“An evening gown!” Penny gasped. “Where will you wear it?”
“I’ll find places.”
“Maybe she aims to catch a husband while she’s galavantin’ around out there in Californy,” contributed Mr. Hodges with a sly wink.
“The very idea!” laughed Mrs. Weems, yet with no displeasure.
Penny sagged into the nearest rocking chair. The conversation was paced too fast for her.
“Evening gowns—husbands—California,” she murmured weakly. “Wait until Dad hears about this.”
“Mr. Hodges was only joking,” declared Mrs. Weems, reaching for her hat. “I wouldn’t marry the best man on earth. But I definitely am going west this summer.”
“I envy you, Maud,” said the seamstress, her eyes shining. “Pa and I want to go out there and buy a little orange grove someday. But with taxes what they are, we can’t seem to save a penny.”
Mrs. Weems squeezed her friend’s hand.
“I wish I could take you along, Jenny,” she said. “All these years you’ve sewed your poor fingers almost to the bone. You deserve an easier life.”