“It would look real sweet sitting on your piano with a little bouquet of flowers in it,” Nadine said.

Lily made the rounds, but it was a slow process. Every one of them wanted to talk. When Nadine finally said, “If we’re going to make all the stores in Comfort by noon, we’d better be paying for our purchases and getting—” She sucked in a lungful of air. “Oh. My. Goodness! I must have one of these shawls. Virgie, come look at this. You should get the yellow one for Easter.”

By ten thirty they’d nearly all trickled out. Sally dropped into a chair behind the counter and said, “Thank God you came in when you did. I couldn’t keep up with the lot of them. I don’t think a senior citizens’ Sunday-school class would rob me blind, but if they did, I wouldn’t have known until inventory time.”

“Want something to drink? I can go across the street and get us something,” Lily offered.

“No need.” Sally shook her head. “That old Philco refrigerator in the back room still runs beautifully. It’s stocked with drinks and stuff to make sandwiches. I’ll take a diet root beer if you’re going that way. Oh, and there’s candy bars in the basket on top of the fridge.”

“Snickers?” Lily asked.

“Is there any other kind?” Sally chuckled.

Lily got two candy bars, a diet root beer, and a bottle of sweet tea from the fridge and carried it all to the front. “How often does that happen?”

“In the summer, it’s a daily thing. In the spring, maybe three times a month, yet not so much this time of year.” Sally pulled the tab from her can of soda and took a long drink. “I sold two thousand dollars’ worth of stuff this morning, so I’m not complaining, and now you can see how bad I need help. Sit down.” She pointed to the other chair. “Tell me about life with Mack so far.”

“How well do you know Adam?” Lily asked.

“Good God, please tell me you aren’t interested in him,” Sally said. “He’s trouble in a thousand-dollar suit.”

“I’m not one bit interested in him.” Lily went on to tell her about Adam flirting with her.

“Just more proof that he’s an asshole,” Sally declared. “When we were sophomores and he was a senior, he sweet-talked me under the bleachers after a football game one Friday night. I was all excited. I mean, after all, I was a chubby sixteen-year-old, and the quarterback of the football team was interested in me. Right up until he told me that we were going to have sex. I told him no, and he called me every name he could think of. He stormed off, and I half expected him to tell all his friends that I’d put out, but he didn’t.”