Evening Star Newspaper, February 2, 1930, Page 88

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, FEBRUARY 2, 1930. ST. LOUIS BLUES—By Vina Delmar When She Married a Good Fellow Who Wanted Gay Times All the Time, She Vowed That She Vould Never Fail to Be a Blithe Companion, and She Kept Her Word, ARLOTTA, on the veranda of the hotel, listened as the orchestra played the first few whining bars of the “St. Louis Blues.” “Wow! St. Louis Blues,” exclaimed Billy Trent, throwing his cigarette away. #Come on, Carlo—let’s dance.” There was & monotony to the meledy, a wild yecurrence that made you a little nervous. A fascination, too, Carlo wasn't sure that she liked it. There was a sweep of lawnessness in the rhythm. “St. Louis woman with her diamond rings, Tied him right to her apronstrings——" Billy sang the words as he danced, Carlo had never heard them befcre.. A sudden de- pression came over her. Those were sad words. A song didn't have to have ballad lyrics to be sad. The most tragic thing in the world is sor- row behind a screen of levity. “sSt. Louis woman—"" They were back at their table now. Billy applauded. “How you can dance!” “Thank you.” She did not meet his eyes as she spoke, “What's the matter? A penny for your thoughts.” “I was thinking of that song.” Carlo turned dream-filled eyes upon her companion, *“Those two lines you sang—I'm thinking of them.” “Come on,” he said, after a moment of si- lence. “Get your bathing suit, Carlo; let's swim.” “Can’t you ever rest a moment, Billy? Must you always be doing something?” “Sure. Why not? Come on. And what about the question I asked you this morning coming home from the tennis court?” “Don’t talk about it now, Billy, Give me & chance to think.” “Oh, you and your thinking Say, your father likes me, and your brother is my best friend, and, if you'd admit it, you know you love me. Say yes, Carlo.” “How can I when you den’t understand me even a little bit?” CARI.O having dinner with Dr., Leonard Hale, looked out the window and sighed. “What is it, Carlo?” He was so attentive, so Quick to miss her bright smile. “Nothing, nothing at all,” she assured him hastily. She must not make him feel that she was bored. He was such a charming person. Not like Billy, of course. Dr. Hale was one of the older men. He must be every bit of 32. She thought of him as her father's friend and liked him as such—but, o7 course, one acted dignified with him and refrained from being human, “I see your father,” he said, after a moment. “He's watching the men fishing. See, he's drawn up his car right there by the boardwalk “Oh, yes.” Silence again. It was hard to talk to Dr, Hale. He was nice-looking, too, but so settled, Btill, one had to say something. But what? The orchestra began to play for the dinner dancing. Carlo sighed again. There would be no dancing with Dr. Hale. At that moment he smiled at her. An amused, boyish smile, as though he had read the thoughts in her mind. “You know,” he sald, “your young cavalier, Mr, Trent, just looked in here, frowned at me, and disappeared.” “Oh, really.” Carlo’s tone was not eonflnc- Ing. There was not the light scorn in it which she had intended. “Would you like to dance?” asked Dr. Hale. “Or would it be a treat for you to sit quietly for a time?” He had been watching her. Tennis, fishing, @ancing, swimming, boating. He had, perhaps, even noticed the tired droop of her shoulders pt times. Billy was so very alive. Later they stood together on the close- Sropped green lawn of the hotel. Carlo felt the Salt breath of the evening on her cheek and saw the bar of silver upon the ocean. It was 8ll very beautiful. “Oh, Carlo, Carlo darling! I love you, sweet- hn ” His voice was warm and musical with sincer- ity—but Carlo could see the dance-floor of the hotel from where she stood. The orchestra was playing “St. Louis Blues” and Billy was dancing with & redhead from Baltimore, “Carlo, have I a chance?” ‘The sound of the ocean pounding upon the beach and the tang of the salt air were destined to linger with Carlo forever; but, at the mo- ment, she pulled eagerly at Leonard Hale's arm, “Get me in there quickly,” she ordered, breathlessly. *And, if you can dance, dance as you never have before.” ‘T was only & few months afterward that the cards were sent out: Mr. Rutherford Santrey Amnounces the marriage of his daughter Carlotta Marie to Mr. William Hayes Trent October Tenth, Nineteen Twenty Billy and Qarlo took an apartment in Bewest, grandest building that Billy could Carlo thought it foolish to take seven rooms for the two of them, but Billy was insistent. “You have to have room, dearest,” he pro- tested. “You can't throw a really good party in less room than this.” Carlo had not figured an the parties. Her brow was puckered with misgivings. “You'll love this place,” Billy went on. “See, in this room we'll have bookcases built and that will make it awfully cozy.” The bookcases were never built. Billy had really meant to order them, but he never got around to it. Besides, they were home so rarely, Billy liked Carlo to meet him downtown for dinner; then a show afterward, and you know how you're always running into people. Billy saw somebody he knew everywhere he went. Everybody