328: Because they were ...
Herb ’n’ Lorna, Chapter 12 continues
BECAUSE they were doing so well, they turned away from coarse goods, though their respective uncles tried nearly identical arguments to make them change their minds.
“HERB, HERB,” said Ben, “you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. You are a mechanical genius, Herb. Will you just listen to me for a minute, please? You’ve been doing all right. Fine. But not long ago you weren’t doing so well, remember? Whenever you were a little short or you wanted something for Lorna, or you needed something for Ella, where did you turn? To me! You turned to me, Herb. And I was happy to see you. Now you’re selling cars, and that’s fine, just fine. You’re making some money. Everybody’s making some money. Now is our big chance. While everybody’s got some money, it’s our chance to expand! This is your chance to build a nest egg, Herb — put some money away for little Ella.”
“I’m sorry, Uncle Ben,” said Herb. “I know there’s sense in what you say, but — you have to understand — I look at it the opposite way. This is my big chance. It’s my big chance to get out, get out of coarse goods forever. I’m making money now, and I’ve got a good future. I don’t want to jeopardize that. I don’t want anyone, especially Lorna, to find out what I’ve been doing, and the longer you keep at something like this, the harder it is to hide. This is the end, Uncle Ben. The end.”
“LORNA,” said Luther, “forgive me for saying that I’ve heard this before.”
“I know you have, Uncle Luther,” said Lorna. “This will be the last time, though. Herb’s doing fine now, and he’s going to — ”
“ — just do better and better!”
“Yes. He is. And you have no right to ridicule him for doing what he does. He will do well. I’m sure he’ll do well. And he’ll do it without resorting to — what I’ve done.”
“Lorna, you ought to be proud of what you’ve done. You’re an artist! Your work is admired by some of the most discriminating collectors in the world.”
“Don’t treat me like a child, Uncle Luther.”
“Do you think I’m lying to you?”
“I — ”
“I assure you, I’m not. You are — ”
“Never mind,” said Lorna. “I don’t want to hear it. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m finished. Finished.”
LYING IN BED at night in those moments when even the closest lovers turn to private thoughts in the privileged solitude of those about to fall asleep, Herb and Lorna felt — this is the honest way to put it — purer for having renounced something that had always been a guilty secret; they felt (individually, privately, secretly) proud of having put this bit of the past behind them and secure in the idea that if things did get bad, or if Ella needed something that cost an awful lot of money, if there were an emergency, then (“A mechanical genius,” he said, thought Herb), but only then (“An artist,” he said, thought Lorna), coarse goods would pull them through.
[to be continued on Wednesday, August 31, 2022]
In Topical Guide 328, Mark Dorset considers Intentions, Aims, Plans; Resolutions, Commitments, Pledges, Promises; Foresight; and Planning: Contingency Planning, “Plan B,” “An Ace in the Hole” from this episode.
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