One of the picture on the wall was not hanging straight, he noticed it and went to fix it. He stepped backs after times make sure the picture was really straight, then he give it a gentle touch with his hand.
“She always does that.” He explained to me. “It is like the finishing pat a mother gives her child’a hair after she has washed it. I have seen her fix all the thing so often that I can do it just the way she does. I don’t know why I do it, I just do it.”
As he talked I realized there was something in this room that he wanted me to descover, I looked around. When my eyes reached the corner of room near the fireplace he broke into a happy laugh and rubbed his hand together.
“That is it.” He cried, “you have found, I know you would, it is her picture.”
I went to a little black shelf that held a small picture of most beautiful woman I had ever seen. There was a sweetness and softness in the woman’s expression that I had never seen before. The man took the picture from my hands and stared at it.
“She was 19 on her last birthday that was the day we will marry, when you see her, oh, just wait until you meet her.”
“Where is she now?” I asked.
“Oh, she is away.” The man said, putting the picture back on the little black shelf. “She went to visit her parents they live 40 or 50 miles form here, she has been gone two weeks today.”
“When will she be back?” I asked.
“Well, this is Wednesday.” He said slowly, “she will be back on Saturday in the evening.”
I felt a sharp sense of regret. “I am sorry because I will be gone by then.” I said.
“Gone? No, why should you go? Don’t go. She will be so sorry, you see she likes to have people come in to stay with us.”
“No, I really must leave.” I said firmly.
He picked up her picture and held it before my eyes. “Here.” He said, “now you tell her to her face that you could have stay to meet her and you would not.” |