6 -MAID UP

peared that a brother of his grandfather had died in California and left him several hundred thousand dollars as the nearest relative carrying the old family name "Gilles." This would enable him to live comfortably for the rest of his life. Wanting to be active, he bought a small mail order business which was simple to run, and made a little money as well. He opened a small office in White Plains.

As the news about his good fortune was publicized, he received several phone calls from old friends wishing to establish new contact with their newly rich "dear old friend."

One of the calls was from Mary. He was very glad to hear her voice after all this time and promptly made a date with her.

Mary had grown to be a beautiful woman. Very tall and statuesque with radiant features, a figure out of a harem story and very attractively dressed. He was still very fond of Mary, remembering their old pleasant relationship. They dated frequently and after a few weeks John discovered that he had fallen in love with Mary. He admired her strong determined character and he did not mind if she planned most of their evenings together, deciding where to go and what to do. It did not matter to him, as long as he could enjoy her company. After high-school Mary graduated from nursing school and worked at the local hospital, where after only a few years she became Director of Nursing, bossing the other nurses around in her strong but pleasant way.

They were married that spring. One of Mary's brothers Joe, served as John's best man. John liked Joe the best of all Mary's brothers. They seemed to be attuned to the same wave-length in life, having the same views on tolerance, friendship and service to mankind. The morning of the wedding Joe appeared to be very quiet and thoughtful and John asked him; "What's the matter? I am the one who should be hesitant."

Joe answered; "Oh, never mind, I was just thinking about your future with Mary."

"What were you thinking? Come on, tell me; does it look good to you?"

"Of course," said Joe, "Only you two are so different." "Well, opposites are supposed to be attracted," responded John.

"True enough," continued Joe. "It's just that I have found in life basically two kinds of people: one kind is the sensitive, good natured, giving, and the other kind are the hard ones who have no compunction to take advantage of their softer hearted friends or spouses. I sure hope you are doing the right thing."

"Love is supposed to surmount everything" said John optimistically. "Mary and I are sure in love, deeply and forever." "Spoken like a true groom," laughed Joe. "Just forget what I said."

TV FICTION CLASSICS -7

John had a handsome but soft appearance. Years later John sure had occasion to remember Joe's words. The wedding was simple but beautiful and Mary and John were very happy on their honeymoon. Upon their return from Niagara Falls, John showed his surprise wedding gift to Mary. The beautiful house in Yorktown, sitting on 5 acres of beautiful sloping land, with complete privacy, well-cared for lawns and gardens. The house had a very pleasant interior, with a large living room, dining room and den; a beautifully equipped kitchen, maid's quarters, and 3 bedrooms upstairs with a fine view over the hills looking North toward Brewster.

Knowing that Mary would want the final say on the inside decoration, the house was still empty and Mary and John spent many blissful months completely furnishing and decorating their home. The happy years were spent there together, entertaining friends, with John as a considerate husband helping Mary wherever he could. On their fifth anniversary he presented Mary with the deed to their house and Mary was both thrilled and relieved.

The only dark cloud on the horizon was the fact that no children had arrived. Both Mary and John went for a medical examination and anxiously awaited the result. It appeared that Mary had some functional disorder and would never become a mother. John was naturally very disappointed. He had always dreamed of a large happy family, just like his own. He still missed his family. All his sisters had moved away to Florida and California and were busy raising their own families.

Mary seemed to take the news all right, although soon after he