The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty - Eudora Welty [3]
"The point is, what did she do after the show?" asked Mrs. Watts practically. "Lily has gotten so she is very mature for her age."
"Oh, Etta!" protested Mrs. Carson, looking at her wildly for a moment.
"And that's how come we are sending her to Ellisville," finished Mrs. Watts.
"I'm ready, you all," said Aimee Slocum, running out with white powder all over her face. "Mail's up. I don't know how good it's up."
"Well, of course, I do hope it's for the best," said several of the other ladies. They did not go at once to take their mail out of their boxes; they felt a little left out.
The three women stood at the foot of the water tank.
"To find Lily is a different thing," said Aimee Slocum.
"Where in the wide world do you suppose she'd be?" It was Mrs. Watts who was carrying the letter.
"I don't see a sign of her either on this side of the street or on the other side," Mrs. Carson declared as they walked along.
Ed Newton was stringing Redbird school tablets on the wire across the store.
"If you're after Lily, she come in here while ago and tole me she was fixin' to git married," he said.
"Ed Newton!" cried the ladies all together, clutching one another. Mrs. Watts began to fan herself at once with the letter from Ellisville. She wore widow's black, and the least thing made her hot.
"Why she is not. She's going to Ellisville, Ed," said Mrs. Carson gently. "Mrs. Watts and I and Aimee Slocum are paying her way out of our own pockets. Besides, the boys of Victory are on their honor. Lily's not going to get married, that's just an idea she's got in her head."
"More power to you, ladies," said Ed Newton, spanking himself with a tablet.
When they came to the bridge over the railroad tracks, there was Estelle Mabers, sitting on a rail. She was slowly drinking an orange Ne-Hi.
"Have you seen Lily?" they asked her.
"I'm supposed to be out here watching for her now," said the Mabers girl, as though she weren't there yet. "But for Jewel—Jewel says Lily come in the store while ago and picked out a two-ninety-eight hat and wore it off. Jewel wants to swap her something else for it."
"Oh, Estelle, Lily says she's going to get married!" cried Aimee Slocum.
"Well, I declare," said Estelle; she never understood anything.
Loralee Adkins came riding by in her Willys-Knight, tooting the horn to find out what they were talking about.
Aimee threw up her hands and ran out into the street. "Loralee, Loralee, you got to ride us up to Lily Daws'. She's up yonder fixing to get married!"
"Hop in, my land!"
"Well, that just goes to show you right now," said Mrs. Watts, groaning as she was helped into the back seat. "What we've got to do is persuade Lily it will be nicer to go to Ellisville."
"Just to think!"
While they rode around the corner Mrs. Carson was going on in her sad voice, sad as the soft noises in the hen house at twilight. "We buried Lily's poor defenseless mother. We gave Lily all her food and kindling and every stitch she had on. Sent her to Sunday school to learn the Lord's teachings, had her baptized a Baptist. And when her old father commenced beating her and tried to cut her head off with the butcher knife, why, we went and took her away from him and gave her a place to stay."
The paintless frame house with all the weather vanes was three stories high in places and had yellow and violet stained-glass windows in front and gingerbread around the porch. It leaned steeply to one side, toward the railroad, and the front steps were gone. The car full of ladies drew up under the cedar tree.
"Now Lily's almost grown up," Mrs. Carson continued. "In fact, she's grown," she concluded, getting out.
"Talking about getting married," said Mrs. Watts disgustedly. "Thanks, Loralee, you run on home."
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.