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Dellarobia followed her gaze to a jar of dye powder "Oh Purple?" she asked

"Pupuw," Cordie replied, giving her mother a look of exhausted relief

"Sorry, baby Like, hello, you’re trying to say soertips and reached over to touch the sugarplurin Dellarobia picked up another jar "What’s this one?"

"Geen!"

"Hester, did you hear that? Cordelia knows her colors"

Hester appeared unirandchild, as only Hester could Apparently she only had eyes for Bobby Ogle Dellarobia studied the label on the jar It had so s, if you read all the way to the end you’d probably want to run for your life She took a second look at Hester’s giant kettles, wondering if they were the sa in su applesauce in the presence of"--she studied the tiny print--"tri-phenyl-methane?"

"Cub used to just about drink this stuff whenever we dyed the wool," Hester replied curtly "And look at him"

No one responded to this In the aardher spoon across the table and let loose a string of vowels thatif they’dDellarobia leaned over to retrieve the spoon "Maybe we should try doing different colors this ti was uninspired She stuck with the packaged colors, which had alluring nareen and red Much like life itself

"What’s wrong with

"We could ether to get in-between colors"

So her hair as if its color alone held exquisite value Sometimes this still came over her in surprise attacks, the illicit flattery And all the sha how she’d been taken in Again She’d fallen before, never that hard o, the man with sky blue eyes at Rural Incorporated who’d helped her week after ith the Medicaid papers when she was pregnant with Cordie Before that, the mail carrier, Mike, who sometimes subbed their route And Cub’s old friend Strickland with the biceps and his own tree-tri with her Some insidious weakness in her heart or resolve that would let her fly off and co

Hester and Valia had returned to their earlier topic of the visitors who’d been showing up to look at the butterflies Hester beca the presence of avisit had let loose the floodgate of his followers, and Bear and Hester see heads over their nextcontract was ame of Make Grown-Ups Jureen Crocs, and watched Crystal’s face closely for results Crystal declined to be distracted fro so desperately to coesture struck Dellarobia as somehow nal in this house

"Crystal, if you can work it into your agenda, could you pick up Cordie’s spoon?"