Western High School - Westward Ho Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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WESTWARD ItWhy, yes. You dont mean to say youlve for- gotten nieeKateW Kate rose uncertainly and came forward. nMiss-MisseMiss Bowen! Jessica BowenV nItls hideous of me to dash in this way, isn't it ? purred a Jessica who was beginning to fore- see real enjoyment. ttBut I simply couldn't resist the temptation to come for a moment. I-of coursel-had no idea you were entertaining? Kate had recovered her breath and her coni- posure and was bubbling: HItls a bit astound- ing, Illl admit, but therels nobody Ild rather see. Jessica Bowen! Do come in and be lionizedf'l It was a typical, commonplace, Kate-like speech, but its sincerity was indisputable, and Jessica felt strangelyeinore than Strangelyee warmed by it. ItI love being lionizedf she said, handing her coat to the negro. llLetls begin at oncel'l The women Gessica thought of her studio parties that had scoffed at just such weII-to-oo, bridge-playinO', just-a-little-catty suburban womem were amazingly obvious in their dea light in meeting the celebrity, and gushed and marvelled, and Jessica admitted pride in the sensation she created. They ate the expected salad-and-so-forth, chattered, and presently went away. Kate kept Jessica. Really they must talk. llYoulreeyoulre with friends? only half hopeful of negation. her head. No; and Tin here for a whole week. The Castletons are meeting 1ne thenll CtNot the Hennningway Castletons ?lly nand we're going on to Miami. They had to stop in Jersey to see some rural relativeseoh, yes, Kate, even Rose Hemmingway Castleton has folks that live on a farnileand I decided, madly enough, to come and peek in at the land of my birth in the interim. Although, since Aunt Emeline died, live been practically cut off from Balti- more? Cth, Jessica! Our vows to corre- spondlU Of course Aunt Eni was the only relative I had, except some cousins in the West, and it was only natural, I suppose. But 1,111 enjoying it, even if I have been here only since two olcloek. And itlsegreat heaven, Kate, it s after six ! KWt'ou simply have to stay. Really, if I tell the Children and Chilt youlve been here. theylll kill me for not keeping you. And going back is ridiculous anyway. Dinner alone? Absurd. Your stopping downtown at all is, anyhowj', Kate; if you suggesteeit ttNo, I dont. I insist. Oh, Jessicalil Kate had stepped out of her marcel and her earrings and her ultra frock; Kate was fourteen again, she asked, Jessica shook IIO earnest, very, very pleading. you mightV Jessica laughed, again with the odd sensation of warmth. hWhy, you're still a kid, Katharine Cheswick. Andeyes, Itll stay with you P She reliected. ;erlt110L1g'li I'm sure I dorft know why Ilm letting you bully me so. I'm rather supposed to be unbulliablef But she did know. She wanted very definitely to stay in that home-house and observe a friend and a friendys family as they were, for it seemed to her that it had been years since she had been intimate- ly associated with anyone who had not a pose to maintain, and the plain American back- homeness of her was hungry for unstudied sini- plicity. Have a care! this was infidelity to her clique! That cliqueebut would it toh, the thought was uglyj hesitate upon occasion to be unfaithful to her? mfhen you mustn't think of going in tonight. You can get your things in the morning. Real- ly, Jessica, I havent been so pleased in ages. And Chilt! HeIs always bragged about our knowing you, anyway, and I dont know what helll say to having you to ourselves a whole week. But it's the children 1,111 gladdest for. Why, Babbie has always been mad about you; her room is full of pictures and articles.u IIO Kate! That your baby should be read- ing art magazinesll, tQIy babies, please. what he calls the once-over. is only threeeeil UJessica ? ttYes! She was born the year lFiresl got the Prix, and we just had to give her your name; Slicesheis grown up under a little colored print of that picture? Jessica Bowen was suddenly, startingly speechless; there was a ridiculous lump in her throat. This was the friend she had forgotten. She could not possibly have said anything more about those children, but she felt a swift poign- ant desire to see that little girl, that little girl who had her name! But KlHaye you kept up your music, Kate Pit was, after a pause, what she said. Kate, whose mind was as easily diverted as it had been at fourteen, failed to note anything unusual in the abrupt change of topic. She said quite naturally, with her little deprecating shrug, that she hadeafter a fashion, but of course it never amounted to anything. tINonsenseW Jessica screwed up her nose, disdainful of such modesty. l'I remember very distinctly; you played beautifully. Come, Katy, play for me. For pity's sake, don,t be kittenish P h'Iel just think Even Junior gives ieni Of course, Jessica

