"Now, Willy. You are your natural size. You are unsatisfied with it, because—uh—your peculiar talent is lousing up your profession. What is more, Red's size and element is the preference manifested in your mind. Her element is doubly preferred, then, as against your own, by both of you, uh—"
"Making the preference unanimous," Willy suggested.
"Right," I said, pushing the thing out of my mind now that I'd stumbled through it. I spread my arms and gave what I hoped was a confident smile.
"There's your answer," I said.
I got blank looks.
"It's obvious!" I said to Willy. "You go to Red's element!"
Willy's meager features were perplexed, but Red caught the idea. She jumped excitedly back on her beau's lap. "Don't you see what he means, Willy? Draw yourself to my size!"
That is a verbatim report of what led up to Willy propping a full-length mirror in an easel and making a twelve-and-a-half inch full-length portrait of himself, with me drinking triple ryes while Red directed which of Willy's features should manifest the most prominence. It was a very good likeness of himself as he might have looked had he been the physical Adonis his mind pictured him as, which was only right, considering the element he was journeying to. Red insisted he wear a bathing suit that more or less matched her own.
When he was finished, he stepped back, naturally, to admire it.
"That's terrific!" I said, clapping him on the back.