Picture Bride

By WILLIAM MORRISON
Illustrated by EMSH
As pretty as a picture? Yes, because that was all she was ... or would become some day!
My brother, Perry, always was a bit cracked. As a kid, he almost blew up our house doing experiments. When he was eighteen, he wrote poetry, but fortunately that didn't last long and he went back to science.
Now, when he showed me this picture, I figured he'd had a relapse of some kind. This is the girl I'm in love with, he said.
She wasn't bad. Not bad at all, even if her clothes were crazy. She wasn't my type—too brainy-looking—although I could see how some guys would go for her. I thought you liked blondes.
I wouldn't give you two cents for all the blondes in Hollywood, he answered. This is the only girl for me.
You sound as if you've got it bad, I said. You going to marry her?
His face dropped about a mile. I can't.
You mean she's married already? I was surprised. This wasn't like Perry at all.
He sort of hesitated, as if he was afraid of saying too much. No, she isn't married. I asked her about that. But I can't marry her because—well, I've never met her. All I've seen of her is this picture and a few more. She doesn't live here.
You mean she's in Europe? I've heard of these love affairs by mail, and they never made much sense to me. I said to Perry, Why can't she come to this country?