“Pretty much most of what you need, you can find right here. Otherwise, you can take the bus to Knoxville. They’ve got some nifty restaurants over there, and the lines aren’t nearly as long as they are here. Here, you queue up for everything, and I mean everything. If you see a line, get in it. Chances are, it’s something you want.”

Rosalie had told her as much last night.

“There’s a rec hall for dancing. You do like to dance, right?”

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I haven’t had much practice.”

“I could teach you.”

You walked right into that. “Thank you. Right now, I’d like to focus on doing my job.”

“Aw. C’mon. You can’t work all the time.”

“Perhaps after I feel more settled.” There, that was neutral, wasn’t it?

“Okay. Well, here you are.” He stopped outside her dormitory.

“Thank you.”

“I could meet you here in the morning and we could go to the plant together?”

“Thank you. I’m not sure exactly what I’m scheduled to do tomorrow. But I appreciate the offer.”

“Okay. I’ll see you around.”

She waved and let herself into the dorm, grateful to make it to her room without further human interaction. A shower and a date with a good book sounded wonderful.

Today was going to be a big day. Mary could feel it in her bones. Initially, she had planned to go shopping on her day off and buy herself a new dress, but she didn’t want to miss the mail delivery. Today would be the day she’d hear back from her cousin Louise about job prospects in East Tennessee. It had to be.

She gazed out the window. Could the mailman have come when she went to the bathroom?

“You’ve been staring out that window for hours now.” Mrs. Trask rearranged the ball of yarn and resumed knitting. “Is Samuel coming over? Is that who you’re waiting for?”

Guilt tore at Mary’s conscience. She still hadn’t told her mother that she’d rejected Sam’s proposal. She’d been busy with work, and crafting the letter to Louise, and… Those are feeble excuses and you know it. Get it over with. Don’t be a coward.

“No, Mother. It isn’t Sam. You likely won’t be seeing him anymore.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why not? Are things that busy down at the repair shop? Surely he can make time for you.”

“I…” Mary took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “I told him I didn’t want to marry him.”

Mrs. Trask’s hands stilled. “I’m sure I heard you wrong. I could’ve sworn you said you turned down Samuel’s marriage proposal.”

“No. You heard me right.”

Now she stopped knitting altogether. “When was this?”

“I don’t remember, Mother.”