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WESTWARD HO viewed from the elevation. So much to be seen! Either Baltimore had changed mightily or Jes- sica had much forgotten Baltimore. Still, there just ahead was lyashington with his eternal ben- ediction; and a little to one side the golden dome of the Cathedral where, in her absence, a little great man had been laid to rest. And presently, the chaste simplicity of the Peabody, andeoh, Mount Vernon Place had changed! Whether for better, however, she was suddenly indifferent, for her fleeting attention had been caught by the unlowered voices of the two school girls seated in front of her, 'I was wild, Miriam, that's all! I never thought Dot would do such a thing, really. But I made up my mind that any overtures would come from her; so last Tuesdayeyou know she walks with EV on Tuesdays-she called me over to her in the hall and asked me to save her a seat in the assembly next day. Course I knew that was only an excuse. And shels going to movies with me next Friday; she promises? III hear Alice and Esther have broken upf! said Miriam, who had been listening scarcely so at- tentively as Jessica behind. nItls no wonder, either. Two people couldnt be so crazy about each other forever as those two were. Guess it had to happen some time. Jessica forgot to hearken to the rest. Those last words were like tshe smiled at thisl old friends to her. How often in those days she thought she had forgotten-had she heard that same thing said! And things similar to it. said about toh, it was funiin herself andayes, a yellow-haired girl namedeher name had been Katharine Cheswiek. Kate. How she and Kate had sworn allegiance, vowed fidelity. promised in secret eternal celibacy in order to devote their lives to each other! XVell, she had kept her vows of maidenhood well enough. Kittredge Ellthorpe! But Kate had married at twenty-three, that same year that Jessica had so seriously started out to llstudy art in Paris. And Jessica had sent spoons or napery or something of the sort, and proceed- ed to forget her. Funny. XVhat of that first love now? Did she recognize her Jessica in the Jes- siea Bowen of the new art magazines? A sudden desire to see Kate Hained in her. And she would see Kate. Mrs, Chilton Hargrave: that was she; Jessica never forgot a name. Mockng herself and the impulses that ruled her, she left her bus and entered a drug-store in quest of a directory. There was only one Chilton I-Iargrave listed. with an address on a ltroarli she had never heard of, in Guilford. The sensible thing to do would be to 'phone and see if this were really Katels home. but Jessica rejected the idea half-formed. She meant to make herself a complete surprise, if that were possible. So she copied the address into her pocket notebook and went out to find another cab. She rather liked the place where Kate had elected to live. A biggish white house with colon- ial tendencies, perched up at the top of two or three terraces, it was somehow suggestive of the Kate she rememberedein its simplicity andeoh -usua1ness. Her conveyance dismissed, she climbed the steps that led to her old friend, rather dubious of a sudden. It was erratic. But then who had a better right to be erratic? It is forgiven in the famous. At which thought she laughed aloud, wondering whether the truly famous were guilty of that egotism. She was getting as naive about admitting her superiorities aseas Kit Ellthorpe; one inch farther on was snobbishness. JeSsiea did not relish the idea of being a snob. There were voices and laughter within the white house; guests, evidently. Jessica gave the bell a rather tremulous push, and wished she hadnlt. Suppose she should go calmly in, demand- ing Mrs, I'Iargrave, and itawerenltaKate! More and more she felt like a silly schoolgirl out on a wild-goose chase. Jessica Bowen. Rut she snapped shut her teeth on the reflection, vexed again at herself and her growing complacency. Quaint was the quick thought that the Jessica who had said goodbye to Kate had not been con- eeited! A smart little saffron-eolored maid opened the door. It was done, this unbelievable, preposter- ous, absurd thing! ttMrs. HargraVCP't Like a hat Jessica donned her haughtiest foreign air, lifted her eyebrows and a shoulder. Now that she had committed herself, she would see it through like-oh. eon- found the distinguished artist! x The maid had said, IlYesim, a card .3 suspicious- ly, for many of these uppish ones were merely book-agents bluthng through; but she looked con- vinced when Jessica produced the little oblong cardboard credential. ttAhlll ynounce you to Mrs. Hahgrave. Jest step inf, Jessica, stepping, became aware that she had arrived on the scene of a bridge-party. Hor- rible, if it were the wrong Mrs. Irlargrave! The reception hall was non-committal, as she followed the Inulatto in helpless terror. A few steps brought her within view of the tables, and of the lady to whom her name had been handed. The late afternoon sun defined her clearly; her hair tHeaven is mercifulD was yellow. l:IeseJessica Bowen Mshe was bewildered. startled a little. Her voice removed all doubt. Jessica. with a comforting return of sang-froid, swept in. assured, majestic.

