“Say——” Lena was leaning forward, her eyes full of interest, “we’ll take you to see the movies any time you’ll go, won’t we, Eva?”
“Er—yes, I guess so,” Eva conceded reluctantly; but Nancy paid no attention now to Eva. Her eyes, widened with incredulous joy, were fixed on Lena’s vivid face.
“Do you mean it? You ain’t foolin’?” she faltered.
“Fooling? Well, I guess you don’t know me. When I invite a friend anywhere I mean it. When can you go?”
“When? Now—this minute!” Nancy cried, starting eagerly to her feet. Then recollecting herself, she sat down again with a shamefaced little laugh. “For the land’s sake, if I wasn’t forgettin’ all about it’s bein’ Sunday!” she cried under her breath.
“I guess you wouldn’t want to go Sunday,” Lena said. “But how about to-morrow evening?”
Old Nancy drew a long breath. “I s’pose mebbe I can live through the time till then,” she returned. Then with a quick, questioning glance—“But s’posing some of your friends should be there? I guess mebbe—you wouldn’t care for ’em to see you with an old woman like me in such a place.”
“Don’t you fret yourself about that,” Lena replied. “You just meet us at the corner of Tenth and the Avenue. I’ll be there at half-past seven, if I can. Anyhow, you wait there till I come.”
When the girls went away Nancy Rextrew walked with them down to the front door and stood there watching as long as she could see them, her sharp old face full of pride and joy and hope that had long been strangers there.
“O my Lord!” she said under her breath as she went back to her room—and again “O my Lord!”