Had he been merely a "dull money-grubber"? Had he left his wife
too much alone? Was she not a mere child when he married her?
Could he not, with more consideration, have made of her a more
understanding companion? These were questions that were still
unanswered in his mind when he arrived at one of Detroit's most
enterprising hotels.
But later, having telephoned to his office and found that several
matters of importance were awaiting his decision, he forced
himself to enter immediately upon his business obligations.
As might have been expected, Alfred soon won the respect and
serious consideration of most of his new business associates, and
this in a measure so mollified his hurt pride, that upon rare
occasions he was affable enough to accept the hospitality of
their homes. But each excursion that he made into the social
life of these new friends, only served to remind him of the
unsettled state of his domestic affairs.
"How your wife must miss you!" his hostess would remark before
they were fairly seated at table.
"They tell me she is so pretty," his vis-a-vis would exclaim.
"When is she going to join you?" the lady on his left would ask.
Then his host would laugh and tell the "dear ladies" that in HIS
opinion, Alfred was afraid to bring his wife to Detroit, lest he
might lose her to a handsomer man.
Alfred could never quite understand why remarks such as this
annoyed him almost to the point of declaring the whole truth.
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