“I was in love with you, Joy, as much as I could ever be. I—I still am, I guess. It—seems to feel that way. I was always trying to puzzle out your status—just where you stood in the Jerry-Sarah household. But I didn’t understand, and so I lost you.”
“You—you needn’t blame yourself so, for not understanding,” said Joy; “almost anyone might have—I can see that now.”
“No—not any one who recognizes that we’re doing transitional stuff these days. I was coasting around on last century’s roller skates. They just hit the surface. Now they’re using ice skates, that go in a little. Oh, I’ve thought this all out—and got my ice skates!”
“What?” she faltered.
“Why, you know. We all know. Last century—no matter what men were—they were all that women had—so they took them and made the best of it. Now—no matter what the women of to-day are making of themselves—and a lot of women don’t exactly know what they’re making of themselves—they’re all men have—and we’re certainly not going to make the worst of it.”
Joy thought. This was a mean between the extremes of the discussion held at Fennelly’s between Greg and the two Princeton men. “Then you think it’s working around——”
“Yes—not in this generation, but eventually—things have got to work round to a better basis. Bye and bye the world’ll get straightened out—and it won’t go back to last century’s roller skates to do it, either. It takes time, and costs a lot on the way—it cost me you—anyway, it cost me an even chance for you.” He looked down at her serious face and quoted lightly—
“Might she have loved me? Just as well
She might have hated me, who can tell.
Where had I been now had the worst befell?