Veve asked if they might see the garments. She was trying hard not to reveal her excitement.
“I’ll see what I can find for you, while you’re eating your bread and jam,” Mrs. Myles offered.
She sliced a generous piece of bread for each girl. Then, leaving them by the fire to play with Tops, the cat, she disappeared into the adjoining room.
During the woman’s absence, Veve and Connie gazed curiously about the kitchen.
The room was scantily furnished. A well-scrubbed kitchen table, a corner cabinet, three chairs and the stove constituted the only visible items. Lacking an ice box, Mrs. Myles had set a milk bottle outside the window.
Connie could see that the dining room was equally bare. The floor had no rug and the curtains were nearly worn out.
“Mrs. Myles must be very poor,” she whispered to Veve. “Maybe we should offer to pay for the buttons.”
Veve did not know what to say. Neither she nor Connie had brought any money with them. Nor did they know how much old buttons might be worth.
By the time the girls had finished their bread and jam, Mrs. Myles returned. Her arms were laden with old garments which smelled faintly of moth balls.
Shaking out a dress for the girls to see, she explained that it had belonged to her grandmother.