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the acton free press a paob esbeei tbhi 3ffnf rrhfl hort tnrg the message of the rose maroahbt r san09tbr masibt hujmibth often wondered ijc how a life crowded with beauty as iwrcwn could be lone ly working from morning until evening jnirrounded by glorious flowers should be enough to satisfy any girl i yet there vere moments when karen ruling uke princess pw the fairy realm of the vogue viewer shoppe was acutely con- clous of a great lack when young nun oame into the ahop with radiant girls to buy corsage bou quet 6f gardenlaa and violet karen was perhaps the loneliest when other young nun oame dashing in to send boxes of dewy roses to girls who were not with them and whvnthese same young men flushed and wrote laborious cards which they sealed tightly in wee white envelopes she felt completely soli tary karen you see had never had the leisure to devote to romance she had worked steadily from that time when at fourteen she bad left school she had supported her invalid mother until her death nearly year ago now at twen tyone the girl had no contact other than business ones although she at tended church and sunday school she had no leisure to devote to socials and entertainments and so she met none of the fine young people who wore also regular churchgoers the vogue flower shoppe was karens life its narrow boundaries formed her borlson line karen had begun work as a messen explanation tu nave to do all my flower buying here now x know that will bo nice said karen and fomd to her annoyance that she was flushing the young man then bowed and walked through the door his tissue- wrapped rose in hi hand karen told herself thats that i probably wont see bun again i she did not see him again not until the next morning bright and early ho was again bowing to her through the glass of her window was again entering the flower shop til have another rose if you please he said as karen went to get it he asked do you do all the work here yourself f do you own this shop i mean karen answered no i don t own it im just the manager then said tho young man i sup- pose you have conmldorabla time or no karen told htm i don t i m here day in and day out ohl sold the young man ho sighed us he pad for his rose and then he wo on hlb way the next morning it wan raining not a elvety spring shower but a downpour that made karen very soul acho karen had gotten her feet wet when she was going through the flower market and the was tired the patter of the rain mode htr feel alone made her mlaa her mother and the telephone orders had all been fussy ones perhaps that was ger girl in the flower shop when she was the reason she did not see the young man fourteen at sixteen she had become w ii th a clerk and at nineteen she was the manager with the coming of depres sion times when the staffs were cut m all businesses karen had through neces- alty become clerk and manager combin ed she ran the business unaided save for the boys who delivered flowers she had no advice or interference other than the weekly call from the owner of the ahop who checked over her accounts and paid her salary the rest of the tune she managed the place alone and in a completely efficient manner the flowers that she purchased were always the freshest the bouquets that she sent out m answer to tefephone orders in vaably were marked by good taste ftor that reason karen hudreth was making the vogue flower shoppe pay which was saying quite a bit in an era of hard times being the entire staff of thr shop however kept her very busy she rose almost with the birds ao that she could get to the wholesale market in time to do her buying often the ahop did not close until ton o clock at night and by that time she um weary that she almost fell into bed 111 probably stul be tending this flower ahop when im firty karen often mid in her heart i u doubtless be as crinkled and weary as a twoweeks old daffodil by that time and iii hae just as few friends as i have now one bright springtime morning then romance paused in front of the windov of the vogue flower shoppe and untied at her through the clear glass of it romance was in the shape of a young man as romance u s girl of twenty one usually is the young man in question uu ver well dressed and attractive his rough tweeds were english in cut his lips curv d in the nicest sort of way and his brown eyes twinkled he glanced through the window at karen arranging s great boal of lavender tullpa suddenly hen a though acting on an irresistible lm pulse he swung on his heel and entered the shop i hope im not bothering you hr said to karen while his eyes said quite kn more but td like to buy a flower you means plant asked karen i ve some awfully nice on today primroses crocuses and een earl ram biers the young man laughrd said i dont want a plant one rose a single red rose ne you have in the place karen went swlftl to the glaaard in niliterator where tho rut fl ers wore l pi a hr tnt hr niched this un nut had i hiked cihiialh 1 i iuni f w i moment shr had wished that tlw milu 0 utrihui hut 1 wu in it it u v t i i in ii i n u m a filial rtit y it a lui i i nt niranliifc mi i ii w i u j that a v uiifc mun 1 ei me r mu ii indeed kwivn had pcill m en jea 111 u fl er mk p she km a the algiui ikr tiiir waa thoughtful an the selected the reddest of the amerl an beautls in suxk but her tins r mml i juiit want the loelir until he had come dripping through the noor and had closed it sharply behind him karen could not help smiling when- she saw him 1 suppose she said you want a rose i tha young man answered her smile brightly i suppose i do he said some girl karen told him is awfully