noon
That is , if you 'll lend me a dollar ! '' Laughing till they nearly cried , with Father shamelessly squeezing her arm on public thoroughfares , they again plunged into the Roman pleasures of the little tinsel restaurant . And like two lovers , like the telephone-girl in your office and the clerk next door , they made an engagement to meet at noon , next day , in a restaurant half-way between Regalberg 's and Father 's store . When she came breathlessly into that beef-stew and paper-napkin restaurant at noon , Mother already had something of the busy , unself-conscious look of the woman who can compete with men . Her cheeks were flushed with walking . Her eyes were young . She glanced about the room , found Father , smiled quickly , and proceeded to order her own lunch in a business-like way .