“Then—then——”
“Then let’s get married, and go off by ourselves? Darling, if we only could! And I’ll go into the Buns, in a minute, if you say so. Much as I hate to give up my own work, I’d not hesitate, except for your sake——”
“No, I don’t want to marry a bakery man! And, I’ve too much ambition for you to let you throw your talent away! Yet, we couldn’t live on nothing a year! And, until your inventions are farther along, you can’t realize anything on them.”
“Bless me, what a little business woman it is! Well, we’ve both common sense enough not to make fools of ourselves,—but oh, Dork, I do want you so! And if it were not for that foolish, ridiculous feud, we could be so happy!”
“It isn’t exactly the feud,—I mean, of course it is that, but it’s back of that,—it’s the determined, never-give-up natures of the two women. I don’t know which is more obstinate, mother or Miss Prall, but I know,—oh, Ricky, I know neither of them will ever surrender!”
“Of course they won’t,—I know that, too. So, must we give up?”
“What choice have we? What alternative?”
“None.” Bates’ face was blankly hopeless. “But, Dork, dear, I can’t live without you! Can’t you look ahead to—to something?”
“Don’t see anything to look ahead to. We might say we’ll wait for each other,—I’m willing,—and something tells me you are! But,—that’s an unsatisfactory arrangement——”
“It’s all of that! Oh, hang it all, Dork, I’ll go into some respectable business and earn a living. I’ll give up my plans and——”