They climbed over the dusty zinnias onto the porch and walked through the open door without knocking.

“There certainly is always a funny smell in this house. I say it every time I come,” said Aimee Slocum.

Lily was there, in the dark of the hall, kneeling on the floor by a small open trunk.

When she saw them she put a zinnia in her mouth, and held still.

“Hello, Lily,” said Mrs. Carson reproachfully.

“Hello,” said Lily. In a minute she gave a suck on the zinnia stem that sounded exactly like a jay bird. There she sat, wearing a petticoat for a dress, one of the things Mrs. Carson kept after her about. Her milky-yellow hair streamed freely down from under a new hat. You could see the wavy scar on her throat if you knew it was there.

Mrs. Carson and Mrs. Watts, the two fattest, sat in the double rocker. Aimee Slocum sat on the wire chair donated from the drugstore that burned.

“Well, what are you doing, Lily?” asked Mrs. Watts, who led the rocking.

Lily smiled.

The trunk was old and lined with yellow and brown paper, with an asterisk pattern showing in darker circles and rings. Mutely the ladies indicated to each other that they did not know where in the world it had come from. It was empty except for two bars of soap and a green washcloth, which Lily was now trying to arrange in the bottom.

“Go on and tell us what you’re doing, Lily,” said Aimee Slocum.

“Packing, silly,” said Lily.

“Where are you going?”

“Going to get married, and I bet you wish you was me now,” said Lily. But shyness overcame her suddenly, and she popped the zinnia back into her mouth.

“Talk to me, dear,” said Mrs. Carson. “Tell old Mrs. Carson why you want to get married.”

“No,” said Lily, after a moment’s hesitation.

“Well, we’ve thought of something that will be so much nicer,” said Mrs. Carson. “Why don’t you go to Ellisville!”

“Won’t that be lovely?” said Mrs. Watts. “Goodness, yes.”

“It’s a lovely place,” said Aimee Slocum uncertainly.

“You’ve got bumps on your face,” said Lily.

“Aimee, dear, you stay out of this, if you don’t mind,” said Mrs. Carson anxiously. “I don’t know what it is comes over Lily when you come around her.”

Lily stared at Aimee Slocum meditatively.

“There! Wouldn’t you like to go to Ellisville now?” asked Mrs. Carson.

“No’m,” said Lily.

“Why not?” All the ladies leaned down toward her in impressive astonishment.

“’Cause I’m goin’ to get married,” said Lily.

“Well, and who are you going to marry, dear?” asked Mrs. Watts. She knew how to pin people down and make them deny what they’d already said.

Lily bit her lip and began to smile. She reached into the trunk and held up both cakes of soap and wagged them.