lucky having you bring her a red rose every morning it must bo like she hesitated it must be like being engaged to a poet oh im not a poet said the young man lm not even engaged he added you mean not yet corrected karen that said the young man is exact ly wlu i mean he took the rose and departed into the rain suddenly karen was lonelier than she ever had been be i fore matters went on like that through the w hole of two weeks the other custom era came and went buying jonquils potted ferns sweet peas and clumps of lilac somehow the day for karen hu dreth revolved around that morning hour when a young man came smilingly through the door and bought a rose he called hex miss hlldreth now and she knew that his name was ralph jennings and that he worked down town in a brokerage arm she did not know to whom the roses went howtvrr and she w as too proud to ask at the beginning of the third week of their acquaintance ralph jennings said nr morning as he was waiting for his flower to or wrapped dont you ever co out to dinner miss hlldreth you must eat you know unless you live on flow era i you make me sound like a butterfly oi a bee smiled karen but no i dont live on flowers i usually go to dinner in the little tea shop two doors from here you see i have to close the shop w hen i rn out and so i cant leave for long i a as hoping said ralph jennings that sometime i might induce you to to to dinner with me i eat in that same tea shop as i told you before i live in i lie neighborhood and though wl haven t been formal introduced were pra tkatl old friends karen gave a hard little twist to the paper in whkh she was wrapping the i flowtr uow about the girl who nvt i a jour nmnilng rose hr naked th i one you re not engaged u yet how i ould she feel about ur inviting me i to dlnntr i i ant thli k ilw d mind at all said i italph jmnirupt shea t broad minded he added with n twinkle she in 11 be sld karvti soberl but 1 dont think id btfter a xt pi our liultuu n afu nil uee oni nut in a inuiiir wa jual u vou u agjtpd v ouufc man gruvel and tlwn he txtin tuinself out that nig hi h wvier hen kiuxii i seated herself at a little table in the tea 1 room and ordered her hurrtrd dinner she psw ralph jcnnligs sltttrur at a table not too far distant he grinned rngagtngl worth while after all this was not exactly going to dinner with him it was at least on her part an accident no x wouldnt mind if you did x think tt would be fun the said while the ate her soup and roast and salad she and the young man talked she found that the was telling him about her lonely existence her mother who had passed away her church and a score of other things she found alto that she in turn was learning something of the yonng man re too was alone in the world he had come from a distant city to take on a new job and he was making strides ahead in the business he too longed for a real home and a family of h own but youll have all that soon said karen if the roses you buy from me are as effective as they should be the young man looked at her strange ly yes he said if the roses that i buy from you are as effective as they should be a lot of thlngi will happen all at once karen realised that her eyes were lowered and that the was blushing beneath his glance when she left him to go back to the shop the had made up her mind to one thing she had decided that their next meeting would be on a more formal basis and that if necessary she would change her eating place lonely or not she would not in terfere with a man who was another s girls property so tho next morning karen allowed herself to be preoccupied when ralph jennings came jauntily into the store i have your rose all wrapped and wait ing for you she told him shortly i ve a rush order to fill and i m very busy and anyway i knew just what you u anted ralph looked at her strangely you re sure you knew just what i wonted he asked i ought to by this time answered karen ralph spoke in an odd choked voice tt s almost a month that i ve been com ng here he said and i don t believe that you like me a bit better than you did on the day when i bought the first rose why should i said karen after all im only a saleswoman who serves you the roses you buy are for some body else ralph had come close to her i d like to send you all the roses in the world he said in a low breathless tone that s how i feel about you i karen felt her chetka go pale could it be she wondered that she was in love that at last she had touched hands with romance only to find that the romance was out of reach she should not have allowed herself to become in terested in this oasual customer who was buying flowers for somebody else it was best to treat the matter as lightly as possible oh she said 1 don t want all the roses in the world i sending roses to me would be like sending coals to newcastle maybe at that she added and there was desperation in her tone it would ven be bettor if you bought your roses in another shop i shall be sorry to lose u good steady customer but after all my business is to sell flowers not to receive empty eompumetrti the face of the young man was as pale as he own what do you mean empty compliments he said karen had turned her hack however and had hurried across the shop toward the refrlgeraung case im very busy im sorry but i can t go on talking with you she said just then another customer camejn and ralph turned sharply on his heel and went out he did not come back at the end of a week karen went back for the first time since her dinner with ralph to the little tea room when the was half through with din ner she spoke hesitantly to the waitress the young man who had his coffee with me a week or two she said