Lucy Peckham and Sally Hancock came in the door just as Mrs. Craig brought in a large bushel basket decorated with white and gold paper. The basket was heaped with shower gifts for Ethel.
“Here you are, my dear,” Mrs. Craig said. “And you know we all wish you great happiness with every gift.”
Tears glistened in Ethel’s eyes as she looked at the basket.
“I sort of knew it would be a shower,” she admitted. “But I never had a basketful of presents before in my life. You just shouldn’t have done it!”
Doris started to play the Wedding March, and the girls clustered around Ethel as she slowly opened her presents. Mrs. Craig waited till the first gift was opened, and then she slipped out into the hall. As she started up the stairs, the door opened, and Mr. Craig and Ted Loring came in.
She turned around and came down to greet her husband and the young doctor. “Why, Ted,” she said fondly, “how nice to see you!” She smiled at her husband.
“Ted and I have some things to talk over, Marge,” Mr. Craig explained. “We thought tonight would be a fine time.”
“Then you didn’t come to join the party?”
Ted stared at her in mock horror. “Heaven forbid!” he exclaimed. He peeked through the entranceway into the living room. “They do look lovely, don’t they?”
Mr. Craig smiled at the sight of the radiant girls. “Yes, they do,” he agreed. “Now Marge, if you’ll excuse us, I’ll just take this young man into the study.”