“But I won’t be here then,” protested Kit.
“Oh, you’ll stay till the end of the spring term, dear,” Della corrected, and right then Kit experienced her first pang of homesickness. Would she really be away from home until next June? Even with this novelty of recreation, backed by wealth, she felt suddenly as though she could have slipped away from it all without a single regret, just to find herself safely back home with the family.
One weekend while Jean was home at Maple Grove, she and her mother were talking together about Jean’s work. Doris and Tommy with Jack had walked over to Woodhow to help Mr. Craig, so Jean and her mother were alone.
Each time Jean came home she found herself turning with a sigh of relief and safety from the city life to the peace of the hills. It was her comment on this to her mother that had prompted their talk.
“Are you going to begin looking into job possibilities while you are in New York, Jean?” asked her mother. “I think if you are really serious about a career, you should begin getting interviews for a job next year.”
“No Mom,” replied Jean. “I think I have reached an important decision. I wasn’t going to tell you until my course was over and I was positive I was right, but I’ll tell you now since you asked. I love Ralph more than I do a career and if he asks me to marry him, I’ll say yes. I’ve learned to analyze my feelings and I am quite sure my love for art is only a hobby. To have a happy marriage like yours and Dad’s is, is the most important thing I want.”
“You have made a wise and difficult decision, my dear,” said Mrs. Craig tenderly. “Your father and I have felt all along that Ralph was ideally suited for you, but we wanted you to make your own decisions first.”
Just then, the mailman brought Kit’s next letter and Jean read it over her mother’s shoulder. A little puzzled frown drew Jean’s straight dark brows together.
“She’s getting homesick, Mother. Kit never writes tenderly like that unless she feels a heart throb. I never thought she’d last as long as she has—”