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IO WESTWARD HO ITd hate to think I was. But I cant fancy why you want me to play-eyou who hear art- ists every other day? Jessica could think. A Kate at the piano would necessarily be a speechless Kate, able to be studied, as she wanted to study her, to pick out the Changes, to ruminate a little. This Mrs, Hargraveethe title seemed odd- was forty, Jessica knew, but her years sat light- ly upon her. One might logically have esti- mated her five-or even ten-years younger. The golden lights that just saved her hair from taffyecolor were untarnished, and her figure was conventionally slim. Her dress was fash- ionable, but not individual; so, indeed, was all of her, from her waved coiffure to her shiny slippers. Just smart and comfortable and cheer- ful andethe adjective was recurrenteusual. Jessica found herself wondering hard what on earth had been the attraction between them in those distanteor were they distant?eschool days. For she had been the same aloof, par- ticular Jessica, minus only her sophistication, Kate the same sweet commonplace frivol; yet they had been bound tight to each other, and if anyone is here to say it was not love, let him be silent. Perhaps it was the thing called tritely attraction of oppositeseperhaps. At any rate it was something, and Jessica knew suddenly that it was a very pretty something. There was all at once a clatter outside: feet and rather shrill laughter. Kate closed her music with an air of finality and said, ttTherelre my infantsV somewhat joyfully, Jessica thought. Presently they came in, snapping electric switches all the way. JeSSica, whose eyes. had become accustomed to the modest glow of the piano lamp, found it difficult to make anything of the blue-and-white blur that had, instanta- neous with its arrival, burst in a torrent of amazing speeel . tt-gettin, romantic or somethiif, Mums? Look so cute sittinl'here playinl to yourself- oh, excuse melt, ttDonit talk so much? said Kate, good- humoredly. nMiss Bowen, this is Barbira. Barbira, wherels Junior ?u He and Jess went into the kitchen. dlyou do, Miss Bowen? Oh, I say! arenit t, Her mother laughed. IKYes, Babbieg', The tone suggested triumph. uI told you shed the awed to death? she added to Jessica. IiOh! Oh, Miss Bowenlll Babbie paid very slight attention to her mother. ItOh-eMiss BowenV, llHow do you do, Barbara? Jessicals clear- ing gaze swept the girl. There was nothing How You of Kate about her. She had, rather, her father's fiery hair and red-brown eyes; his stature, too, in its compactness and firmness of limb. She wore her red hair rakishly short, and her pink mouth was sweet and sincere and gay and mocking. wIlm-Iimejust thrilled to a peanut, she said naively and without embarrassment. UMothers always talkinl about knowinl you, but I never dreamed yould ever come see us, beinl famous and everything? ltBabbieV Kate sounded warning. llWell, you know itls sof, nIlm afraid Ilm horribly lax as a correspon- dent? said Jessica, Hbut Illl try to make up for it now, in person. But please get over this famous-and-everything idea, because I'm not, reallyfl nYes, you are? Bablbie was positive. ITve read all about you in the magazines. Pleasee how long are you stayiif? Ages, I hopeft ttOnly a week this time, though Ild love to make it longer. But where are the rest of the family? Ijni perishing to see them, too, you know? tjunior and the baby? Oh, Illl go get em. Guess maybe theylll be petrified or somethinl when I tell lemlli HThen yould better not, I suppose? Jessica chuckled, watching her go. tIOh, Kate, is she unique? Shels the first one of her I,ve ever come across? Unique? Oh, great heaven! She fills the house with dozens of her doubles. Its 21 won- der there arenlt a couple of them here tonight. There usually are, when 51165 home. But she hardly ever is. That school! Jessica, did it keep us forever in the afternoons ?l: tTm sure I dorft remember. 'W'hyeoh, your babyli, She stopped a little breathlessly, al- most startled. Kate,s youngest daughtereher namesake, by the way!ehad made her dra- matic entrance, late as is meet, andethe per- fectly beautiful little thing! More than beau- tiful: friendly and soft and sweet. mad and elhn and gay, the light of Puckis own mischief in her eye, and the tiniest tilt of the coquetry of Columbine already about her baby chin! Jessica, who had looked unmoved and bored upon scores of pretty children, was captivated. Being captivated, however, she felt extremely surprised at herself. The bOy was just the ordinary youngster of eleven, red-headed and freckled and wiry and very inarticulate with shyness. Jessica smiled graciously but briefly at him, and held out her slim lovely hands to the little girl. tISO this is my goddaughter-by-proxyl you know who I am, darlingPti Do