"Thirteen days."
"Oh. Are you sure it isn't fourteen?"
"Perfectly." Then the sarcasm struck her, and she looked around at Rita and laughed:
"Of course I count the days," she said, conscious of the soft colour mounting to her cheeks.
Rita sat up and, tucking a pillow under her shoulders, leaned back against the foot-board of the bed, kicking the newspaper to the floor. "Do you know," she said, "that you have come pretty close to falling in love with Kelly Neville?"
Valerie's lips trembled on the edge of a smile as she bent lower over her sewing, but she made no reply.
"I should say," continued Rita, "that it was about time for you to pick up your skirts and run for it."
Still Valerie sewed on in silence.
"Valerie!"
"What?"