All afternoon, as the four of them moved around the kitchen, and later, as they ate in the dining room, Anna watched the way Pauline and Karl smiled at each other. The way they lightly touched one another’s hands as they passed a plate of turkey or the gravy boat. They were such a lovely couple, and Anna worked hard not to be jealous of the clear adoration they shared. Someday, she told herself, she would find a man who cared as much for her as Karl seemed to care for Pauline. So far, most of her potential beaus had turned out to be little more than friends. Anna’s mother used to tell her that friends were more important than boyfriends, but watching Pauline and Karl together set up a longing inside her for something more.

Over dinner, the three of them told Anna more about everyone she’d met in town, cutting through outside appearances to the real people inside. Mr. Arndt was as good and kind as he appeared, they said. Mr. Fiering at the cotton mill liked to dress in ladies’ undies, Pauline added.

“How on earth would you know that?” Anna laughed.

“Just a nasty rumor,” Karl said, with a grin that belied his words.

“Mayor Sykes is a blustering fool, but he gets the job done,” Miss Myrtle said. Pauline made a disparaging sound with her tongue. “His wife covers up bruises and everyone knows he has a lady friend on the side.”

“Pauline!” scolded her mother. “No one knows that for sure at all.”

Anna thought she might have been right to feel uncomfortable with the mayor in the warehouse. She would keep her distance from him from now on.

Once dinner was over and the kitchen clean, Anna mustered up her courage to show Miss Myrtle, Pauline, and Karl her sketch. She’d sent the original sketch to the section the week before, but she’d created an identical painting to work from when she was ready to start the cartoon—assuming of course, that the Section gave her the go-ahead. The cartoon paper she’d ordered had already arrived and she hoped she’d have the chance to use it.

“You’re so talented!” Pauline actually gasped, as though she hadn’t expected Anna to be so skilled.

“Very impressive,” Karl said.

“I told you,” Miss Myrtle chided them. “She’s a genuine artist, our Anna.” Our Anna. The words touched her. Made her eyes sting.

“I was worried about making the Tea Party the main subject,” she said, “but—”

“Oh, it must be the main subject!” Pauline said. “Of course it has to be.”

“Look at how well she drew the women’s faces,” Miss Myrtle said.