bones. It was swell to have an understanding and tolerant husband but, Maureen,
don’t be a greedy slut! Don’t stir it up again.
Nelson was still there the next day. Brian was his own boss now, but not overwhelmed
by clients; he had no need to leave the house that day other than to check our post
office box at the Southside substation. Nelson had arrived in an automobile, a smart
four-passenger Reo runabout. Nelson offered to drive Brian to the post office.
He offered to take me, too. I was glad that I had the excuse of a little girl –
Nancy was at school; Carol at home – and a baby boy not to accept. I had never
ridden in an automobile and, to tell the truth, I was scared. Surely, I expected to
ride in one someday; I could see a time coming when they would be commonplace. But I
was always more timid when I was pregnant, especially toward the end – my worst
nightmare concerned miscarriage.
Brian said, `Can’t you get the Jenkins girl to come over for an hour?’
I said, ‘Thank you, another time, Nelson. Brian, paying for a baby watcher is an
unnecessary expense.’
‘Penny pincher.’
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‘I surely am. As your office manager I intend to pinch every penny so hard that the
Indian will scream in pain. Go along, gentlemen; I’ll get the breakfast dishes done
while you’re out.’
They were gone three hours. I could have walked to the post office and back in less
time. But, following a corollary in my expanded Ten Commandments, I said nothing and
did not mention my frets about accidents. I smiled and said happily, ‘Welcome home,
gentlemen! Lunch will be ready in twenty minutes.’
Briney said, ‘Mo, meet our new partner! Nel is going to justify our letterhead. He’s
going to teach me farms and ranches and which end of a cow the milk comes out of…
and I’m going to teach him how to tell fool’s gold from fools.’
‘Oh, wonderful!’ (One fifth of zero is zero; one sixth of zero is still zero – but
it’s what Brian wants.) I gave Nelson a quick peck. ‘Welcome to the firm!’
‘Thank you, Maureen. It should be a good team,’ Nelson said solemnly. ‘Brian tells
me he is too lazy to swing a pick, and you know I’m too lazy to pitch manure… so
we’ll both be gentlemen and tell other people how to do it.’
`Logical,’ I agreed.
‘Besides, I don’t own a farm and I haven’t been able to find a job as a county agent
– or even as the boy who opens the mail for a county agent. I’m looking for a job to
let me support a wife. Brian’s offer is heaven sent.’
`Brian is paying you enough to support a wife?’ (Oh, Briney!)
‘That’s just it,’ Brian answered. ‘I’m not paying him anything. That’s why we can
afford to hire him.’
`Oh.’ I nodded in agreement. Seems a fair arrangement. Nelson, after a year, if your
performance is still satisfactory, I’ll recommend to Brian that we double your
wages.’
`Maureen, you always were a dead game sport.’
I did not ask him what he meant by that. I had a bottle of muscatel tucked away,
bought by Briney for Thanksgiving. It was full, save for a little used for one
toast. I fetched it for that purpose. ‘Gentlemen, let us toast the new partnership.’
`Hear, hear!’
So we did and the gentlemen drank and I touched my lips to mine, then Nelson offered
another toast: ‘Life is short.’
I looked at him, kept surprise out of my face, but answered, ‘But the years are
long.’
He answered, just as judge Sperling had given it to us:
‘Not “While the evil days come not”:
`Oh, Nelson!’ I spilled my glass. Then I threw myself on him and kissed him
properly.
There was no mystery, truly. Nelson was of course eligible on one side of his
family; we shared Johnson grandparents (and great-grandparents, although three of
four were dead now all past a hundred). My father had written to judge Sperling (I