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true?”
    “Absolutely. Mine did when I married Ben.”
    “You’d known him all your life.”
    “Half of it, maybe. If he hadn’t come to San Angelo to live with his aunt and uncle and go to high school, though, I’d never have met him. I always thought it was supposed to happen.”
    “You really love him, don’t you?”
    “More than I have words to tell you, Cece, and I want that for you, too. You’ve seen how good Ben is to me. His parents are, too. I wouldn’t trade my life here on the ranch for anything. The only drawback was leaving you behind.”
    “I could’ve come along. Ben’s parents offered me a place.”
    “And Daddy wouldn’t let you take it, even though he didn’t want you. He didn’t want either one of us after Mamma died. I worry about you, Cece.”
    “Why didn’t he want us?”
    “He just didn’t.” Celeste thought Coralee sounded evasive. “But we had each other, didn’t we?”
    “You took good care of me, Sister, and I’m all right. I’m going to be even better someday.”
    “Daddy’s going to kill himself drinking. You know that.”
    “He still gets up on Monday morning, stone cold sober, and goes to work. From what I hear, everyone at the bank thinks he’s a paragon. Why does he do it, Sister? Why does he drink like that?”
    “It started after Mamma died, but there was something…well, never mind. You were too young to see it.”
    “Is that why? Because she died?” The long silence on Coralee’s end of the phone stirred Celeste’s curiosity, but Coralee answered as evasively as before.
    “No. Things weren’t right before that.”
    “Do you know why?”
    “It’s not important.”
    “Maybe it is.”
    “Forget it, sweetie.”
    “I’m not a baby anymore, Sister.”
    “I know. Cece, promise me you’ll do something about making a life for yourself away from that house. I just don’t like the idea of you there alone with him when he’s drinking.”
    “He says a lot of mean things, I guess, but that’s the liquor talking.”
    “As long as that’s all he does,” Coralee muttered.
    “Why would you say that?”
    “Because…I don’t know. Never mind.”
    “Don’t worry, Sister. Someday I’m going to meet the man of my dreams.” Maybe I’ve already met him.
    Coralee laughed. “Especially now, since you have that blue velvet dress.”
    ****
    After helping Mrs. Lowe, Celeste paid ten extra dollars on her layaway the following Monday. On Tuesday, Mrs. Lowe called Celeste to thank her again.
    “You were wonderful. Where did you learn to do all that? Arrange the flowers and do place cards and make those little appetizers in the shapes of flowers?”
    “Coralee taught me everything she learned in domestic science in high school. The rest I just sort of picked up from magazines.”
    “Well, my friend Ina Smith was impressed. You know Ina, don’t you? Her husband is the manager of the gas company.”
    “I can’t place her.”
    “She’s giving a Christmas party and asked me if I thought you’d help her. She’d pay you. In fact, I told her it would cost her ten dollars for one weekend. She can afford it. You’re worth every penny, Celeste. She’s going to call you.”
    For the next few weeks, Celeste hoped, in vain, to catch a glimpse of Kent again. By the first of December, she’d paid out her original layaway, and had only twenty dollars left to pay on the blue velvet dress. She could almost see herself wearing it. By doing without movies, lunches out on Fridays, and everything else except her church pledge, she drove her balance down dollar by dollar. On the fifteenth of December, she almost ran to Cox-Rushing-Greer to make her final payment.
    The saleslady caught her on her way out with the box under her arm. “You did it. I knew you would.”
    Celeste felt like her face would split from smiling. “Yes, ma’am, I did.”
    “I happen to know there’s a dance on Saturday night at the Roof Garden. You ought to go.”
    A new wave of excitement