laurie Trescott, looking at her with stormy, miserable eyes of reproach!

Laurie! And she hadn’t a possible minute in which to talk to him!

L
aurie’s eyes were giving quick, hinted glances around the room to see if she was alone. Then they fastened on her face with heartbreaking reproach.

“So! You were here all the time!” he said hoarsely. “And I’ve spent the night hunting for you. Nice way to act when I take you out—run away and leave me! And I didn’t know what had become of you. Had to go out and hunt for you all night!”

“You knew where to find me,” said Marigold coldly. “You knew I went straight home. I have been here all night, and you didn’t attempt to see if I was here. You didn’t telephone.”

He dropped his haggard eyes and didn’t answer for a minute, and then he said, “Why did you go off and leave me like that, Mara?” There was the old imperious tone again, finding fault with her instead of asking her pardon. Her indignation rose.

“Don’t you remember what you did to me, Laurie, made me ashamed of you in front of everybody? Held me as no gentleman holds a lady while skating!”

“I had no trouble in getting other girls to skate that way with me,” he argued. “You’re getting prudish!”

“No!” said Marigold sharply. “I’m not getting prudish. You didn’t used to think such ways were nice yourself. I can’t talk about it, Laurie. I’ve got to go to school at once. I’m going to be late as it is.”

“But we’ve
got
to talk about it, Mara!” His voice was thin and high and full of anguish. Laurie was always dramatic, whatever he did. He stepped inside and shut the door sharply after him, leaning against it. As he stood there with the morning sunlight streaming across his face, he looked like the wreck of something beautiful, and it was as if a rough hand suddenly jarred across the girl’s heartstrings. Then his voice changed and grew pitiful, reproachful again. “Mara, I came here to make everything right with you. I came here to tell you I’m going to marry you!”

Marigold gave a startled look at him, a look which took in his worn, haggard face; his bloodshot eyes; his disordered hair; his soiled, expensive linen and rumpled garments, and suddenly saw him in contrast to the Laurie she used to know. Only a few short days before, so immaculate, so handsome, so assured and splendidly overbearing! A pang shot through her heart. All the torture and revulsion of her disillusionment were in her voice as she covered her face with her hands and shuddered.

“Oh,
Laurie
!” she cried out with almost a sob in the end of her words.

He came toward her quickly, recognizing the compassion in her voice, and tried to put his arms around her, but she stepped back out of his grasp.

“No! No!” she cried. “I could
never
marry you now, Laurie!”

“Why not!” He glared at her, and she could see he was not himself yet. “I’ll apologize!” he went on imperiously. “But I did it for your good, you know. I wanted to teach you what life was like, but I’ll apologize again if that’s what you want.” He lifted his bloodshot eyes and gave her one of those pleading looks, the kind that always used to reach her heart. But Marigold steeled herself against it.

“You had been drinking, Laurie!” she said furiously. “Why don’t you tell the truth?”

“Yes, I’ll admit I had had a glass or two too much. It was your fault, though, you know. You went away, and I didn’t have anything else. You kept me waiting the night you got home, and all into the next night. I had to do something. But I’m sober now. I’ve come over to ask you to marry me.”

“This is no time to ask me to marry you. Besides, I would
never
marry a man who drinks! I wouldn’t go through last night again for anything in the world.” There was scorn in her glance.

“Now, Mara, you’re exaggerating. You mustn’t make too much of a small thing. I’ll admit I must have been half stewed last night. I’d had a heck of a week and was all in. I took a little more than usual to carry me through. But I’m not often like that. Oh, I get lit up now and then, of course, but nothing like last night! If you’ll marry me, I’ll quit drinking. I swear I will!”

Marigold looked at him aghast.

“No,” she said gravely. “People do not reform after they are married. I would never marry a man to reform him!”

“Now, Mara, that’s not like you! You were never hard like that. You always did what I asked.”

“Yes?” said Marigold with almost a sob. “I was that kind of a fool. I thought you were fine and grand and wonderful. And I thought I could respect you and that you honored me!”

“Now, Mara, all that fuss just because I got lit up a few hours—”

“Don’t!” said Marigold, putting her hands over her face and shuddering again.

Again Laurie came near to her and tried to take her hands down from her face.

“There now, Mara, don’t you feel bad. You love me, don’t you, baby? We’ll get married, and then I’ll quit and everything will be all right.”

Marigold jerked her hands away from him.

“Don’t you
dare
to touch me!” she cried. “And don’t you ever call me
baby
again! I hate it!
No
, I don’t love you.”

“Oh, but you do love me, Mara! I’ve seen it in your eyes!”

“No!” said Marigold in a hard young voice. “You are not what I thought you were. I hadn’t got around to thinking about marrying yet, but if I ever do get married it will have to be to someone I can trust and respect. I couldn’t marry anybody who might go off and get drunk. Never! It wouldn’t be
right
!”

Laurie’s face darkened. “There you go, talking fanatical stuff. What’s
right
? Who’s got any right to say one thing is wrong, another right?”

“God has!” said the girl, lifting a firm young chin and looking him straight in the eyes. “And if I’d known you didn’t believe in right and wrong and hadn’t any use for God and mothers, I never would have gone anywhere with you. I’m sorry I ever did!”

“Now, Mara!” the boy pleaded, coming toward her again. “Mara, you don’t realize what you are saying. Don’t you remember what good times we’ve had? Can’t you forget this and go on from here? Come, Mara, let’s go and get married and then everything will be all right!”

“No! Never!”

“Now, Mara darling, don’t get that way! Don’t you know you’ll drive me to desperation? Wouldn’t you marry me to save me? I swear I’ll stop drinking when we are married. Can’t you believe me? I’m sober now, and I tell you it’s the only way I can quit drinking.”

Marigold’s face hardened. “Laurie, if you can’t get sober without me, it wouldn’t be long before you’d be at it again.
No!
”

“But I swear I’ll drink myself to death if you don’t marry me!”