Lucy snatched her check from George, refusing to look at him. Before she left the building, she made sure that her car keys were ready in her hand. She went straight to her car, scanning the parking lot to make sure no attacker was lurking. She unlocked her car door quickly, made sure no one was hiding in the backseat, and climbed in, locking the door immediately. It was only after she was safely in her car that she noticed the other women clustered together by the door. She started the car and circled around the lot to the group, rolling down her window.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“I’ve been laid off,” announced Bev, her voice flat with shock.

“Me too,” Karen said with a moan.

Lucy ripped open her envelope immediately, but only her check was inside. She still had a job, but she wasn’t sure she wanted it.

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN

#4152 These heavy-duty coffee mugs are favorites with merchant seamen and railway crews. They are extremely sturdy and keep coffee hot for a long time. $8.

“It’s a crime, I’m telling you, a crime.” Officer Culpepper’s voice boomed over the din in Jake’s Doughnut Shop. Jake’s was everybody’s favorite coffee shop, and today, four days before Christmas, it was packed. Lucy didn’t go to Jake’s very often; somehow her days didn’t include time to dawdle over coffee, and even if she had the time, she didn’t want to be tempted by the doughnuts.

But at noon Bill had come home early and announced that his knee was bothering him and he was going to take the afternoon off. Sara was feeling much better, so Lucy decided to seize the opportunity and take her mother shopping. They had gone through most of the stores in town, and everywhere they went her mother had the same comment.

“I just don’t see anything here that I want to buy,” she would say, shaking her head and clutching her purse with two hands.

Lucy couldn’t decide if she really found all the shops uninspiring or if she just couldn’t bring herself to part with any money. Lucy knew her mother had been well provided for, but she suspected that the loss of her father’s weekly paycheck had made her nervous about spending anything at all. Passing Jake’s, Lucy had seen an empty table and suggested they stop for coffee. She needed a break, and her mother could certainly use the calories.

“I’ve heard those Bavarian cream doughnuts are delicious. Wouldn’t you like to try one?” she urged her mother.

“Oh, I never snack.”

“You’ve been losing weight. You should have a snack now and then,” said Lucy, forcing herself to make eye contact with her mother. She hated to see her dull eyes, sagging cheeks, and lank hair.

“Oh, I eat very well. I eat three meals every day.”