Part 11 (1/2)

JOHN

So do I.

[_He glances sternly at LUCY._

LUCY

[_nervously_]

So do I.

JUDGE

All right. Stick to it, if you love it. Only, don't claim credit for doing what you enjoy. I stuck to my home for a quarter of a century and disliked it the whole time. At last I'm free to say so. Just think of it, Lucy, free to utter those things about marriage we all know are true but don't dare say! Free to be honest, John! No longer a hypocrite, no longer a liar! A soul set free, Theodore--two souls, in fact. ”Two souls with but a single thought----”

THEODORE

Stop! You have _children_ to consider, not merely your own selfish happiness!

LUCY

Yes, think of Tom and little Julia!

JUDGE

We did ... for a quarter of a century--sacrificed everything to them, even our self-respect; but now--what's the use? We are childless now.

Tom and Julia have both left us for ”little homes” of their own to love.

THEODORE

Ah, but don't you want them to have the old home to come back to?

JUDGE

”No place like home” for children, eh? You're right--can't have too much of it. Most children only have _one_ home. Ours will have _two_! When they get bored with one they can try the other.

THEODORE

But, seriously, Uncle Everett--”Whom G.o.d hath joined together!”

LUCY