VALERIE’S NAME HAD been removed from the door and only Glory’s remained. She could hear Glory singing to herself, moving around the tiny cubicle. She knocked and went inside.

Glory looked up as she entered. She was wearing another silk teddy bare, blue and trimmed with tiny bows. When she saw Pin, she yanked a dressing gown from a hanger and pulled it on, her cheeks reddening.

“Pin! You should’ve knocked!”

“I did,” Pin said. She stared at the floor, but Glory had turned her attention to a pair of stockings. After a moment she looked up, beaming.

“Pin, I’ve got my own dressing room! I mean, it’s the same room, but now I have it to myself. How’s that?”

“That’s swell.” Pin cleared her throat. “Glory, listen. I—I need your help with something.”

“Is it Lionel?” Glory examined one of the stockings for ladders. “Because he’s not here, I checked when I got back. Do you have his book?”

“No. I couldn’t—there were too many people at the fortune-teller’s. And, well, no, it’s not about Lionel. It’s something else. It’s— I need to borrow some clothes.”

“Clothes?” Glory set down the stocking to stare at her. “What clothes?”

“Well, your clothes. Ladies’ clothes.”

“Ladies’ clothes? What’re you talking about? For what?”

“For a—for an act. At the park.”

“An act? Like a minstrel show?”

“Sort of. If it works out, I can make a lot of money. We could—if you’d like, we could go to the movies. Afterward. Tomorrow or whenever you’d like.”

“So, you want to borrow ladies’ clothing for a show,” Glory repeated slowly. “Like what Wally does? When he dresses up as Sweedie?”

Pin nodded. Her throat hurt, like the lie was stuck in there. “Yeah,” she croaked. “That’s what gave me the idea. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy…”

“That’s good, because I’m not giving some boy anything fancy. Especially you—it’d just get ruined.” Glory continued to stare at Pin, bewildered. “They won’t give you a costume?”

“No. They want you to bring your own. It’s just an audition. I swear, I won’t let anything happen to it.”

“I’m still not giving you anything fancy.”

Glory stepped over to the rack of dresses and began to examine them in a businesslike manner, glancing over her shoulder to size up Pin. As Pin watched, she felt again that tightness in her throat, though now it was a dry yearning, not the fear of being caught in a lie.