somebody else, there is no resentment, unless it be at yourself. Molly never asked anything, even by implication. She was grateful for whatever you might offer. She invited you to dinner—and it was a good dinner.
“However, the bachelors seem to be growing aware of the potency of Thursday night. A theatrical manager who was asked about that matter admitted that Thursday night had been becoming more popular of recent years than hitherto. An all-night restaurateur noted an increase in his Thursday receipts. Molly is coming into her own.”
This article appeared only in the first edition of the newspaper. In the second edition it was replaced by a disquisition on the early summer habits of bayberry bushes. The hospitable feature editor told Tommy that the article had to be excised to permit a better make-up on the page. Tommy might have understood the explanation had he seen an inter-office memorandum from the managing editor to the feature editor, which read:
“Kill that Thursday night nonsense. Are you running a matrimonial agency?”
Nevertheless, Tommy sent an ostentatiously marked copy to Dorothy, who wondered what its import might be but concluded that Tommy must be very clever to have things printed in the paper and his name signed to them. She mentioned the receipt of the article to Arnold, who commented that he could write newspaper stuff too if business didn’t take up so much time and that Tommy probably didn’t get much for that kind of work anyhow.
Arnold’s deprecating observations, however, didn’t deter Dorothy from permitting Tommy to call on Thursday night. Tommy offered to take her to the first night of “Babies While You Wait,” a new comedy which he
[26]
