During the evening of the same day that Alfred was enjoying such
pleasurable emotions, Zoie and Aggie were closeted in the pretty pink
and white bedroom that the latter had tried to describe to Jimmy. On
a rose-coloured couch in front of the fire sat Aggie threading ribbons
through various bits of soft white linen, and in front of her, at the
foot of a rose-draped bed, knelt Zoie. She was trying the effect of
a large pink bow against the lace flounce of an empty but inviting
bassinette.
"How's that?" she called to Aggie, as she turned her head to one side
and surveyed the result of her experiment with a critical eye.
Aggie shot a grudging glance at the bassinette. "I wish you wouldn't
bother me every moment," she said. "I'll never get all these things
finished."
Apparently Zoie decided that the bow was properly placed, for she
applied herself to sewing it fast to the lining. In her excitement she
gave the thread a vicious pull. "Oh, dear, oh dear, my thread is always
breaking!" she sighed in vexation.
"You're excited," said Aggie.
"Wouldn't YOU be excited," questioned Zoie'"if you were expecting a baby
and a husband in the morning?"
"I suppose I should," admitted Aggie.
For a time the two friends sewed in silence, then Zoie looked up with
sudden anxiety.
"You're SURE Jimmy sent the wire?" she asked.
"I saw him write it," answered Aggie, "while I was in the office
to-day."
"When will Alfred get it?" demanded Zoie eagerly.
"Oh, he won't GET it until to-morrow morning," said Aggie. "I told you
that to-day. It's a night message."
"I wonder what he'll be doing when he gets it?" mused Zoie. There was a
suspicion of a smile around her lips.
"What will he do AFTER he gets it?" questioned Aggie.
Looking up at her friend in alarm, Zoie suddenly ceased sewing. "You
don't mean he won't come?" she gasped.
"Of course I don't," answered Aggie. "He's only HUMAN if he is a
husband."
There was a sceptical expression around Zoie's mouth, but she did not
pursue the subject. "How do you suppose that red baby will ever look in
this pink basket?" she asked. And then with a regretful little sigh, she
declared that she wished she'd "used blue."
"I didn't think the baby that we chose was so horribly red," said Aggie.