Free The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady by Susan Wittig Albert Page A

“Meeting adjourned,” she pronounced.
    â€œSarah’s birthday?” Lizzy asked. “I’ve lost track. How old is she?”
    â€œShe’ll be fifteen—can you believe? She’s asking for a new bathing suit, and heaven knows she needs one. She’s getting . . .” Ophelia gestured with her hands. “Curvy. I’ll help you two clear up, and then I’ve got to run.”
    â€œGo now,” Lizzy commanded, pushing her chair back. “We’ll clear.”
    â€œAnd take the cookies with you,” Verna said. “They’re scrumptious. Sam’s team will love them.”

SIX
    Verna and Lizzy Make Plans

    A few moments later, everything was put away and the kitchen was in order for the next Dahlia group that would be using it. Verna stuck her treasurer’s ledger in her handbag and went toward the door. “Are you headed home, Liz?”
    â€œGoing to the post office first. I’m hoping for a letter.” Lizzy put on her straw hat, turned out the kitchen light, then followed Verna out the back door and waited while she locked it. “From Nadine Fleming—my agent.”
    â€œI’ve got a favor to ask you, so I’ll walk with you,” Verna said. “And I have to go to the grocery.” She put the key under the rock beside the back door and looked up with a smile. “The letter—you’re hoping for news about your novel, then?”
    â€œYes.” Wishing it would cool off, Lizzy fell into step beside Verna as they walked up Rosemont in the direction of the courthouse square. The weather had been hot and sultry the past few days, and the gardens were in need of moisture.But if the storm in the Gulf blew ashore, it might cool things off and bring them some rain. She hoped so.
    â€œNadine has promised to tell me whether the manuscript is ready to send out,” she added, as they stepped around a pair of young girls skipping rope on the sidewalk. “I have my fingers crossed that it is.”
    As Lizzy said the words, she found herself not quite believing them. Ever since she was a teenager, she had been promising herself that she was going to write a book, and now she had done it. She wrote it during the months she’d been working in Mr. Jackman’s law office in Montgomery—“in exile,” as Lizzy had thought of it at first. But now, she had to admit that if she hadn’t gone into exile, she probably wouldn’t have written the book.
    It was Mr. Moseley who suggested the job to her, with the idea that it might be better if she got away from Darling for a while. The suggestion was especially kind and generous, for it came right after she had received the shock of her life, when Grady Alexander—Lizzy’s longtime all-but-fiancé—had told her that he had to marry Sandra Mann, because they were expecting a baby. In fact, the wedding was planned for that very weekend. To make matters even worse (if that was possible), Lizzy had discovered that Grady and his new bride would be moving into the old Harrison house, just down the block.
    Grady’s betrayal had come as a terrible blow, and it took all of Lizzy’s strength to pretend that it didn’t hurt (although of course it did). For several days, she went around making excuses for Grady, holding her head high and wearing an artificial smile that fooled nobody, least of all Mr. Moseley. But at last, she decided to follow up on his suggestion that she take the temporary job with Mr. Jackman in Montgomery.
    This decision was made a little easier when it turned out that Ophelia was eager to fill in for Lizzy in Mr. Moseley’soffice, in addition to her part-time work for the
Dispatch
. At the time, Snow’s Farm Supply was barely holding on and money was tight in the Snow household, so every extra dollar was a big help. If Lizzy went to work in Montgomery, Ophelia could take Lizzy’s place in Darling.
    The