The Turmoil Booth Tarkington (best reads .txt) đ
- Author: Booth Tarkington
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Mrs. Sheridanâs manner was hurried and inconsequent; her clothes rustled more than other womenâs clothes; she seemed to wear too many at a time and to be vaguely troubled by them, and she was patting a skirt down over some unruly internal dissension at the moment she opened Bibbsâs door.
At sight of the recumbent figure she began to close the door softly, withdrawing, but the young man had heard the turning of the knob and the rustling of skirts, and he opened his eyes.
âDonât go, mother,â he said. âIâm not asleep.â He swung his long legs over the side of the bed to rise, but she set a hand on his shoulder, restraining him; and he lay flat again.
âNo,â she said, bending over to kiss his cheek, âI just come for a minute, but I want to see how you seem. Edith saidâ ââ
âPoor Edith!â he murmured. âShe couldnât look at me. Sheâ ââ
âNonsense!â Mrs. Sheridan, having let in the light at a window, came back to the bedside. âYou look a great deal better than what you did before you went to the sanitarium, anyway. Itâs done you good; a body can see that right away. You need fatting up, of course, and you havenât got much colorâ ââ
âNo,â he said, âI havenât much color.â
âBut you will have when you get your strength back.â
âOh yes!â he responded, cheerfully. âThen I will.â
âYou look a great deal better than what I expected.â
âEdith must have a great vocabulary!â he chuckled.
âSheâs too sensitive,â said Mrs. Sheridan, âand it makes her exaggerate a little. What about your diet?â
âThatâs all right. They told me to eat anything.â
âAnything at all?â
âWellâ âanything I could.â
âThatâs good,â she said, nodding. âThey mean for you just to build up your strength. Thatâs what they told me the last time I went to see you at the sanitarium. You look better than what you did then, and thatâs only a little time ago. How long was it?â
âEight months, I think.â
âNo, it couldnât be. I know it ainât that long, but maybe it was longerân I thought. And this last month or so I havenât had scarcely even time to write more than just a line to ask how you were gettinâ along, but I told Edith to write, the weeks I couldnât, and I asked Jim to, too, and they both said they would, so I suppose youâve kept up pretty well on the home news.â
âOh yes.â
âWhat I think you need,â said the mother, gravely, âis to liven up a little and take an interest in things. Thatâs what papa was sayinâ this morning, after we got your telegram; and thatâs whatâll stimilate your appetite, too. He was talkinâ over his plans for youâ ââ
âPlans?â Bibbs, turning on his side, shielded his eyes from the light with his hand, so that he might see her better. âWhatâ ââ He paused. âWhat plans is he making for me, mother?â
She turned away, going back to the window to draw down the shade. âWell, you better talk it over with him,â she said, with perceptible nervousness. âHe better tell you himself. I donât feel as if I had any call, exactly, to go into it; and you better get to sleep now, anyway.â She came and stood by the bedside once more. âBut you must remember, Bibbs, whatever papa does is for the best. He loves his chuldern and wants to do whatâs right by all of âemâ âand youâll always find heâs right in the end.â
He made a little gesture of assent, which seemed to content her; and she rustled to the door, turning to speak again after she had opened it. âYou get a good nap, now, so as to be all rested up for tonight.â
âYouâ âyou meanâ âheâ ââ Bibbs stammered, having begun to speak too quickly. Checking himself, he drew a long breath, then asked, quietly, âDoes father expect me to come downstairs this evening?â
âWell, I think he does,â she answered. âYou see, itâs the âhousewarming,â as he calls it, and he said he thinks all our chuldern ought to be around us, as well as the old friends and other folks. Itâs just what he thinks you needâ âto take an interest and liven up. You donât feel too bad to come down, do you?â
âMother?â
âWell?â
âTake a good look at me,â he said.
âOh, see here!â she cried, with brusque cheerfulness. âYouâre not so bad off as you think you are, Bibbs. Youâre on the mend; and it wonât do you any harm to please yourâ ââ
âIt isnât that,â he interrupted. âHonestly, Iâm only afraid it might spoil somebodyâs appetite. Edithâ ââ
âI told you the child was too sensitive,â she interrupted, in turn. âYouâre a plenty good-lookinâ enough young man for anybody! You look like you been through a long spell and begun to get well, and thatâs all there is to it.â
âAll right. Iâll come to the party. If the rest of you can stand it, I can!â
âItâll do you good,â she returned, rustling into the hall. âNow take a nap, and Iâll send one oâ the help to wake you in time for you to get dressed up before dinner. You go to sleep right away, now, Bibbs!â
Bibbs was unable to obey, though he kept his eyes closed. Something she had
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