with an attempt at being casual has he been in recently the waitress bent understanding eyes on karen he hasnt been here for a few day she isld hes a nice fellow too i thought he was sort of stuck on you she added with the familiarity of an old friend hes real lonely i think but hew jolly we au liked him he u anthracite tnquirm now mbout odcbn anthraqte turnino equipment j b mackenzie son ctml and coke lumber bailders supplies contractor the solid fuel for solid comfort cucumbers delicious flavor c nice size for jc cabbage delicious firm heads grten new per lb 4c oranges delicto in sweet medium large per dozen 20c onions dutch bus 3 dutch ihs for 19c spinach 2fbs curi ind dre n 1 o hrtsh for ul potatoes lbs for woc celery j 2 nu for nik bize bulks 9c tomatoes i- rm k pc 10c rhubarb ew runht for wv nt hrr utd uhrit she had ftntshrd gl in as hr turn back to the you man h mw wmln ww till tfic do she askfxi i w ii alll tk wr co nlrlj answer hl vrtr oung man but his rvra wn on j kartn and not on the nowrr as hi napped it deftly in tissue paper nd handed it to htm a she jue him change for the bill he prorterrd his eyes were 4u on her lace oue a loelj shop here he ventured in the manner of one maklnt conversation i like it said karen of course it you who have made it oly the youna- man went on h never seen a window arranejed so charm ingly your window rve juat moved tntb the ne he added m ward her across the room would ou nlnd he asked if i trought my coffee oer to our table lm jus finishing my own dinner karen reallj meant to make an objec tton and then the objection did not seem pineapples bin was kximshes carrots etc carrolls limited good shoes fob tolo and old cemeur fluest r p rachun acton used to come in for breakfast and moat every day hed aire one of us a red rote karen felt her cheeks flushing all at once a light was breaking on her he bought those red roses at my shop the said i thought he was buying them for tome special girl didnt he ever come in here with a young lady oh no ma am answered the wolt- ress youre the only young lady we ve ever mmsi him with karen was silent for a moment i don b suppose you know where he lives she questioned then the waitress chuckled yes she said do know where he lives its in that brownstone building over thejfe she pointed to a remodeled house directly across the street from the tea room thanks for telling me said karen she then flnuhed her dinner hurriedly and went back to the shop as she worked among her flowers everything was suddenly clear to her ralph hod felt the same emotion that she had felt when they had glimpsed each other through the shop window on that first day it had been that rare thing love at first sight he had come in because of it and hod bought the iroes as an excuse to keep coming in the things he had said to her werp swiftly taking on a dear and a new meaning r she had been so stupid that she had not understood his interest in herself she had actually insulted him had not riven him a chance to explain her eyes were wet with tears as karen went to the refrlirorator where tho cut flowem were kept behind the uurs howiver her eyi were sparkling at lost shn knew how to handle tho situation she selected the reddejit of the roses swatht 1 t in tissue paper und laid it in one f vho shop a pretty boxen she uw li dts patched it by one of tlu boy who did the shop a rranda l the brown apa t ment house in which tht young man lived she did not put any card with the rose fiell knowt nhe nald as she closed the shop tho next mornlrm when kann hil dreth looked through the tear glasa of the window and saw the approaching figure of a young man in tweeds a young man whose eyes were aglow and whose face as all one smile she knew that she would not ever be lonely any more her life would soon be as full of loveliness as a window crowded with maytlme flowers f no insult a young lady nndlng herself stranded in a small town asked an old man at the station where she might spend the night there ain t no hotel here he said ut you can sleep with the station agent sir she exclaimed 1 11 have you know im a lady thats ail right drawled the old man so a the station agent scotts scrap book by r j scott falmm h1au0 mill south phuc omam aiailt0 4ub immfftna m mmomt aartijm honduras maw tkpakacfk bhrftlm 60lomy wa6 umdeaiftb mile ajmmi m lm- brtflsh momouha1 mm a 3flla aeplimahim4 wiwltan i bimh bah veaik- piasf1ut vioay op summepj mo colour hart a imh tint tawo aaa at kmh b tiaaafaraail ltt nmfvq uwi any probltr ol latoriar cmatmjoa far habvo u a nimaillm ant quiliti of point vamua ana oaoaiol maoivo la was arrtng ond oaoy to um avallaalo la so batotlm ahata tml mumhy comfaht mmitbd for sale by wm r lashbrook iiardharl paints plumbing mux street acton l a nowthn dtxa vitonc c 47 of golilao tip tc pi 33e juice 2 2 cksmpioa oe food 2 t 19c domestic 2 k 25c ctm ol wheat o 14c 22c cowmi i ecofioaucsl cocoa 25 hot 0n mtmlwd sooo freac i mustard 9c al potato salad i sll wkh beans cimt fatalty molasses good sliod prunes cooliftf figs di m can niblets 2 gordon potdi caaico peas 2 hlm1 corned beef values gionl i jaantaa glonl flaa locort 59e i wm 59c toil p lueberjes ii 25c apples 2 n 4 ii 83t pancake flour 15c po maple syrup 23e mclaon oomoj pudding 2 17c hja lomlo soup 2 23c gik sardines 8e ia oap chips 2 13c qy ck sos chipso i- f 19c nso 9e 23c woodb cial soap 2 c- 15c chocolate bridge e d smiths pure dainties po 17 damson jam 23 sta vinegars 2 o bo 25 a pineapple 2 t 25 bs tomatoes 3 20 soud pumpk4n 2 no vi tib 5 carrolls mill street limited avjflaai store closed wednesday afternoons free delivery phonb 158 l uh u 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