The Joys of Love (28 page)

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Authors: Madeleine L'engle

BOOK: The Joys of Love
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“Mm-hm.”
“Olive oil.”
“Abyssinia.”
He leaned over her and kissed her very gently, then turned and walked away.
She watched him push his way indoors and try to get up to the soda fountain. She could see that it would take him at least as long as it had the last time, if not longer. Now she was tired; she wanted nothing more than to leave Lukie's and go back to the Cottage and to bed, but after all, she thought, this is the least I can do for Ben, to be here when he comes back with his ice cream.
She looked around, forgetting momentarily that she couldn't see; but the stars were still half obscured and she could not tell where the ocean met the sky. The people in Lukie's were blurs of colored dresses and dark suits and light suits, with blobs of pink for faces and hands. She rubbed her eyes and wondered if this would be the last time she would ever be at Lukie's. Oh, God, if only I could go to New York next week, she thought. If only I didn't have to go back to Jordan.
The boardwalk was emptying now. Only occasional couples strolled by, heading for the more crowded spots beyond Lukie's pier. After a while she saw two women walking toward her and turning off on the pier. They stopped at the main entrance, and one of them went in and looked around, then came out and rejoined the other. They started down the boardwalk again, suddenly caught sight of Elizabeth's lonely figure, and came back.
“Liz! Liz! We've been looking all over the place for you!” It was Jane's voice.
Elizabeth looked up and grinned. “Hi, Jane. What's up?” She couldn't see the woman standing in the shadows by Jane well enough to identify her. She thought it might be Marian or Ditta or perhaps even Mariella Hedeman, who was very fond of Jane.
“Liz, it's Aunt Val,” Jane said. “Where on earth are your glasses?”
Elizabeth scrambled to her feet. “Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Andersen, I—I couldn't see you in the shadows. I left my glasses in the theatre. Pl-please forgive me,” she stammered.
“It's all right, Miss Jerrold. Sit down.” Valborg Andersen smiled at the clumsy nearsighted figure in the evening dress and the rough tweed jacket. She herself sat down in Ben's seat while Jane perched on the rail.
“Miss Jerrold, my niece Jane and your friend Ben have been talking to me about you.”
“Oh—” Elizabeth said.
“Now I am not interested in having protégées or being deus ex machina, but your readings of Nina and the Gentlewoman have convinced me that you're worth helping and Jane tells me that at this point you need help. Is that so?”
“I—Yes,” Elizabeth said.
“I'm afraid I can't do anything for you this summer. Jane tells me that you have to leave next week.”
“Yes. I do.”
“But if you can manage to get to New York in September, I'll definitely be doing a play. I'm not sure whether or not it will be
Macbeth
and I'm not sure whether or not I'll be able to offer you an actual part. But at any rate, I think I can promise
you an understudy, which would earn you not a grand living but enough to scrape by. Would that appeal to you?”
Elizabeth sat down and stood up again. “Oh—yes!” Her voice rose in a childish squeak.
“I'll get your address from Jane and my secretary will be in touch with you. Incidentally, I was talking to Ben backstage this evening and he told me your mother was Anna Larsen. I knew her slightly and thought her immensely talented.” She smiled down at Elizabeth's eager face and touched her shoulder briefly. “I think you've got what it takes. I'd like to help you. Good night, my dear.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak and closed it again. Her fingers clenched and unclenched helplessly, since no adequate words of thanks were forthcoming and she could not bring herself to speak the inadequate ones. Tears rushed to her eyes.
Valborg Andersen understood. She smiled, pressed Elizabeth's shoulder, and left.
Elizabeth crumpled down on the bench and huge sobs tore out of her. All the tears that had been shut in, not only during the past few weeks, but her whole life since she had realized what she wanted to make of it and the obstacles which stood in the way, were loosed by a happiness that was too overwhelming to bear quietly. Her sobs at first were tight, tense, then they became loose and free like a child's. Jane gave her shoulder an occasional friendly pat, but said nothing.
When Elizabeth looked up, shamefaced, and dried her eyes, she met Jane's affectionate smile; and there was Ben coming out with the ice cream.
A Full House
Troubling a Star
Anytime Prayers
The Rock That Is Higher
Certain Women
An Acceptable Time
Many Waters
A Cry Like a Bell
Two-Part Invention
Sold into Egypt
A Stone for a Pillow
A House Like a Lotus
And It Was Good
Ladder of Angels
A Severed Wasp
The Sphinx at Dawn
A Ring of Endless Light
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Walking on Water
The Irrational Season
The Weather of the Heart
Ilsa
The Summer of the Great-grandmother
Dragons in the Waters
A Wind in the Door
A Circle of Quiet
The Other Side of the Sun
Lines Scribbled on an Envelope
Dance in the Desert
The Young Unicorns
The Journey with Jonah
The Love Letters
The Arm of the Starfish
The 24 Days Before Christmas
The Moon by Night
A Wrinkle in Time
The Anti-Muffins
Meet the Austins
A Winter's Love
Camilla
And Both Were Young
The Small Rain
Copyright © 2008 by Crosswicks, Ltd.
All rights reserved
 
 
 
 
Designed by Robbin Gourley
 
 
eISBN 9781429965125
First eBook Edition : August 2011
 
 
First edition, 2008
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
L'Engle, Madeleine.
The joys of love / Madeleine L'Engle.—1 st ed. p. cm.
Summary: After graduating from college in 1946, Elizabeth Jerrold pursues her dream of becoming a stage actress, landing a position as an apprentice in a summer theater company where she hones her acting skills and falls in love with an aspiring director.
ISBN-13: 978-0-374-33870-1 ISBN-10: 0-374-33870-1
[1. Theater—Fiction. 2. Acting—Fiction. 3. Love—Fiction. 4. Apprentices—Fiction. 5. Orphans—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7 .L5398Jo 2008
[Fic]—dc22
2007014331

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