The nice young man did more than find my missing trunks; he found a
custom-house officer, and, after asking me privately which trunks
contained my most valuable possessions and how much I had thought of
declaring, he succeeded in having them passed through on my own
valuation without any undue exposure of their contents.
By this time Dad had grown very respectful. To see his little
Elizabeth treated like a queen, while on all sides angry women were
having their best gowns pawed over and mussed; was a most wholesome
lesson. He paid the thousand and odd dollars duty like a little man.
We'd been saved a lot of bother, and nobody hates a lot of bother
more than Dad. So when the trunks were locked and strapped and ready
to be sent to our hotel, Dad went up to the nice young man and said:
"I'm Tom Middleton, from California, and this is my daughter
Elizabeth. We're both very grateful to you, and if you should ever
happen to come to California, I hope you'll look us up."
That's Dad all over!
I never saw anybody look so pleased as the young man: "My name's
Porter," he said, "Blakely Porter. If my mother were in New York I
would ask if she might call on Miss Middleton, but, as it happens,
she's in California, where I intend to join her, so I shall look
forward to seeing you there."
Then Dad did just the right thing. "What's the use of waiting till
we get to California?" he said. "Why not dine with us to-night!"
There are people, merely conventional people, who could never
appreciate the fine directness and simplicity, of Dad's nature--not
if they lived to be a thousand years old. But Mr. Blakely Porter
understood perfectly; I know he did, for he told me so afterwards.
"It was the greatest compliment I ever had paid me in my life," he
said. "Your father knew nothing about me, absolutely nothing, yet he
invited me to dine with him--and you. It was splendid, splendid!"
The dear boy didn't know, perhaps, that honesty shone in his eyes,
that one could not look at him and deny he was a gentleman. And, of
course, I didn't enlighten him, for it is well for men,
particularly, young men, to feel grateful, and the least bit humble;
it keeps them from being spoiled.
But to return to the dinner invitation: Mr. Porter accepted it
eagerly. "It is more than kind of you," he said. "My mother is away,
and her house is closed. It is my first home-coming in four years,
and I should have been lonely to-night."
And poor Dad, who has been lonely--oh, so lonely!--ever since
Ninette died, shook hands with him, and said: "If my daughter and I
can keep you from feeling lonely, we shall be so glad. We are
stopping at The Plaza, and we dine at half past seven."
Then Mr. Porter found us a taxi-cab, and away we went.
It was good to be in America again. I made Dad stop the car, and
have the top put back, even though it was freezing cold, for I had
never been in New York before (when I'd gone to France, I had sailed
from New Orleans) and I wanted to see everything. The tall
buildings, the elevated, even the bad paving till we got to Fifth
Avenue, interested me immensely, as they would any one to whom.
Paris had been home, and New York a foreign city. Not that I had
ever thought of Paris as my real home; home was, where my heart
was--with Dad. I tried to make him understand how, happy I was to be
with him, how I had missed him, and California.
"So you missed your old father; did you, girlie?"
"Yes, Dad."
"And you'll be glad to go to California?"
"Oh, so glad!"
"Then," said Dad, "we'll start tomorrow."
Our rooms at the hotel were perfect; there was a bed room and bath
for me a bed room and bath for Dad, with a sitting room between, all
facing the Park. And there were roses everywhere; huge American
Beauties, dear, wee, pink roses, roses of flaming red. I turned to
Dad, who was standing in the middle of the sitting room, beaming at
me. "You delightful old spendthrift!" I cried. "What do you mean by
buying millions of roses? And in the middle of January too! You
deserve to be disciplined, and you shall be."
"Discipline is an excellent thing; even if it does disturb the set
of one's tie," Dad remarked thoughtfully, a moment later.
"I couldn't help hugging you, Daddy."
"My dear, that hug of yours was the sweetest thing that has happened
to your dad in many a long year."
And then, of course, I had to hug him again.
After luncheon (we had it in our sitting room) Dad asked if I would
enjoy a drive through the Park.
"I should enjoy it immensely," I said, "but I can't possibly go."
You see, there was a trunk to unpack, the one holding my prettiest
dinner gown. Of course Valentine was quite capable of attending to
the unpacking. Still, one likes to inspect everything one is to
wear, especially when one is expecting a guest to dinner. "Then,"
said Dad, "I think I'll order dinner, and go for a walk, shall we
have dinner here?"
"Oh, by all means! This is so much more homelike than a public
dining room."
"I'll not be gone more than an hour or two... Hullo! Come in."
A small boy entered, carrying a box quite as big as himself. "For
Miss Middleton," he said.
"Another present from you, Dad?"
"Open it, my dear."
"I thought so," he remarked, as the removal of the cover displayed
more American Beauties. (There were five dozen;) I counted them
after Dad had gone. Another million roses and in the middle of
January! "Who's the spendthrift this time, Elizabeth?"
"His name," I said, slipping a card: from the envelope that lay on a
huge bow of red ribbon, "is Mr. Blakely Porter."
Although I know, now, there are many things more beautiful, I
believed, then, that nothing more beautiful had ever happened; for
it was the first time a man had ever sent me roses. Nineteen years
old, and my first roses! They made me so happy. Paris seemed very
far away; the convent was a mythical place I had seen in a dream;
nothing was real but Dad, and America, and the roses somebody, had
sent. Somebody!