Judy Lupey actually can't go out to
walk a _tall_, not 'nless Faith walk a block ahead of her an' Maria a
block behind, an' even then Mr. Drake's liable to come coastin' down on
'em any minute. She says it's awful tryin', an' Judy gets so mad over it
all that it just seems as if they could _not_ stand it.
"But that ain't the only trouble neither, Mrs. Macy says. Seems Judy got
Solomon Drake for her lawyer 'cause he knowed the whole story, through
eatin' dinner at the Drakes every Sunday while they was stayin' married.
She thought havin' Solomon Drake would save such a lot of explainin'
'cause Mr. Drake is so hard to explain to any one as has just seen him
ridin' his bicycle an' not really been his wife. Well, seems as Judy
never calculated on Solomon's keepin' right on takin' Sunday dinner with
Mr. Drake, after he became her lawyer, but he does, an' none of the
Lupeys think it looks well, an' Judy finds it most tryin' because all
she an' Solomon talk over about the divorce he tells Mr. Drake on Sunday
out of gratitude for his dinner an' because it's a subject as seems to
really interest Mr. Drake. Seems Mr. Drake is a hard man to interest.
Judy says he was yawnin' afore they got to the station on their
honeymoon.
"But Mrs. Macy says that ain't all, neither, whatever you may think, for
she says what do you think of Mr. Drake's goin' an' gettin' Busby Bell
of all the men in Meadville for _his_ lawyer, when the whole town knows
as it's Busby as Judy's goin' to marry next. Mrs. Lupey says as Judy
would have took Busby for her own lawyer only they was so afraid of
hurtin' each other's reputations, an' now really it's terrible, 'cause
Busby says as he don't well see what's to be done about their
reputations if the worst comes to the worst, for he's explained as very
likely Judy's goin' to need one more man than a husband to get her her
divorce. Mrs. Macy says Mrs. Lupey says as Busby said as if he had n't
been Mr. Drake's lawyer he'd have been more than ready to be the other
man, but as Mr. Drake's lawyer he can't help Judy no more'n if he was
Mr. Drake himself. Mrs. Macy says Mrs. Lupey cried, an' she told her as
she knowed as there was any number of quiet elderly men as any one could
depend on right here in our own community as'd be nothin' but glad to go
over to Meadville an' help anyway they could, but Mrs. Lupey asked Judy
about it, an' Judy asked Busby, an' Busby said men as you could depend
on anywhere was n't no us
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