New Horizons by Lois Gladys Leppard

boardinghouse.
    Breathing a sigh of relief as she closed the door to their room, Mandie fell into one of the big chairs. “I can’t believe Grandmother came all this way to check up on me. But I’m glad that she seems to like Mrs. Thomason and Mrs. Dunnigan.”Mandie reached for her notebook and took out the mail her grandmother had delivered. “At last, I can see what Joe Woodard felt it took three letters to tell me.” She laughed. “And Adrian has written again.”
    â€œRobert writes to me at the college,” Celia said, sitting in the other chair, “but I’ll have to let him know we are living in the boardinghouse now.”
    Mandie nodded her head in agreement, then quickly opened Joe’s letters, scanned them, and told Celia, “Joe wrote practically the same thing in all three letters. He says he has been doubling up his classes again this year. And since he couldn’t remember my address at the dormitory, he felt he should just write to my house and assumed my mother would be sure to get it to me.”
    â€œWell, with all that schoolwork, I can’t believe he has time to write to you—three times at that!” Celia smiled. “Evidently he doesn’t want you to forget him.” She laughed. “And that you are supposed to marry him when you both finish school.”
    â€œNow, Celia, you know that is only his side of the story,” Mandie quickly reminded her. “I may never marry.”
    â€œWhen you do, I’ll remind you of what you’ve just said,” Celia said.
    Mandie opened her fourth letter and quickly read it. “Adrian has written practically the same thing he wrote before,” Mandie said. “That shows we don’t really know much about each other. He has nothing new to say.” She put the letter back inthe envelope and took all four of them over to her bureau drawer.
    After settling herself back in the chair, Mandie faced Celia and said, “It seems that Grandmother is not going to try to cause me any trouble about moving into this boardinghouse.”
    â€œWhy would she?” Celia asked. “Your mother approved, so what could your grandmother do except accept it?”
    â€œThat is true,” Mandie remarked. “She is going directly to my mother’s house from here. And I suppose she’ll be there for Thanksgiving, too, which is only two weeks away.”
    â€œI know. I’m actually looking forward to it,” Celia said. “Aunt Rebecca has already written that she will travel down here to escort me home. Are you traveling alone when you go home?”
    â€œOh goodness, I had not even thought about that. Of course, it will have to be Grandmother. She won’t trust me alone on a trip that far away.”
    But Mandie was in for a big surprise. The week before Thanksgiving she received another letter from Joe. He was coming to Charleston to take Mandie home for the holidays.
    Mandie discussed his letter with Celia. “It seems that he has been doubling up classes so he could have time to come after me,” she said with a frown. She wasn’t sure she wanted Joe to be so possessive as to show up at her college to escort her home.
    ----
    On the day that Joe arrived at Mandie’s college, Mandie wassurprised to find that she looked at him proudly. Joe seemed to have settled down and become much more mature just since she had seen him in the summertime. He was wearing very stylish clothes, but he was still the same old Joe, with his big grin and twinkling brown eyes.
    Mandie had had Mr. Ryland drive her and Celia to the train station to meet the train when he came in. She noticed lots of other students from her college and the boys’ colleges either greeting arrivals or boarding the train themselves. Mandie again noticed many interested glances cast her way.
    After finding Joe and picking up his luggage, the three traveled back to the hotel, where Mandie and