Radio Mirror: The Magazine of Radio Romances (Jan-June 1943)

must tell Bill right away about the job that I was to have — tell him id have it talked out and over with, id the air cleared for perfect hapless for the rest of his shore leave. Tucking my arm through his, I rew him into the living room. "I've got something I want to talk about," I told him, "and I want to talk about it right away." He smiled that funny, endearing, nose-crinkling smile of his. "Anything you have to say, lady, it will be a pleasure to hear. But I'd better not look at you, or I'll forget to listen." I shook my head. "This is serious, Bill. It's about — " and suddenly there didn't seem to be words to begin — "about the future." "The future? I thought we'd hashed the future out until we practically had an hour-by-hour schedule for it, funnyface. When this show is over, I'm going back to medical school. You'll be a full-fledged nurse by then. And when I've finished, you'll help me in my practice, and we'll live happily ever after. Right?" And then I realized, for the first time, how dreadfully this was going to complicate our plans for the future —realized it when I knew that this time I couldn't echo that question with a firm, "Right!" And the silence where that reassuring, affirmative little word should have been, grew and hung between us. Bill's tone had lost its banter. "Judy — honey, is something wrong?" Wrong? No — I was still sure that My Life to Live Continued from page 26 it was the Tightest thing that had ever happened to me. Why should I hesitate to tell him? Why should I feel suddenly a little ashamed? I attempted to smile, as I blurted it out. "Bill, I've got some news. Wonderful news, for me. But — well, maybe it'll be a shock to you. I — I'm not going to be a nurse." He stared at me without speaking for an instant. "What did you say?" he asked, finally, and his voice was level, neither calm nor angry, neither warm nor cold, so its very dullness frightened me. "You're not going to be a nurse?" I SHOOK my head, and I sat up a *■ little straighter. This was my happiness, the best thing that had happened to me since Bill told me he loved me. I wasn't going to spoil it for myself by apologizing, by being afraid. "Yes, Bill. I've had the most marvelous offer — or, rather, Don Winters managed to get it for me. I'm going to sing with Bob Halsey's band. The audition's tomorrow, and Don says it's really all set. And that's just a start, of course — it won't be long before — " My words tumbled on, putting off the time when Bill must answer me. "So Don Winters has talked you out of being a nurse?" I didn't like that. Don Winters was my friend. He'd helped me. I wouldn't have his name spoken in the tone Bill had used. "Don didn't talk me out of anything," I told him, stiffly. "It was my voice that counted — I can sing. You've never seemed to take that into account, any of you. I can sing — and I'm going to sing!" And then the anger which had risen swiftly in me was washed away by the defeated look in Bill's eyes. "Bill — I thought you'd be pleased. I thought that anything which would make me really happy would please you." He didn't understand — Bill, on whose understanding I had so counted! He didn't understand that my singing was to be my life work, just as his medicine was his. He had chosen his life — I had a right to choose mine, instead of having it chosen for me. I knew I had to decide right now — decide whether I would live my own life, in my own way, or the life he wanted me to live. "I am serious about it, Bill. I'm going ahead with it — nothing can stop me." His lips tightened and his eyes grew hard. "It isn't that you want to sing," he said angrily. "It's — it's the glamour and excitement. That's all it is, Judy." It was as if we were building a wall between us — a wall we could never break down again. Our marriage, our love, couldn't work out through this barrier. Now, in the moment when I needed him most. Bill hadn't understood! "I don't want you singing in an orchestra," he went on grimly. "I don't like it. I—" My words cut sharply across his. "I — I — I — is that all you can say? What about me? Do1"" vou con America is Smoking Jfe* S{c Government figures show all-time peak in smoking And far more Americans are wisely smoking [ PHILIP MORRIS! Doctors report, in medical journals, that: EVERY CASE OF IRRITATION OF NOSE OR THROAT DUE TO SMOKING, CLEARED UP COMPLETELY -OR DEFINITELY IMPROVED . . . WHEN SMOKERS CHANGED TO PHILIP MORRIS I No claim is made of any curative power in Philip Morris. BUT— this evidence clearly proves Philip Morris far less irritating for nose and throat— therefore better for you. Try them! SKY-PASSENGERS on Pan American Clippers are served with America's FINEST Cigarette! ?&£&w?/ Call for phujp MORRIS America's FINEST Cigarette 91