Radio and television mirror (July-Dec 1942)

needed. Might be able to help me find some of the romance I wanted. After all, giving advice was his business. I was still wavering about it, whether I should do it or not. I didn't mention it the next morning. But the next evening when Mary was out, I was alone in the apartment and almost before I knew what was happening, I sat down and wrote the letter. AM ARY came in around midnight and was surprised to find me still sitting up in the living room. "This is unusual, darling. Anything wrong?" I explained I was restless. I couldn't tell her that merely sending that letter had been something of an event and I hadn't wanted to go to bed. In fact, I couldn't tell her about the letter at all. This was something I had to do by myself. Maybe it would show me the way. Mary started getting undressed. She looked at me curiously, almost suspiciously. "Haven't changed your mind about writing that letter?" "Oh, of course not." I tried to sound as if the idea was so ridiculous I hadn't even given it a second thought, and I must have been convincing because Mary said nothing more about it. Monday night came and I tried to hide my eagerness in the early evening. After Mary and Pres had gone I practically clung to the radio waiting for Mr. Monday and wondering if he'd talk about my letter. Finally, he came on. He took up letter after letter, but he never once mentioned the one from me. It got closer and closer to the end of the program and I began to realize — he wasn't going to mention mine. I found myself making excuses — he naturally got hundreds of letters, he couldn't answer them all in a half hour program. Maybe he had to put some off to the next week. But a voice inside me started saying maybe it was because my problem wasn't important, maybe there wasn't any problem because there simply wasn't any love or romance there. Angrily, I shut the radio off. But it came the next morning. A letter. A letter sent from the radio station, and the handwriting on the envelope was masculine. I found it when I went out to get the milk and the mail. Probably it shouldn't have meant as much to me as I made it mean — but my hands were trembling as I tore it open. What I read inside was such a surprise I had to sit down and read it over three times before I could be certain my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. "Dear Miss Jones (it began): I have been thinking about your problem and I've decided it isn't the sort of question I can discuss well over the radio. It's too personal — and too important. You say you've been a listener of mine for a long time and that makes me feel almost as if we were already friends. "I wonder if I dare ask you to have dinner with me tomorrow night? We can meet by the fountain in the center of Johnson Square, where there won't be many people so we won't be likely to miss each other. If you don't feel you can make it, would you just drop me a note and say no? But I hope you won't do that, I hope you can make it, and if you can I will be most happy. Unless I hear from you to the contrary, I shall be waiting by the fountain tomorrow evening at seven. Looking forward to meeting you, Very faithfully yours, Robert Wilmington "Mr. Monday" Robert Wilmington — so that was his real name! And he wanted me to have dinner with him! I stared at that letter a long, long time, and finally I just gasped out loud, "Of aU things!" ' Mary came into the room, looking very sleepy and cute. "Of all things — what?" she demanded. "Or have you taken to talking to yourself?" "Nothing," I told her, hastily stuffing the letter into the pocket of my dressing gown. "You better start getting dressed or you'll be late." The letter was puzzling and disturbing. I couldn't make up my mind what to think. One moment it sounded like a wonderful adventure, ajid the next, I'd find myself frightened. After all, I'd never met him and didn't know what he was like, really. Then I'd tell myself he wasn't a complete stranger and besides, he was famous and everyone knew him. At last I made up my mind that whatever happened — I had to keep that date. The multitude of errors I made at the office that day and the next brought me a severe calling-down from my boss, who had the temerity to suggest he thought I was in love, the way I was acting. It was lucky, the next night, that Mary had gone from the office to some cocktail party, so that I had the apartment to myself, and didn't have to spend time dodging Mary's questions. I spent a full hour dressing and fixing and getting rid of the grime of the office and trying to make myself beautiful. The result was — well, the result wasn't as bad as it could have been. I won't say I could have held a candle to Mary, because I couldn't. But I had bought a new light blue spring suit that fitted me perfectly and this was the first time I'd worn it. All the time I was dressing, I was thinking about him, wondering what he'd be like, wondering why he had asked me to go out with him. I was only five minutes early and that wasn't, too bad although I knew I shouldn't really be early at all. He wasn't there. No one was there except the fountain and me. I began to be nervous. Suppose it were some joke, suppose he didn't come at all? Off in the distance, I heard the great bells of a church chime out seven o'clock with slow ponderous strokes. It was beginning to be twilight and the shadows of the leaves were heavy. There were footsteps coming closer. Out of the shadows came the figure of a man. He wasn't any tall, handsome giant. Only about medium height, and his hat brim made it difficult to see his face. About five feet away from me, he stopped and glanced around him and then he saw me and he seemed startled. For a moment he didn't speak and then he said, falteringly, "Miss — Miss — are you Miss Grace Jones?" I hardly know how to describe the way I felt. Here I'd been trembling at the thought of going out with Continued on page 56 Presenting «/»»•* »0Nl™°°N.ZL most M$"t .7,7 " £ *« °>*°^ £L5 * <*e -*» -j" of on '&Zn Ed«ard Leighton son or on -Xerotic Southern Jam,!*, met ng in aristocratic j«»; . . j ve her.hewascopt.voted^he /Jness and niarned he r d 9 herf°TtTne°:^ondde, a completely new wo pite the object,™ >J » kepf bands people. *m°" fc. 0 $on. Edward's love and given mm .h„ niUe Network. Monday SSSyRSSS? .1 * A.M.. EWT. 28 RADIO AND TELEVISION MIRROR