Kingdom On Earth

ANNE BROOXS H Jl NEW YORK WILLIAM MORROW COMPANY 1941 AND COMPANY, INC. Published, May, 1941 Second printing, May, 1941 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY QTJINN BODEN COMPANY, INC., RAHWAY, N. J. For My Family PART I August 1938 South WaleSy Connecticut I PART II September 19 38 - February 1939 New York 33 PART III June 1939 New York 77 PART IV September i939 December 1939 New York 1 25 PART V January i94o-March 1940 New York 193 PART VI April i94o-July 194.0 Net York 245 PART VII Labor Day Weekend, 1940 South Norwalk 317 PART I August 1938 SOUTH WALES CONNECTICUT THOUGH it was August, the night was very cold, and Harriet sat close to her new husband and kept her right hand in his pocket. They could see the moon light through the windows of the station wagon, but it was yellowish, distorted by the smoky isinglass which showed the prints of dogs paws and human fingers. In the front seats, Harriet could see the heads of Joel s family. The car lights silhouetted them into four black knobs. They were singing, soprano, tenor, alto and a tune less bass. In the darkness Harriet smiled at them tenderly Joel had said that she would like them, but he had for gotten the important thing, which was that they would like her. Joel hadn t realized yet how uncertain she was, and afraid of people. But there could be no fear where people were so friendly. Harriet had never known that a family could be as aif ectionate as this and at the same rime as unpossessive. The only other warmth she had ever known had been grasping. The station wagon rode crunchingly into the driveway and stopped with a little splatter of gravel against the wheels. They sat in silence for a moment, their song stopped, enjoying the fresh, clear night. Joel s oldest sister, who had been driving, made the first move. She got out abruptly, and the others, moved by her action, opened their doors and joined her. Together they turned towards the house and saw the porch lights go on. Elaine, Joel s mother, stood on the doorstep to welcome them, and they greeted August her hilariously. Harriet was as eager as any of the rest of them, and she could hardly recognize herself as she took Elaine s arm impulsively, joining Joel in describing the movie they had just seen. They all followed into the house. In the living room, drinks sat waiting on a tray by the couch. There was a fire in the brick fireplace, so huge that it nearly lit the room. Only a few lamps in far corners supplemented it. Even they wouldn t be needed, Harriet thought, in an ordinary-sized room, but this was the biggest living room she had ever seen. It was long and low, like the great kitchen it had once been. Hooks still hung from the ceiling where they had once supported bacon sides and hams. The Dutch oven beside the fireplace had been turned into a woodbox. Harriet had always imagined that people who had money lived stiffly she had not realized that com fort could be a luxury too. Attractive as this room was, there was nothing useless in it. The great armchairs had been built for softness, there were ashtrays and cigarette boxes at every hand, and there were knitting bags, tennis rackets, golf clubs, and magazines lying about. It was only because it was all so big that it was not untidy. Elaine poured beer and highballs and the girls sat down while the men carried their drinks to them. Joel brought Harriet a glass of beer and set the bottledown by her side so that she could refill her glass. After he had gone back for his own he sat down beside her, leaning against her legs. The firelight pinkened his long, thin hand, and made the glass in it glitter. Pris, Joel s younger sister, had turned on the big radio victrola in a corner and was dancing with Fulke White head, the young Harvard boy. Harriet smiled at them they were so much like puppies, frank and not too passionate in