Show it to me."
I showed her how clean everything was, taking pride in my housekeeping;
and when she seemed not over-pleased with this, I had in all honesty to
tell her how much I was indebted to Mrs. Thorndyke for it.
"The preacher's wife?" she asked sharply. "An' that adopted daughter o'
theirn, Buck Gowdy's sister-in-law, eh?"
I wished I could have admitted this; but I had to explain that Virginia
had not been there. For some reason she seemed in better spirits when
she learned this. When it came time for dinner, which on Sunday was at
one o'clock, she insisted on getting the meal; and seemed to be terribly
anxious for fear everything might not be good. It was a delicious meal,
and to see her preparing it, and then clearing up the table and washing
the dishes gave me quite a thrill. It was so much like what I had seen
in my visions--and so different.
"Now," said she, coming and sitting down by me, and laying her hand on
mine, "ain't this more like it? Don't that beat doing everything
yourself? If you'd only try havin' me here a week, nobody could hire you
to go back to bachin' it ag'in. Think how nice it would be jest to go
out an' do your chores in the morning, an' when you come in with the
milk, find a nice breakfast all ready to set down to. Wouldn't that be
more like livin'?"
"Yes," I said, "it--it would."
"That come hard," said she, squeezing my hand, "like makin' a little boy
own up he likes a girl. I guess I won't ask you the next thing.
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