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Waiting fifteen minutes or so to phone can't make much difference.

We get home pretty fast and I introduce Mary to Mom and Pop.

She sinks into the nearest chair and takes off her shoes.

"Excuse me," she says.

"I just bought these heels, and it's awful wearing them!"

She wiggles her toes and begins to look better.

Mom offers her a pair of slippers and Pop passes some potato chips.

Mom says, "Poor child, did you try to do all your Christmas shopping at once?"

"Well, actually, I was having fun just looking for a long while. I have two little cousins that I don't really have to get much for, but I love looking at all the toys. I spent quite a while there. Then I did the rest of my shopping in a rush, and everyth

She stretches out her toes to touch Cat, who is sitting in front of her.

"I couldn't think what to do. It's so hard to think when your feet hurt."

"It certainly is," agrees Mom.

She goes out to the kitchen to finish fixing dinner, and Pop suggests Mary better phone her home.

She gets her father, and her mother has left a message that she was delayed and figured Mary would go home alone.

Mary gives her father our address and tells him she'll be home by nine.

We must have hit a lucky day because we have a real good dinner: slices of good whole meat, not mushed up stuff, and potatoes cooked with cheese in them, and salad, and a lemon meringue pie from the bakery, even.

After dinner we sit around a little while, and Pop says I better take Mary home, and he gives me money for a cab at the end of the subway.

When Mary gives the driver her home address, I say it over to myself a few times so I'll remember.

Suddenly I wonder about something.

"Say, how'd you know my phone number?"

"I looked it up," she says simply.

"There's about twenty-eleven Mitchells in the Manhattan phone book, but only one in the East Twenties, so I figured that must be you."

"Gee, that's true. You must have had an awful time, though, standing in the phone booth with your feet hurting, going through all those Mitchells."

Says Mary, "Oh, no. I did it one rainy afternoon at home, weeks ago."

Well, what do you know.

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