“Ella,” said Lorna, “have you spoken to Dudley recently?” There was concern in her voice.
“No,” said Ella. “I haven’t. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Lorna. She stepped into the room and walked to the window. She stood there a moment, looking across at Dudley’s living room window. She sighed. “He seems awfully down in the dumps to me. I wondered what you thought.”
“Do you think anything is wrong with him?” Ella turned onto her side, facing the window.
“Well, I’m not certain,” said Lorna, “but I think Dudley may be feeling a little — old.”
“Oh, but that’s silly. Why should Dudley feel — ”
“He’s thirty now, you know.”
“That’s true — ”
“And none of us paid much attention to his birthday. We haven’t been paying much attention to him at all lately. He may be feeling a little neglected.”
“Oh.”
“He might feel that — oh, I don’t know how to put it — he might feel that the romance has gone from his life.”
“That’s a terrible thing,” said Ella. She got up from the bed and stood beside Lorna, looking in the direction of Dudley’s house. “His light’s on. He’s home now,” she said. “Do you think I should — ”
“That’s a fine idea!” said Lorna. “Why don’t you go over and try to cheer him up.”
“All right. If you think it would help.”
“Don’t let him see that you’re worried about him, of course — ”
“Oh, I wouldn’t.”
“And — try to show him that he’s — not too old to be interesting — to a girl your age. Flirt with him a little.”
“Mother!”
“It’s the one thing that’s certain to make him feel rejuvenated.”
“Well, I — ”
“Brush your hair. And put on that sweater that buttons up the back.”
“I thought you didn’t approve of that sweater.”
“I — oh, don’t bother about what I think. Dudley’s sure to like it.”
When she had finished the dishes, Lorna went into the living room and sat at the piano with the lights off. Herb was off playing cards with the Spotters Club, and Ella was in Dudley’s arms, where she was rediscovering, to her surprise, a set of sensations that she thought she’d never experience again and learning, for the first time, that love is not a homogenized, unvarying blend. In the dark, Lorna began to play “Lake Serenity Serenade.”
In Topical Guide 362, Mark Dorset considers Language: Idioms: “Down in the Dumps”; and Love: Varieties of from this episode.
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🎧 362: “Ella,” said Lorna ...