CHAPTER V
IT was December. There was an air of prosperity in Tevkin's house, but the girls would not give up their jobs. I was a frequent caller again. I was burning to take Anna, Elsie, and their parents to the theater, but was afraid the two girls would spurn the invitation
One day I was agreeably surprised by Elsie asking me to buy some tickets for a socialist ball. They were fifty cents apiece
"How many do you want me to take?" I asked
"As many as you can afford," she answered, roguishly
"Will you sell me twenty-five dollars' worth?"
"Oh, that would be lovely!" she said, in high glee
When I handed her the money I was on the brink of asking if it might not be rejected as "tainted," but suppressed the pleasantry
For me to attend a socialist ball would have meant to face a crowd of union men. It was out of the question. But the twenty-five dollars somehow brought me nearer to Elsie, and that meant to Anna also. I began to feel more at home in their company. Elsie was as dear as a sister to me. I went so far as to venture to invite them and their parents to the opera, and my invitation was accepted. I was still merely "a friend of father's," something like an uncle, but I saw a ray of hope now
"Suppose a commonplace business man like myself offered you a check for Minority," I once said to Anna.