Baby Mine

by Margaret Mayo

  CHAPTER XI

  When Jimmy reached his office after his unforeseen call upon Zoie, hissubsequent encounter with Alfred, and his enforced luncheon at homewith Aggie, he found his mail, his 'phone calls, and his neglectedappointments in a state of hopeless congestion, and try as he would, hecould not concentrate upon their disentanglement. Growing more and morefurious with the long legged secretary who stood at the corner of hisdesk, looking down upon him expectantly, and waiting for his tardyinstructions, Jimmy rose and looked out of the window. He could feelAndrew's reproachful eyes following him.

  "Shall Miss Perkins take your letters now?" asked Andrew, and hewondered how late the office staff would be kept to-night to make up forthe time that was now being wasted.

  Coming after repeated wounds from his nearest and dearest, Andrew'simplied reproach was too much for Jimmy's overwrought nerves. "Get out!"he answered unceremoniously. And when Andrew could assure himself thathe had heard aright, he stalked out of the door with his head high inthe air.

  Jimmy looked after his departing secretary with positive hatred. It wasapparent to him that the whole world was against him. He had beentoo easy he decided. His family, friends, and business associateshad undoubtedly lost all respect for him. From this day forth he wasdetermined to show himself to be a man of strong mettle.

  Having made this important decision and having convinced himself that hewas about to start on a new life, Jimmy strode to the door of the officeand, without disturbing the injured Andrew, he called sharply to MissPerkins to come at once and take his letters.

  Poor Jimmy! Again he tried in vain to concentrate upon the details ofthe "cut-glass" industry. Invariably his mind would wander back to theunexpected incidents of the morning. Stopping suddenly in the middle ofa letter to a competing firm, he began pacing hurriedly up and down theroom.

  Had she not feared that her chief might misconstrue any suggestion fromher as an act of impertinence, Miss Perkins, having learned all thecompany's cut-glass quotations by rote, could easily have supplied theremainder of the letter. As it was, she waited impatiently, tapping thecorner of the desk with her idle pencil. Jimmy turned at the sound, andglanced at the pencil with unmistakable disapproval. Miss Perkins waitedin silence. After one or two more uneasy laps about the room, Jimmy wentto his 'phone and called his house number.

  "It's undoubtedly domestic trouble," decided Miss Perkins, and shewondered whether it would be delicate of her, under the circumstances,to remain in the room.

  From her employer's conversation at the 'phone, it was clear to MissPerkins that Mrs. Jinks was spending the afternoon with Mrs Hardy,but why this should have so annoyed MR. Jinks was a question that MissPerkins found it difficult to answer. Was it possible that Mr. Jinks'spresent state of unrest could be traced to the door of the beautifulyoung wife of his friend? "Oh dear," thought Miss Perkins, "howscandalous!"

  "That will do," commanded Jimmy, interrupting Miss Perkins's interestingspeculations, and he nodded toward the door.

  "But----" stammered Miss Perkins, as she glanced at the unfinishedletters.

  "I'll call you when I need you," answered Jimmy gruffly. Miss Perkinsleft the room in high dudgeon.

  "I'LL show them," said Jimmy to himself, determined to carry out hisrecent resolve to be firm.

  Then his mind wend back to his domestic troubles. "Suppose, that Zoie,after imposing secrecy upon him, should change that thing called her'mind' and confide in Aggie about the luncheon?" Jimmy was positivelypale. He decided to telephone to Zoie's house and find out how affairswere progressing. At the 'phone he hesitated. "If Aggie HAS found outabout the luncheon," he argued, "my 'phoning to Zoie's will increase hersuspicions. If Zoie has told her nothing, she'll wonder why I'm 'phoningto Zoie's house. There's only one thing to do," he decided. "I must waitand say nothing. I can tell from Aggie's face when I meet her at dinnerwhether Zoie has betrayed me."

  Having arrived at this conclusion, Jimmy resolved to get home as earlyas possible, and again Miss Perkins was called to his aid.

  The flurry with which Jimmy despatched the day's remaining businessconfirmed both Miss Perkins and Andrew in their previous opinion that"the boss" had suddenly "gone off his head." And when he at last leftthe office and banged the door behind him there was a general sigh ofrelief from his usually tranquil staff.

  Instead of walking, as was his custom, Jimmy took a taxi to his home butalas, to his surprise he found no wife.

  "Did Mrs. Jinks leave any word?" he inquired from the butler.

