Teresa walked into the closet. "What will you be wearing? We should choose something and get it cleaned."
"When is the ball?"
"Next Saturday."
Laura's mouth dropped. "So soon? I hadn't realized that. What would I do without you, Teresa?"
"I sometimes wonder," Teresa muttered too softly for Laura to hear. She pulled a blue gown out of the closet and took it into the bedroom. "This one is lovely?"
Laura had her nose back in the book and didn't bother to look up. "Which one, dearest?"
"This blue one."
She finally looked over the top of her reading glasses. "I like that one too, but I think I wore it to the Christmas party at the country club. Yes, I believe I did."
"Well then, what about the white one?"
"Oh dear, I had forgotten all about that one." She finally set her book down and stood up. "I should try it on and see if it still fits. As you age, you get a bit rounder, you know. I should probably buy something new, but who has the time?"
Teresa helped her slip into the gown and then tried to zip it up. She tugged a couple of times before Laura said, "Never mind, I would be miserable in this one. What else is there?"
Teresa went back in the closet, pulled two more formal dresses out and carried them to the bed. "Try these on."
For the better part of an hour, Laura tried on gowns, one after another, and in the end, she couldn't choose which she liked best. Exhausted, she finally sat down on the bed.
Teresa smiled to comfort her. "I'll just get these three cleaned and then you can choose later."
"Splendid idea. I think I'll take a nap."
Teresa went to the closet, tucked the white dress under the other three, and walked to the door. "Night, night." By then, Laura was stretched out on the bed sound asleep.
*
Taking three little girls to the zoo was not as easy as Maggie expected. As soon as they were parked, Jim got a two-seat stroller out of the trunk and set it up. All of them wore shorts and tank tops, and his wife, Hanna, insisted on suntan lotion for everyone, especially those with red hair like Jim. That included the three girls. Hanna also insisted on a layer of a white paste on Jim's nose.
He wrinkled his nose twice before Hanna scolded him. "Stop that, you'll rub it all off."
"It itches." He set the two youngest girls in the stroller, and then pulled the top forward to offer them some measure of shade.