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Three pairs of eyes widened "Go?" Shirley questioned "You mean back to earth?"

"Yes As far as I can see, the requests you’re working on are progressing without major difficulties I’ll expect all three of you back here early on Christ without major difficulties?" Mercy asked under her breath

"I think so," Goodness responded

"I don’t understand," Shirley said in the sagested, and was gone Goodness and Shirley followed, and Gabriel returned to the giant Book of Prayer, doing his best to hide a grin

The beautiful red dress was new and by far theit on the outside of her closet door, folded her arms, and stepped back to adht of the silk party dress on ait She must have stared at it for a full five minutes before she found the nerve to walk inside the store and ask the price She flinched when the sales clerk told her it was 350

The clerk was very good at her job, and before Joy was quite sure how it had happened, she was in the dressing roo at herself in the mirror in the same silk dress It fit as if it had beenregarding finances, Joy bought it for the sheer pleasure of watching Ted’s face when he saw her wearing it She could just i his jaw drop open as if soes Then he’d try to speak, and after a few unsuccessful attempts, he’d simply take her in his arms and kiss her

Three hundred and fifty bucks It was cheap at half that price just thinking about Ted’s reaction to her in it

With reluctance, she left her bedroom and the red dress and drove over to her parents’ house to help her e family party

With her brothers ether on Christmas Day proper Several years back, her mother had decided they would celebrate a family Christmas the weekend before

"What can I do to help?" Joy said as she came into the kitchen She reached for a radish from the relish tray and munched noisily on it

"You can keep your hands out of that," Erlene Pal fresh fruit for a gelatin salad, one of her brother’s favorites, as Joy recalled "You can tellwith you You said his name was Ted"

"Yes"

"I don’t suppose this is the sao?"

"Yes"

"He’s tall and good-looking An engineer, right?"

"Yes"

"Your father spoke highly of hi there was to know already, so she kept her erator, she created enough space to hide the relish tray before it tempted anyone else

"Well?" her "

Joy sat on the stool on the other side of the counter fro already"

"Details, ilely cut bananas into even slices as she spoke "What I want to know is how you feel about him Are you in love with him?"

"Mom! I barely know hih "I don’t think I’ve ever seen you act this way toward a ?"

"Dreas?" she asked, and laughed softly "Every tio soft and this look comes over you It reminds me of the way I felt when I first met your father"

"This is different"

"Oh?"

"Mom, I don’t know Yes, I like hiin to describe the way I feel about Ted But I’m afraid"

"Afraid?" Her mother raised quizzical eyes to her

"You knohat it’s like when so wonderful happens Like the time Joe won the full-ride football scholarship, and e learned Diana was pregnant with twins An excitement comes over me, but I’m afraid to believe it’s really true That’s the way I feel about Ted"

"Time will fix that"

"But sometimes it’s better to be cautious Remember, Diana miscarried the twins"

"But she and Bill have three beautiful children now"

"Yes, I know" Joy laughed softly "I’ht myself a dress that cost three hundred and fifty dollars"

She had herto wear it tonight You knohy I bought that dress?"

"Of course I do You wanted to see Ted’s reaction when he first saw you wearing it Why does any wo?"

It seemed her mother understood her better than she realized

Joy stayed and helped prepare for the big dinner and the fa Christmas music when she let herself back into her apart her purse away, she walked into the bathroo, leisurely soak in the tub

A faint sound in the distance distracted her, and she realized it was her phone She turned off the water and grabbed the bedrooreeted cheerfully

A silence

"Hello?" she tried again

"Joy, it’s Ted"

"Well, hello there," she said, pleased to hear fro hi’s come up and I won’t be able to make the dinner with your family" His words were flat, devoid of emotion