liked him. He and Carlo were in- vited everywhere. She was not like Billy. She could not forget that he had to be up at 9 the next morning. She could not forget that she had promised to visit her father that evening. Things troubled Carlo. Billy never thought, so he was never troubled. He lived too fast to think. He was too active. There was not a spark of meanness in his character. He was just going too fast a pace to notice details along the road. At 9 o'clock the alarm went off. Billy jumped from his bed and raced like a flend with his bath, shave and dressing. His breakfast was bolted. His day at the office was one long effort to catch up with yesterday and perhaps do a little something that would make tomorrow easier. Dinner with Carlo. Some place where they could dance. The theater and afterward a look in on somebody or other. Bed between 2 and 5 am. Carlo had somehow thought marriage would be different. She had counted on a little home life. It would be nice if she and Billy sat and talked some evening, or read. But he was not contented s0. If they had been invited nowhere and were tired of the theater, Billy telephoned people. He could collect a dozen guests in 15 minutes. Once a month they had dinner with Carlo’s father. Billy was very nice to Mr. Santrey, but it gave him the fidgets to sit there talking. He would look at his father-in-law and think for five minutes of something to say. He would say it and then feel that he had done his share toward making conversation. Perhaps now they would let him play the new records. He would dance by himself, looking very ridiculous, Carlo thought. He could not sit quietly. She would g0 dance with him so that her father would not think him an absolute fool. Sometimes Dr. Hale was there and he would watch Carlo and Billy dancing. Billy would put on a record of “St Louis Blues” and Dr. Hale would look into the fireplace, and, for a while, he too would find conversation difficult, “There never was anybody who could dance to a blues number like you,” Billy would exult, “Let's play it again.” Mr. Santrey and Dr. Hale would lock sympa- thetic and amused. Carlo felt embarasssed for Billy’s shallow enthusiasms. But she loved him. He was so sweet and good. If only he didn't run panting through life. If for a mo- ment he stopped. But he’d never stop.. And she couldn't, for she knew that if she did he would pause only long enough to make sure that she was comfortable; then he would run on again. . ., HEN Carlo knew that she was going to have a child, she was not dismayed. She wanted a child, but Billy must not be at all inconvenienced. That was important. The idea had to be presented to him cleverly deco- rated. “I thought for the Summer,” Carlo said, “we’d take a real big house at the shore. A place with plenty of guest rooms. I want a place close enough so you can commute, and it won't be inconvenient for people to reach us. How does the idea strike you?” “O. K.” That would be fun, throwing parties at the shore. A midnight dip with a whole gang of people would be great; Carlo did get the best ideas. Carlo went to the shore, found a house and leased it before Bill could change his mind. Blessed house in which Bill eould throw his parties. Hdd he voted against the shore, she would have been sunk. She could nct have gone dancing with him throughout the Summer, and she knew by now that Billy had to dance. When they were settled in the rambling old house with its eight bed rooms and gigantic living room, Carlo told Billy about the baby, He was delighted. She had known that the idea would please him. It was only a matter now of keeping him happy and not letting the baby interfere with any of his plans. Carlo was different from the girl she had been the first year of her marriage. Her father found her regrettably changed. Her eyes were circled with misty gray shadows, “You must get more sleep, young lady, and do less gadding about.” “I don’t gad about now, Daddy.” “No, but you always have a house full of peo- ple. What is Billy thinking of to let you go on this way?” “Daddy, Billy is the sweetest, dearest man who has been born since you were, and I love Carlo was accustomed to accept her life. She loved Billy and she had him. W hat more could him—but Billy isn't thinking of anything. He can't think.” “I was a fool to let——" “No, do, Daddy. If you'd said we couldn't marry, I'd have run off with him. I loved him then and I love him now. I'm happy, but, oh, Deddy, I know now what Alice felt like when she was running with the Res Queen.” Carlo’s baby was born on a Saturday night. The house was crowded with week-end guests and Billy never remembered having had a bet- ter time in his life. The doctor told him not to worry and he obeyed the doctor. No use in paying the man a big price and then not fol- lowing his orders. It was a little girl who came into the huge, third-story room that night. Billy was pleased when the nurse called him and told him. “I'll get them to drink a toast to the flapper right away,” said Billy, starting for the flapper right away,” said Billy, starting for the stairs. “You ought to go see Mrs. Trent first,” the nurse reproved him. Billy, contrite and ashamed, went to