Crossroads of Desire by Amos Hatter — page 32: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CROSSROADS OF DESIRE ing hard. All at once he was galvanized with the realization that this energetic ballet dancer had wangled him into a high toned recital at Crichton Hall, He had always dreamed of some day putting on a concert. He had never dreamed that he would be sitting down in white tie and tails to play a ragtime score for a ballet. “Gee whiz! I’m going to have to get into tip-top practice.” “You mean you haven’t done a thing toward getting ready for the recital?” asked Connie. “TI guess I didn’t fully realize what a fast worker you are.” When they hung up Connie called to Yvonne. The maid came in and listened to mademoiselle’s orders. “One of your jobs is to make a follow-up. Be sure to call Mr. Brooks tomorrow afternoon and remind him to rent a full dress suit if he hasn’t already done so.” “Oui. Ill do that.” Connie had several other calls to make. One of them was to Hillard, the promoter, who had been frantically trying to reach her for two days. He wanted to know if it was all right to hire a mailing firm to handle the invitations. He couldn’t possibly get them out with his limited office help. Connie told him to go ahead and those invitations damned well better be in the the mail by tomorrow night. And he had one other thing, a bill from the printer for nine hundred dollars and what was he to do about that. She told him to send it to Philip. A few moments later she had Philip on the telephone. ‘The bills are starting to come in,” she said. “I’m having them all sent to you.” “What bills?” he asked, blinking, “The bills for the recital.” “Recital—?” “Yes, yes, of course,” she said exasperated. “The recital that Larry Brooks is going to give. Really, Philip, I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately.” Neither did Philip. He felt a tingling at the back of his neck. He remembered, not too clearly, that he had agreed to some- thing about a recital. Now all at once it was very important that he find out what he was in for, especially if bills were coming in, He insisted that he come right over and have a talk with 62 CROSSROADS OF DESIRE Jonnie, She was busy but for once Philip demanded, and got, his way. Sitting on her divan in the living room, forty minutes later, he listened to the bad news. -*T euess I just didn’t realize what you were talking about the Other day,” he said lamely when Connie had brought him up to date. - “T can’t understand how that would be,” she said indignantly. “T told you what I had in mind and you said to go right ahead.” “Don’t get me wrong, Connie. I’m not trying to back out of it.” — “You'd better not,” she told him grimly. “The first thing I’ve got to do is call an emergency meeting of the Association. There’s liable to be some reaction to this,” he said fearfully. “Don’t tell them to come here. I haven’t got time. There’re a thousand and one things yet to be done on the recital.” bricks. That evening at a hastily called meeting of the Associa- tion in a private dining room of a mid-town hotel, Philip told the members what was going on. Things didn’t start going badly for him until Mrs. Switzer inquired as to just how much Was involved. “As near as I can figure out we’re committed for about «ive thousand,” said Philip. “What do you mean ‘we’?” asked Mrs. Switzer slapping the table and sitting forward. The other members agreed unanimously with her viewpoint and Philip began to perspire. The upshot of the meeting was that while the members didn’t mind lending the Association’s name to the recital, they refused to be assessed for something on which there had been no vote—no inkling, in fact—until now. During the week that followed word began getting around about the ragtime recital, thanks to Hillard’s efforts, and accep- tances of the invitations began coming in. The whole thing was given quite a boost when it was let out that the renowned Constance Carter, premiere danseuse of the Ballet de le Roi, was planning on using the music in a new ballet. The night before the recital, Connie arranged a dinner party Connie ooOolkS.c@ Philip left with the feeling that he’d been hit by a ton of : im