Radio and television mirror (July-Dec 1942)

blonde glamour girl. She eyed me coolly a moment and then blew a blast on the auto horn. I started away and just at that moment the door of the main building opened and Eddie hurried out. Only this wasn't the Eddie I knew, the Eddie of overalls and wrenches and hamburgers and coffee. He was wearing a tweed suit and that sandy hair of his was combed for once and it seemed to me almost as if he'd stepped into another world — a world I'd never known and never would know. He didn't even see me. His eyes were all for the girl in the car, who held out a slim white hand. Eddie bent over and brushed his lips against it with that mocking air. I heard him say, "Hello, darling. Hope I didn't keep you waiting. I got held up by — " Then, as he got into the car, he saw me and stopped talking. I knew I should go away but I felt almost as if I were rooted there and couldn't move. Eddie's eyes were grave and strangely searching and they made me feel self-conscious. Almost without thinking, I put my hand to my cheek. I could feel the smudges there. And I realized how I must have seemed to him, how I must have looked beside that goldenhaired, fragile girl. HE waved toward me and the girl slipped the car into gear and ~ ° -" they started. Even then, something held me there. I watched the car swing through the gates and suddenly I was terribly alone and I felt as if the edges of my heart were burning and I couldn't put out the fire. That was his girl, my mind was saying, and she was feminine and lovely, the way he'd told me a woman ought to be. Oh, I hadn't any right to feel the way I did. I knew perfectly well I had no claim on him, no reason to be broken-hearted because he had a date with his girl. How could it matter to me? Only it did matter, terribly, and a voice inside me was saying that I knew the reason perfectly well — knew I had fallen in love. That word love — the realization of what it meant — terrified me. Yet there was no purpose in denying it, not to myself anyway. Only I'd always thought love would be something to be happy about, something to make you laugh. "Worrying about him, aren't you?" It was Mr. Rollo, the watchman. He was standing there beside me, a tired smile on his lips. "Gave you a shock, seeing him ride off with her, didn't it?" "Afraid so," I mumbled. "Keep it — keep it a secret between us, won't you?" "Got a thousand secrets," he said. 48 Stars in Our Heaven Continued from page 32 "All the same, you young ones are foolish. Look at you — been here a week and what do you do? Head over heels in love with the boss's son, that's what." "Boss's son?" It sounded incredible. "You mean — Eddie?" Mr. Rollo snorted. "Don't stand there and tell me you didn't know he was Eddie Langdon." Eddie Langdon. I'd read about him sometimes in the society pages — he was the man they said every girl in town was after, only he was too busy to pay attention. And his father was Thomas Langdon, president of Langdon Transport and one of the city's most important business leaders. It was really funny, because I'd almost thought Eddie might — "I didn't know," I said slowly. "Sure, he's been around the trucking plant here since he was a kid. His father's grooming him to take over. Pretty big business now, over seventy-five trucks. The day'll come when the young fellow — " "That— that girl. The one in the SKIPPY HOMEIER — eleven year old actor who makes a specialty of portraying great men as children. On the air he's been cast as the young Franklin D. Roosevelt, Robert Fulton, Walter Damrosch, John Adams, and many other famous personages. That doesn't mean he confines himself to that type of part, because he also plays just ordinary American boys on such programs as Aunt Jenny's Stories, Manhattan at Midnight, Just Plain Bill, and Fred Allen's and Eddie Cantor's shows. Skippy is a natural actor, and never had a lesson in dramatic technique in his life. He's a real boy and loves to skate and ride his bicycle. His one and only real problem at the moment is — when will he be allowed to have his first long trousers? car. She — is she — " "Engaged to him?" he chuckled. "I don't know, rightly. Been no announcement. She comes a lot to take him home. Guess it won't be long before they make it official." "I do hope he'll be — happy." That sounded foolish but I couldn't think of anything else to say. All the way home, I tried to put him out of my thoughts, tried not to remember how he'd looked at me that evening, as he sat there in the car with that girl beside him. I kept telling myself not to be foolish but all the while I knew I was in love. Such an old story it seemed — a girl like me falling for someone from another world. It couldn't work out, could never work out. But that night I tossed and turned and thought about him, and at last I thought, "All right, I love him and it's crazy but it can't be helped. The only thing to do is to get away from him as quickly as possible and forget him." I'd get another job, I decided, in some other plant and put him out of my mind and heart. The week would be up on Friday. I'd have to stay until then, but that would be the end of it. It was curious— how happy I'd been working there, and now how I was looking forward to getting away. The next morning I was glad he didn't come near the part of the yard where I was working. I stuck to the job I had to do and tried to lose myself in the work, only I couldn't because it didn't seem to matter to me if I did the job right. Oh, I knew it did matter and it had to be done but I had to drive myself and all the time I felt as if there were a stone in my heart. THAT night I had to work late and by the time I'd finished everyone else had gone and I was alone in the yard. I heard footsteps behind me. It was Mr. Rollo. "Want you inside, Miss. Better hurry." I took a last look at the truck I'd been working on and then followed Mr Rollo into the main building. "Who wants me, Mr. Rollo?" "Army man. And the boss." He took me to the office. The president's office it was, though you mightn't have guessed it. It was small and crowded and overflowing with files and books and papers. The man sitting at the rolltop desk was tall and white .o.o.o.e>.o»o.o»<». haired. I knew he was Mr . Langdon, Eddie's father. Standing near him was a tall, broadshouldered man in Army uniform. And across the room sitting on a stack of old catalogues, was Eddie. He said, "Dad, this is Miss Holt. Girl marvel. She — " "I understand you've been " 5* ' : ""~ " ' working on a truck out there this afternoon," Mr. Langdon interrupted. "Is it ready? " "I — I guess so," I stammered. "The ignition wires aren't too strong but we tried to get new wire today and couldn't, so we had to do the best — " "Yes, we know about that. Do you think they'll hold for a hundred miles?" "They might — if you were lucky." | "We'll have to take the chance, i Eddie, it looks like your baby. The i other trucks are out and so are the i drivers. You go out with Miss Holt I and give the truck a once over. If | it looks like you've a chance — get I started." The Army man — I learned later I he was from ordnance — was startled, i "But there can't be any chance, Mr. Langdon. The supplies must be there tonight. The men are leaving — " Mr. Langdon was the picture of, patience. "Don't worry. We'll get the supplies through if we have to j carry them on our backs." I hurried out then. Just seeing; Eddie had upset me. I'd reached the yard when he caught up with me I and I could almost hear my heart pounding. He looked at me and I saw he was smiling. We started j walking toward the truck. I wanted to say something casual and unimportant but it was hard to speak, Continued on page 50 RADIO AND TELEVISION MIRROR