Carlo. She was very white and quiet, but she smiled reassuringly. He dropped to his knees beside her and kissed her hand. “It was all right, Billy. ‘The nurse will show you the baby, if you like.” He saw the baby and a moment later re- jeined his friends in high spirits. Pirst there had to be a toast to the baby, then one to Carlo, next to the doctor; the nurse mustn't be ex- cluded. After the toasting, Billy led his friends on & raid of every really fine garden in town. Carlo had to have flowers at once. “Do you know a doctor named Leonard Hale?” Carlo asked weakly, of her nurse, “No, Mrs. Trent. Why?” “I was just wondering. You see, down stairs they're playing some music that reminded me of him.” “St. Louis Blues?” #¥es. He never sang it or anything. It was Just a little incident——" Carlo fell asleep, but through her fevered dreams, she could hear the record being played over and over: “St. Louis woman with her diamond rings——" The Autumn saw the Trents back in town eagain. Carlo found a competent nurse for small Ruth, then tried to forget that she had had a You couldn’t throw yourself heart and soul into frivolity if you were remembering that the baby had a bad cough. Billy loved the baby. He brought her dolls, wanted her to hurry up and grow big s0 he could buy her a lot of lovely things. But he never knew when she had a cold or a sick tammy. Carlo was accustomed to racing now. time sped by she learned to accept her Me She loved Billy and she had him. What more could she ask? He was fond of her, On, on—faster, faster, faster. the Groves to Bermuda. He'll lose his position if he keeps taking time off like that, msuncle won’t stand for everything forever. The ing of the new Merries show. What, that nlxht? Why, I've invited Dr. Hale to dinner. But of course that can be canceled. We're giving Geraldine Hull a surprise party here on the ninth, Oh, dear, I could stand it all, I think, it only that pain would let up!” The pain, a strange phantom that pounced upon Carlo at odd moments, did not jet up. It would come when least expected. A smile would freeze on her lips suddenly and the pain would be there, She went at last to see about it. She was not surprised at the verdict. An operation, And at once. Billy was grief-stricken. He cried when she fold him. Carlo was taken aback at this manie festation. Could this be Billy? She was ree assured when, after five minutes of misery, Billy rallied and called some people in for & quiet evening at home. . . . VERYTHING is relative. The operation was not bad when compared with what followed, “It will be necessary, Mrs. Trent, to take things easy for six months or so. Don't walk a step more than is necessary and, of course, don’t dance or exert yourself at all.” “Yes, Doctor.” “Be in bed early at night. Don’t worry abous anything. Just generally lie around and have & good rest.” “Yes, Doctor.” Carlo did not tell Billy what the doctor had said. If she did he would buy her a hundred good books, put a very efficient nurse in charge of her, have roses delivered every morning— and in a week he would forget there had ever been a time when she had played with him, She couldn't let him forget. She couldn’t bear it if he did. She followed him as before in his mad chase, He went nowhere without her, But she could not dance. She had to give in there. She had tried in the privacy of her bedroom, hume med softly to herself and whirling giddily across the rug. Then she stopped abruptly and held on to the foot of her bed praying earnestly for the agony to cease. She addressed the pain which to her had become a living, cruel foe: “I surrender, I surrender!” So Carlo, faltering but game, followed Billy’s fleet steps in their constant dash for pleasure, It was torture to be left always with the party bore or with somebody’s aunt. Funny to be re- garded as some one who, of course, couldn’t be quite “in” on everything. She read the pity in people’s eyes. Pity for Billy. He was so young and so full of go. Too bad that he of all people should have an invalid wife! It was odd to be sitting with an elderly lady, watching Billy dance. “Doesn’t he dance well?” “Yes, that’s my husband, you know.” “You don't say? Well, for heaven's sake! I would never have guessed. Your husband! Is that so?” She hardly ever saw small Ruth now. It was necessary to rest her sick, tired body sometime, The child was in the park when Carlo arose, and by the time Ruth came home, Carlo had gone to meet Billy. Carlo found herself very emotional nowadays, Tears would start to her eyes over foolish trifies. A song with any reference to a child or a cote tage could make bitter, stinging tears fill her eyes. There was an advertisement in a magae zine that made her ill with longing. An artist had painted a little white Colonial house with trees grouped about it in intimate, protecting poses. On the doorstep of the house stood a woman and a little girl, welcoming a man home from his day's work. The woman wore an apron. The child was about Ruth's age. Ib was all too devastatingly sweet. Carlo dropped an ink blot on the child’s face and drew & beard and mustache on the woman. Mr. Santrey was having Dr. Hale to dinner. He had thought that there would perhaps be &