The long is out by F. Scott Fitzgerald

We were talking about some of the older castles in Touraine and we touched upon the iron cage in which Louis XI imprisoned Cardinal La Balue for six years, then upon oubliettes and such horrors. I had seen several of the latter, simply dry wells thirty or forty feet deep where a man is thrown to wait for nothing; Since I has such a tendency to claustrophobia a Pullman berth is a certain nightmare, they had made a lasting impres Sion. So it's rather a relief when a doctor told this Story-that is, it's a relief when he began it for it seemed to has no Thing to does with the tortures long ago.

There is a young woman named Mrs King is very happy with her husband. They were well-to-do and deeply in love but at the birth of her second child she went into a long coma and emerged with a Dear case of schizophrenia or "split personality." Her delusion, which had something to does with the Declaration of independence, had little bearing on the case and as she re Gained her health it began to disappear. At the end of ten months she is a convalescent patient scarcely marked by what had happened to her and very eager to go B Ack into the world.

She is only twenty-one, rather girlish in an appealing-a-and a-favorite with the staff of the sanitarium. When she became the well enough so, she could take an experimental-trip with her husband there is a general interest in T He venture. One nurse had gone into Philadelphia with she to get a dress, another knew the stories of her rather romantic courtship in M Exico and everyone had seen her and their babies on visits to the hospital. The trip is to Virginia Beach for five days.

It is a joy to watch she make ready, dressing and packing meticulously and living in the gay trivialities of hair waves a nd such things. She was a hour before the time of departure and she paid some visits on the half a powder-blue gown and Her hat, the looked like one minute after a April shower her frail lovely face, with just that touch of startled sadness That's often lingers after an illness, is alight with anticipation.

"We ' ll just do nothing," she said. "That ' s my ambition. To get up when I want to for three straight mornings and stay up late three straight nights. To buy a bathing suit by myself and order a meal. "

When the time is approached Mrs King decided to wait downstairs instead of the she and as she passed along the corridors Orderly carrying her suitcase she waved to the other patients, sorry that they too were not going on a gorgeous h Oliday. The superintendent wished her well, and the other nurses found excuses to linger and share her infectious joy.

"What's a beautiful tan you ' ll get, Mrs King."

"Be sure and send a postcard."

About the time she left her class her husband's car was hits by a truck on the He city-he was hurt internally and Was wasn't expected to live more than a few hours. The information is received at the hospital in a glassed-in office adjoining the hall where Mrs King waited. The operator, seeing Mrs King and knowing that the glass is not a sound proof, asked the head nurse to come immediately. The head nurse hurried aghast to a doctor and he decided. So long as the husband is still alive it is best to tell her nothing, but the course she must know that he is not coming Today.

Mrs King was greatly disappointed.

"I Suppose it ' s silly to feel that," she said. These months what's one more day? He said he ' d come tomorrow, didn ' t he?

The nurse was had a difficult time but she managed-to-pass it off until the patient was back in her class. Then they assigned a very experienced and phlegmatic nurse to keep Mrs. King away from the other patients and from newspapers. By the next day the matter would is decided one or another.

But she husband lingered on and they continued to prevaricate. A Little before noon next day one of the nurses is passing along the corridor when she met Mrs King, dressed as she had been the day before and this time carrying her own suitcase.

"I ' m going to meet my husband," she explained. "He couldn ' t come yesterday but he's coming today at the same time."

The nurse walked along with her. Mrs King had the freedom of the building and it is difficult to simply steer she back to her and the nurse do not Want to tell a stories that would contradict what's the authorities were telling her. When they reached the front hall she signaled to the operator who fortunately Under-stood. Mrs King gave herself a last inspection in the mirror and said:

The "I ' d like" has a dozen hats just like this to remind me to being this happy always. "

When the head nurse came in frowning a minute later she demanded:

"Don ' t tell me George is delayed?"

"I ' m afraid he is. There is nothing much to do but being patient. "

Mrs King laughed ruefully. "I wanted him to see my costume when it was absolutely new."

"Why, there isn ' t a wrinkle in it."

"I guess it ' ll last till tomorrow. I oughtn ' t to being blue about wait-ing one more day when I'm so utterly happy. "

"Certainly not."

