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Anson's increasing bulk, which was obvious under the faintly tight
cut-away coat.
"You oughtn't to be standing," said Hagerty to his wife. "Let's
sit down here." He indicated lobby chairs, but Paula hesitated.
"I've got to go right home," she said. "Anson, why don't you –
why don't you come out and have dinner with us to-night? We're just
getting settled, but if you can stand that – "
Hagerty confirmed the invitation cordially.
"Come out for the night."
Their car waited in front of the hotel, and Paula with a tired
gesture sank back against silk cushions in the corner.
"There's so much I want to talk to you about," she said, "it
seems hopeless."
"I want to hear about you."
"Well" – she smiled at Hagerty – "that would take a long time
too. I have three children - by my first marriage. The oldest is five,
then four, then three." She smiled again. "I didn't waste much time
having them, did I?"
"Boys?"
"A boy and two girls. Then – oh, a lot of things happened, and I
got a divorce in Paris a year ago and married Pete. That's all – except
that I'm awfully happy."
In Rye they drove up to a large house near the Beach Club,
from which there issued presently three dark, slim children who broke
from an English governess and approached them with an esoteric cry.
Abstractedly and with difficulty Paula took each one into her arms, a
caress which they accepted stiffly, as they had evidently been told not
to bump into Mummy. Even against their fresh faces Paula's skin
showed scarcely any weariness – for all her physical langour she
seemed younger than when he had last seen her at Palm Beach seven
years ago.
At dinner she was preoccupied, and afterward, during the
homage to the radio, she lay with closed eyes on the sofa, until Anson
wondered if his presence at this time were not an intrusion. But at
nine o'clock, when Hagerty rose and said pleasantly that he was going
to leave them by themselves for a while, she began to talk slowly
about herself and the past.
"My first baby," she said – "the one we call Darling, the biggest
little girl – I wanted to die when I knew I was going to have her,