Margot laughed, but Betsy wasn’t sure Jill was amused. After she left, Betsy asked, “Margot, do you really have to go to a city-council meeting?”

“Yes, why?”

“I’m grateful for the ticket, but I’m not sure Jill and I will get along.”

“Oh, nonsense. I’m sure once you get to know her, you’ll like her very much.”

“Well, there’s no need to go out of your way just to be nice to me, when I’m guessing you’d really like to go.”

“You’re right, I would like to go, but I really do have to attend that meeting. The art show is one of our biggest annual events, thousands of people come here for it, and advance planning is very important. Anyway, I enjoy being nice to you.”

“Then I thank you very much.”

Margot went behind her desk to check Betsy’s entry of the sale to Jill. Betsy followed, asking, “Margot, what are your plans for me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I hope you aren’t planning on my being here forever.”

“I haven’t, but all right, I won’t. Why?”

“Irene Potter was in here a little while ago. Don’t you find her a little scary? She has the falsest smile I’ve ever seen. Then Jill came in, and when Irene tried to wait on her, Jill said to let me do it, and when I did it right Irene gave me a look that nearly froze my earlobes off.”

“Oh, Irene just has this problem about being nice. She tries, but she doesn’t know how.”

“No, listen. Jill says that Irene knows you are going to teach me how to run the shop. It seems Irene has her eye on this place, and she’s scared you’ve cut her out entirely by giving me her job.”

Margot grimaced. “Hardly. I only hire Irene when all my other part-time help has flu, broken legs, and brain concussions.”

Betsy insisted, “Margot, I think Irene Potter seriously hates me.”

“How can she hate you? She doesn’t know anything about you.”

“She thinks I’m taking something that should be hers. And if she hates me for taking her job, I bet she hates you for giving it to me.”

But Margot wasn’t listening; she was examining Betsy’s knitting. “This is very good, Betsy. The knitting is a trifle tight, but this row of purling is really well done!”

5

Margot woke early the next morning. Her usual first thought presented itself: What day is it?

Ah, Wednesday, her day off. What was on the agenda? Well, there was that art-fair presentation this evening, at seven sharp. Her notes were still on the computer. She’d read them over one more time, then print them out.

Betsy’s here, came a sudden memory, almost an interruption. That was something new in her normally predictable life. But not a disruption, came the reassurance, Betsy was all right, Betsy was fitting in fine, Betsy was enjoyable company.

But it did make a difference to have someone else living in the apartment, if only because she had to remember to wear a robe and to check the refrigerator rather than think that just because she had not used the last of the milk that there would be some for the morning coffee.