life for you, darling, because Iâm certainly notâbut I did have one thought.â
âWhat was that?â he asked her.
âIt occurred to me, now that you have all this money, you might just start an advertising agency of your own, mightnât you? I mean, who needs Joe Wallace? Why not start your own company? Iâm not saying you should do it, of course. Itâs just an idea.â
âYes, itâs an idea,â he said.
âButâyou do as you wish. Youâre your own man, darling. Youâre very much your own man, and Iâm proud of you.â She smiled at him. âDrink up!â she said. âAnd eat. Your dinnerâs getting cold and your champagneâs getting warm. Pappy! More champagne, Pappy! No oneâs had nearly enough to drink.â
He took another swallow from his glass. âSay,â he said, âyou were going to tell me about the mystery guest to-morrow night. Who is it?â
âOh!â she cried. âFor give me! Well, guess. Just guess.â
âI just canât guess.â
âTry. It has to do with Pansy.â
âI still canât.â
âWell, our little Pansy is engaged .â
âNo kidding?â he said. âWell, say, thatâs wonderful.â
âYes,â she said. âYes. Unofficially, of course. Nothing in the papers yet. More champagne for Mr. Hugh, Pappy. Weâre trying to get sozzled. Yes,â she repeated. âI suppose it is.â
âWhy do you just suppose it is? Who is the guy?â
âOh, I mean I suppose our Pansy had to marry some body, didnât she? I mean sheâs too pretty not to marry anybody, and end up an old maid like Reba. So I suppose it is wonderful.â
âWell, who is he?â
âHis name is Austin Callender. Iâve met him. Heâs very nice.â
âYou like him then? You approve?â
âOh, yes, I approve. Heâs one of the Callenders. From Boston. Heâs Andover âfifty-one, Harvard âfifty-five. Hasty Pudding and all that rot. Spee Club. Too bad it couldnât be Porcellian, but Spee will have to do. Very rich, not bad-looking, very dullâperfect for Pansy.â
âWell,â he said again, âI think itâs wonderful. SheâI suppose she loves him.â
âOh, she insists she adores him. And he insists he adores her. They were here for a week-end. He was very sweet. He said, âI hope youâll forgive me for wanting to take your beautiful daughter away from you, Mrs. Carey.â As though I were Mother Carey and Pansy were one of my chickens! I said something very witty and original. I said, âDonât be silly, Austin. Iâm not losing a daughter. Iâm gaining a son.â And do you know what he said then?â
âWhat?â
âHe saidââGee, thank you, Mrs. Carey.â Heâs a stockbroker.â
âWell, I still think itâs nice.â
âYes. Nice is exactly what it is. I mean, heâs perfect for Pansy. She needs somebody exactly like that.â
âYou didnât have anyone else picked out for her, did you?â
âNo, not really. Oh, of course if I were picking husbands for Pansyâwhich obviously would be impossibleâI might have picked someone a little more exciting. A prince, for instance, or at least an ambassador. But this one will do, I guess, as well as any other.â
âYou donât sound exactly overjoyed about it,â he said.
âItâs taking me a little time to get used to it, thatâs all,â she said. âOh, heâs very substantial. All that side of the Callender familyâheâs Henry Callenderâs son, his mother was a Meadâare substantial. Of course there are other Callenders, and thank God heâs not one of them. He said to me, âMrs. Carey, I want you to know that I have a private income of ten thousand a year.â I said,
Marilyn Haddrill, Doris Holmes