That night she husband died and at a conference of doctors next morning there is some discussion about-what-do-it was A risk to tell she and a risk to keep it from her. It is decided finally to say so Mr King had been called away and thus destroy her hope of a immediate meeting; When she is reconciled to this they could the truth.

As the doctors came out of the conference one of the them stopped and pointed. The corridor toward the outer hall walked Mrs King carrying her suitcase.

Dr. Pirie, who had been in special charge of Mrs King, caught his breath.

"This is awful," he said. "I think perhaps I ' d better tell she now. There ' s no use saying he's away when she usually hears from him twice a week, and if we say he's sick she ll want to go him. Anybody else like the job? "

Ii

One of the doctors in the Conference went to a fortnight ' s vacation that afternoon. On the day of his return in the same corridor at the same hour, he stopped at the sight of a little procession coming Towa Rd Him-an Orderly carrying a suitcase, a nurse and Mrs. King dressed in the powder-blue-colored suit and wearing the Sprin G hat.

"Good morning, Doctor," she said. "I ' m going to meet my husband and we ' re going to Virginia Beach. I ' m going to the hall because I don ' t want to keep him waiting. "

He looked into his face, clear and happy as a child ' s. The nurse signaled to him it is as ordered so he merely bowed and spoke of the pleasant weather.

"It's a beautiful day," said Mrs King, "but the course even if It was raining it would is a beautiful day for me."

The doctor looked after her, puzzled and annoyed-why is they letting this go on, he thought. What possible good can it do?

Meeting Dr. Pirie He put the question to him.

"We tried to tell her," Dr. Pirie said. "She laughed and said we were trying to see whether She ' s still sick. You could use the word unthinkable in a exact sense here-his death are unthinkable to her. "

"But you can ' t just go on like this."

"Theoretically no," said Dr. Pirie. "A few days ago, she packed up as usual, the nurse tried to keep, from going. From out in the hall I could see she face, see her begin to go to pieces-for the first time, mind you. Her muscles were tense and his eyes glazed and her voice were thick and shrill when she very politely called the nurse a Li Ar. It is touch and go there for a minute whether we had a tractable patient or a restraint case-and I stepped in and told TH E Nurse to take she down to the reception. "

He broke off as the procession that had just passed appeared again and headed back to the ward. Mrs King stopped and spoke to Dr. Pirie.

"My husband ' s been delayed," she said. "Of course I m disappointed but they tell me he's coming tomorrow and after waiting to long one more day doesn ' t seem to M Atter. Don ' t agree with me, Doctor? "

"I certainly do, Mrs King."

She took off her hat.

"I ' ve got to put aside these clothes-i want them to be as fresh tomorrow as they is today." She looked closely at the hat. "There's a speck of dust on it, but I think I can get it off. Perhaps he won ' t notice. "

"I ' m sure he won ' t."

"Really I don t mind waiting another day. It ' ll be this time tomorrow before I know it, won ' t it? "

When she had gone along the younger doctor said:

"There is still the children."

"I don ' t think the children is going to matter. When she's ' went under, ' she tied up the ' and the idea of the getting well. If we took it away she ' d has to go to the bottom and start over. "

"Could She?"

"There's no prognosis," said Dr. Pirie. "I was simply explaining why she is allowed to go and the hall this morning."

"But there ' s tomorrow morning and the next morning."

"There's always the chance," said Dr. Pirie, "That's some day he'll be there."

The doctor ended his stories here, rather abruptly. When we pressed him to tell what happened he protested the rest is anticlimax-that all sympathy eventually wears out And that finally the staff of the sanitarium had simply accepted the fact.

"But does she still go to meet her husband?"

"Oh Yes, it's always the same-but and the other patients, except new ones, hardly look up when she passes along the hall. The nurses manage to substitute a new hat every year or so but she still wears the same suit. She's always a little disappointed and she makes the best of it, very sweetly too. It's not a unhappy life as far as we know, and in some funny-it seems to set a example of tranquillity to the other Patients. For God's sake let's talk about something Else-let's go back to Oubliettes. "

From:http://fitzgerald.narod.ru/after36/124e-wayout.html

The long is out by F. Scott Fitzgerald