FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146  
147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>  
o, I was floatin' around free and careless. And then, first thing I know, without any special coachin' in the act, I finds myself pushed out into the center of the stage with the spot-light on me, and I'm introduced as a daddy. The only thing I could do was try to make a noise like one. I didn't feel it, any more'n I felt like a stained-glass saint in a church window. And I didn't know the lines very well. But there was everybody watching,--Vee, and the nurse, and Madame Battou, and occasional callers,--so I proceeds to bluff it through the best I could. My merry little idea was to be familiar with the youngster, treat him as if he'd been a member of the fam'ly for a long time, and hide any embarrassin' feelin's I might have by addressin' him loud and joshin'. I expect it was kind of a poor performance, at that. But I seemed to be gettin' away with it, so I stuck to that line. Vee appears to take it all right, and, as nobody else gave me the call, I almost got to believe it was the real thing myself. So this particular afternoon, when I came breezin' in from town, I chases right up to the nursery, where I knew I'd find Vee, gives her the usual hail just behind the ear, and then turns hasty to the crib to show I haven't forgot who's there. "Hello, old sport!" says I, ticklin' him in the ribs. "How you hittin' 'em, hey? Well, well! Look at the fistses doubled up! Who you goin' to hand a wallop to now? Oh, tryin' to punch yourself in the eye, are you? Come there, you young rough-houser, lay off that grouchy stuff and speak some kind words to your daddy. You won't, eh? Goin' to kick a little with the footsies. That's it. Mix in with all fours, you young----" And just then I hears a suppressed snort that sounds sort of familiar. I glances around panicky, and gets the full benefit of a disgusted glare from a set of chilled steel eyes, and discovers that there's someone besides Vee and the nurse present. Yep. It's Auntie. "May I ask," says she, "if this is your usual manner of greeting your offspring?" "Why," says I, "I--I expect it is." "Humph!" says she. "I might have known." "Now, Auntie," protests Vee, "you know very well that Torchy means----" "Whatever he means or doesn't mean," breaks in Auntie, "I am sure he has an astonishing way of showing parental affection. Calling the child an 'old scout,' a 'young rough-houser'! It's shocking." "Sorry," says I; "but I ain't taken any lessons in polite baby
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146  
147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>  



Top keywords:
Auntie
 

familiar

 

houser

 

expect

 

footsies

 
fistses
 
doubled
 

ticklin

 
hittin
 

grouchy


wallop

 

astonishing

 
breaks
 

Torchy

 
protests
 

Whatever

 
showing
 
parental
 

lessons

 

polite


Calling

 

affection

 

shocking

 

benefit

 

disgusted

 

panicky

 

suppressed

 

sounds

 

glances

 

chilled


greeting

 
manner
 

offspring

 

discovers

 

present

 
window
 

church

 
watching
 

stained

 
Madame

Battou
 

youngster

 
callers
 
occasional
 

proceeds

 

coachin

 
pushed
 

special

 
floatin
 

careless