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in the town. She’d heard the news—read it in the paper. The town was in deep mourning.
    When the clock chimed nine the next morning, Estella decided she could wait no longer. If Andy wasn’t in trouble, then he’d be at work and about his business. But if something was wrong . . .
    She packed up some of the cake and set it aside with her purse. Next she drew on her galoshes and coat, finishing up with a heavy scarf and gloves. She smiled at the winter wonderland that greeted her outside. The snow was at least a foot deep.
    “It’s just a little snow,” she said aloud in the same manner Howard would speak upon rising to such a scene. “Snow will never slow me down.” She mused over the memory of her husband shoveling snow in his shirtsleeves.
    “Where’s your coat, Howard Nelson?” she’d ask.
    “Why? Is it lost?” he’d tease. “Look, woman, I’m working out here. It may only be thirty degrees, but I’m sweating up a storm and I’m not wearing any coat.”
    “Fine, then you’ll just come down sick,” she’d counter. But he never did. He had the constitution of a horse. Always able to get out there and do the job at hand. Until a heart attack changed all of that.
    “Mornin’, Miz Nelson!”
    Estella smiled and waved. The little boys next door had come to shovel her walk and were even now finishing up the job.
    “Good morning, Timmy. My, but we had a nice snow, didn’t we?”
    “Yup. School’s closed for another day. Isn’t it great?”
    She smiled. “Just so long as you don’t let your head gather cobwebs.”
    The boy looked at her strangely, but it was his little brother who questioned her.
    “How would cobwebs get in your head, Miz Nelson?”
    She chuckled. “Jimmy, any time you allow yourself to stop learning, cobwebs tend to gather. It’s all well and fine to have a day off, but remember, you can always read a book and take a little adventure on your own.”
    “I don’t like to read,” Timmy interjected. “It’s hard.”
    She patted the ten-year-old on the head. “It’s hard because you don’t practice. And you don’t practice because it’s hard. You have to try—you have to give it all you’ve got. I have to go run some errands right now, but if you like, you may both stop by my house later this afternoon. If you will come and read to me, I’ll give you each a piece of cake.”
    “Real cake?” Jimmy questioned, his eyes widening.
    Estella knew the family was very poor and completely unable to have such luxuries. “Real cake,” she said, bending down. “And we’ll send a piece home for your mom and dad. How about it?”
    They nodded enthusiastically. “But what book should we read?” Timmy asked. “We don’t have many books.”
    “That’s all right. I have several that should interest you. Just come on over and we’ll figure it out together.” She paused and added, “And, boys, this is a first-rate shoveling job. I don’t know when I’ve seen a cleaner sidewalk.”
    “Mama didn’t want you to fall,” Timmy offered. “She sent us over, but we would have come anyway. We didn’t want you to fall either.”
    Estella laughed. “Well, we’re all in agreement about that. I’ll let you boys get back to work, but don’t forget about this afternoon.”
    “We won’t!” they declared.
    The boys were quite excited and were still chattering aboutthe prospect of cake as Estella made her way down the sidewalk. The folks in her neighborhood were poor, but loving and kind. They looked out for one another and they were especially good to her. Howard would be pleased to see it. He’d always worried about what would happen to her if he were to die first.
    For a time, he had tried to teach her how to fix things around the house. She loved the memories of working with Howard as he fixed a smoky stove or mended a torn screen. She never gave any real consideration to learning to do the things he taught, however. Her Howard would no doubt be with her until the end of