At once her mood from one of hopefulness changed to one of deep depression — the blues.
Life was always doing things like this to her.
Here it was — two days before Christmas, and now she would have to go to Biltz, where there was nothing much but such cheer as she could bring, and all by herself, and after scarcely a moment with him.
She returned to her bench, her face showing all the unhappiness that had suddenly overtaken her.
Her manner was listless and her movements indifferent — a change which Clyde noticed; but still, because of his sudden and desperate feeling for Sondra, he could not now bring himself to repent.
At one, the giant whistles of some of the neighboring factories sounding the Saturday closing hours, both he and Roberta betook themselves separately to her room.
And he was thinking to himself as he went what to say now.
What to do?
How in the face of this suddenly frosted and blanched affection to pretend an interest he did not feel — how, indeed, continue with a relationship which now, as alive and vigorous as it might have been as little as fifteen days before, appeared exceedingly anemic and colorless.
It would not do to say or indicate in any way that he did not care for her any more — for that would be so decidedly cruel and might cause Roberta to say what?
Do what?
And on the other hand, neither would it do, in the face of his longings and prospects in the direction of Sondra to continue in a type of approach and declaration that was not true or sound and that could only tend to maintain things as they were.
Impossible!
Besides, at the first hint of reciprocal love on the part of Sondra, would he not be anxious and determined to desert Roberta if he could?
And why not?
As contrasted with one of Sondra’s position and beauty, what had Roberta really to offer him?
And would it be fair in one of her station and considering the connections and the possibilities that Sondra offered, for her to demand or assume that he should continue a deep and undivided interest in her as opposed to this other?
That would not really be fair, would it?
It was thus that he continued to speculate while Roberta, preceding him to her room, was asking herself what was this now that had so suddenly come upon her — over Clyde — this sudden indifference, this willingness to break a pre-Christmas date, and when she was about to leave for home and not to see him for three days and over Christmas, too, to make him not wish to ride with her even so far as Fonda.
He might say that it was that meeting, but was it?
She could have waited until four if necessary, but something in his manner had precluded that — something distant and evasive.
Oh, what did this all mean?
And, so soon after the establishing of this intimacy, which at first and up to now at least had seemed to be drawing them indivisibly together.
Did it spell a change — danger to or the end even of their wonderful love dream?
Oh, dear!
And she had given him so much and now his loyalty meant everything — her future — her life.
She stood in her room pondering this new problem as Clyde arrived, his Christmas package under his arm, but still fixed in his determination to modify his present relationship with Roberta, if he could — yet, at the same time anxious to put as inconsequential a face on the proceeding as possible.
“Gee, I’m awfully sorry about this, Bert,” he began briskly, his manner a mixture of attempted gayety, sympathy and uncertainty.
“I hadn’t an idea until about a couple of hours ago that they were going to have this meeting.
But you know how it is.
You just can’t get out of a thing like this.
You’re not going to feel too bad, are you?”
For already, from her expression at the factory as well as here, he had gathered that her mood was of the darkest.
“I’m glad I got the chance to bring this around to you, though,” he added, handing the gift to her.
“I meant to bring it around last night only that other business came up.
Gee, I’m sorry about the whole thing. Really, I am.”
Delighted as she might have been the night before if this gift had been given to her, Roberta now put the box on the table, all the zest that might have been joined with it completely banished.
“Did you have a good time last night, dear?” she queried, curious as to the outcome of the event that had robbed her of him.
“Oh, pretty good,” returned Clyde, anxious to put as deceptive a face as possible on the night that had meant so much to him and spelled so much danger to her.
“I thought I was just going over to my uncle’s for dinner like I told you.
But after I got there I found that what they really wanted me for was to escort Bella and Myra over to some doings in Gloversvile.
There’s a rich family over there, the Steeles — big glove people, you know.
Well, anyhow, they were giving a dance and they wanted me to take them over because Gil couldn’t go.
But it wasn’t so very interesting.
I was glad when it was all over.”
He used the names Bella, Myra and Gilbert as though they were long and assured intimates of his — an intimacy which invariably impressed Roberta greatly.
“You didn’t get through in time then to come around here, did you?”
“No, I didn’t, ‘cause I had to wait for the bunch to come back. I just couldn’t get away.
But aren’t you going to open your present?” he added, anxious to divert her thoughts from this desertion which he knew was preying on her mind.
She began to untie the ribbon that bound his gift, at the same time that her mind was riveted by the possibilities of the party which he had felt called upon to mention.