In Honor of St. Patrick's Day--Maeve Brennan

When I started out this morning I had no intention of posting what follows.  Not because it is not good, but because I had other items in the line-up, which may still make it into the rotation for the day.  But I was so moved and touched by the lines you're going to read because they bring together such a splendid story of dreams and disappointments, that I thought, what a nice way to commemorate, quietly, the day.

from "A Free Choice"
in The Springs of Affection
Maeve Brennan

In the hall below, Hubert waited alone and watched for Rose to come down the stairs. He held her lace handkerchief in his hand. He had seen it slip from her sleeve as she entered the drawing room, and he had picked it up and put it in his pocket to keep for her. He would have told her he had it, but she had given him no chance to speak to her. She had danced off, and then she had gone on dancing, round and round the room, and finally she had begun dancing with that Nolan fellow, and he had gone off in a rage to the dining room and eaten ham sandwiches one after another so that he would not have to watch her smiling in the arms of that glorified corner boy, that ladies' delight, that actor at love.

Hubert was angry and anxious. She had slipped away. He had lost her forever.

I leave it to you to seek out the story and see why this is the beginning of the perfect culmination, why these little phrases say so much and round out what must be a nearly perfect story of love, heartbreak, disappointment, and unexpected joy.  And why, as one brick in the edifice, they make the Rose and Hubert story so much more moving and sad.