“Here.” Mrs. Trask separated the strap from her own purse and Mary’s and handed Mary the bag.

“Thanks.” She placed her father’s letter in the purse. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Without waiting for a reply, she ran in Phyllis’s direction.

“Phyllis! Hey, Phyllis!” She caught up to her as she headed for the exit.

“Hello, Mary.”

“Hi, Mrs. Campbell. Hi, Truman.” Mary took Phyllis’s hand. “In case I don’t see you later, I wanted to say congratulations and good luck.”

“Thanks.” Phyllis hugged her. “You too. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

“Sure. Take care.” She knew Phyllis was right. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere; she’d be working down at Meyer’s. The thought depressed her beyond measure. She made her way back to Sam and her mother.

“Samuel tells me you two have plans for the evening,” Mrs. Trask said when she returned. “Don’t stay out too late and be careful.”

“We will. I promise to have Mary home before midnight.”

“Before eleven, you mean, right, Samuel?”

“Yes, ma’am. Before eleven.”

“Goodnight, Mother. Don’t wait up.” Mary kissed her on the cheek.

Sam put his arm around Mary. “I thought I’d take you to dinner at The Victor Café. What do you say?”

Mary’s stomach rumbled, a stark reminder that she hadn’t eaten all day. “Sure. That sounds nice.”

The restaurant was busy, but they were able to get a table in the front window. When they’d ordered and the waiter had retreated, Sam took Mary’s hands across the table.

“Now isn’t this nice?”

“It is.”

“When you marry me, I’ll treat you to dinners like this once a month, at least.”

Mary tried to liberate her hands, but Sam held fast.

“What’s the matter? You want to go out more often than that? Okay. I just thought we’d be saving to buy a house.”

Mary’s queasiness was back. “You’ve got it all planned out, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah. Isn’t that what the man is supposed to do? Take care of his wife and plan for the future? I thought that would make you happy—show you how responsible and reliable I am.”

Suddenly, Mary felt as though she couldn’t breathe, as though she was trapped with no way out. “Excuse me.” She threw her napkin on the table and hastened to the restroom. For long seconds, she stood at the sink, trying to take air into her lungs. She splashed cold water on her face and dried herself off. This is natural. You’re panicking over nothing. He’s saying the kinds of things anyone in his position would say. And what’s so bad about a guy who’s crazy about you wanting to take care of everything? Relax. Enjoy a nice dinner. You don’t have to answer him right now.

“Are you okay?”