  "None at all," answered that unperturbed creature; and Jimmy felt surethat the attitude of his office antagonists had communicated itself tohis household servants.

  When Jimmy's anxious ear at last caught the rustle of a woman's dress inthe hallway, his dinner had been waiting half an hour, and he hadworked himself into a state of fierce antagonism toward everything andeverybody.

  At the sound of Aggie's voice however, his heart began to pound withfear. "Had she found him out for the weak miserable deceiver that hewas? Would she tell him that they were going to separate forever?"

  Aggie's first words were reassuring. "Awfully sorry to be so late,dear," she said.

  Jimmy felt her kiss upon his chubby cheek and her dear arms about hisneck. He decided forthwith to tell her everything, and never, neveragain to run the risk of deceiving her; but before he could open hislips, she continued gaily:

  "I've brought Zoie home with me, dear. There's no sense in her eatingall alone, and she's going to have ALL her dinners with us." Jimmygroaned. "After dinner," continued Aggie, "you and I can take her tothe theatre and all those places and keep her cheered until Alfred comeshome."

  "Home?" repeated Jimmy in alarm. Was it possible that Alfred had alreadyrelented?

  "Oh, he doesn't know it yet," explained Aggie, "but he's coming. We'lltell you all about it at dinner." And they did.

  While waiting for Aggie, Jimmy had thought himself hungry, but oncethe two women had laid before him their "nefarious baby-snatchingscheme"--food lost its savour for him, and one course after another wastaken away from him untouched.

  Each time that Jimmy ventured a mild objection to his part in the plan,as scheduled by them, he met the threatening eye of Zoie; and by thetime that the three left the table he was so harassed and confused bythe chatter of the two excited women, that he was not only reconciledbut eager to enter into any scheme that might bring Alfred back, andfree him of the enforced companionship of Alfred's nerve-racking wife.True, he reflected, it was possible that Alfred, on his return, mightdiscover him to be the culprit who lunched with Zoie and might carry outhis murderous threat; but even such a fate was certainly preferable tointerminable evenings spent under the same roof with Zoie.

  "All YOU need do, Jimmy," explained Aggie sweetly, when the three ofthem were comfortably settled in the library, "is to see your friendthe Superintendent of the Babies' Home, and tell him just what kind of ababy we shall need, and when we shall need it."

  "Can't we see it ourselves?" chimed in Zoie.

  "Oh yes, indeed," said Aggie confidently, and she turned to Jimmy witha matter-of-fact tone. "You'd better tell the Superintendent to haveseveral for us to look at when the time arrives."

  "Yes, that's better," agreed Zoie.

  As for Jimmy, he had long ceased to make any audible comment, butinternally he was saying to himself: "man of strong mettle, indeed!"

  "We'll attend to all the clothes for the child," said Aggie generouslyto Jimmy.

  "I want everything to be hand-made," exclaimed Zoie enthusiastically.

  "We can make a great many of the things ourselves, evenings," saidAggie, "while we sit here and talk to Jimmy."

  "I thought we were going OUT evenings!" objected Zoie.

  Jimmy rolled his eyes toward her like a dumb beast of burden.

  "MOST evenings," assented Aggie. "And then toward the last, you know,Zoie----" she hesitated to explain further, for Jimmy was alreadybecoming visibly embarrassed.

  "Oh, y
es, that's true," blushed Zoie.

  There was an awkward pause, then Aggie turned again toward Jimmy, whowas pretending to rebuild the fire. "Oh yes, one more thing," she said."When everything is quite ready for Alfred's return, we'll allow you,Jimmy dear, to wire him the good news."

  "Thanks, so much," said Jimmy.

  "I wish it were time to wire now," said Zoie pensively, and in his mind,Jimmy fervently agreed with that sentiment.

  "The next few months will slip by before you know it," declared Aggiecheerfully. "And by the way, Zoie," she added, "why should you go backto your lonesome flat to-night?"

  Zoie began to feel for her pocket handkerchief--Jimmy sat up to receivethe next blow. "Stay here with us," suggested Aggie. "We'll be so gladto have you." She included Jimmy in her glance. "Won't we, dear?" sheasked.

  When the two girls went upstairs arm in arm that night, Jimmy remainedin his chair by the fire, too exhausted to even prepare for bed. "A manof mettle!" he said again to himself.

  This had certainly been the longest day of his life.