Wanda E. Brunstetter by Twice Loved Read Free Book Online

clothes and put on some makeup.
    “I’ll be in the bedroom getting ready!” Bev called to Amy. “If anyone knocks on the door, don’t answer it. Come and get me, okay?”
    “All right, Mommy.”
    A short time later, Bev stood in front of the small mirror hanging above her dresser. She’d chosen a dusty-pink rayon-crepe dress with inset sleeves to wear. It was homemade and last year’s style, but she felt it looked presentable.
    When Bev reached into her top dresser drawer for a pair of hose, she discovered that her one and only pair had a run in one leg that went all the way from the heel up to the top.
    “I can’t wear this,” she muttered. “Maybe I should draw a line down the back of my leg, like I’ve seen some women do when they have no hosiery.”
    Bev rummaged around in her drawer until she found a dark brown eyebrow pencil. Craning her neck, she stretched her left leg behind her and bent backward. Beginning at the heel of her foot, she drew a line up past her knee and then did the same to the other leg. “That will have to do,” she grumbled, wishing she had a full-length mirror so she could see how it looked.
    A knock at the door let Bev know Dan had arrived. She clicked off the light and left the bedroom. When Bev opened the front door, she was surprised to see a wreath hanging there.
    Dan smiled at her. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
    “Same to you.” She pointed to the wreath. “This is pretty, but I told you not to bring anything except your appetite.”
    He shrugged and turned his hands palm up. “It was there when I got here.”
    Bev squinted at the item in question. It hadn’t been there this morning when she’d gone next door to borrow a cup of flour to make gravy.
    “Looks like a mystery Santa Claus paid you a visit,” Dan said with a chuckle.
    Bev had no idea who it could be, but the pretty wreath with a red bow did look festive, so she decided not to worry about who the donor was. She opened the door wider. “Please come inside.”

    Dan sniffed the air as he entered Bev’s apartment. “Umm…something sure smells good.”
    Bev nodded toward the kitchen. “That would be the turkey. Would you mind carving it for me?”
    “I’d be happy to.”
    “Follow me.”
    Dan stopped at the living room to say hello to Amy, and then he caught up to Bev. When she’d opened the door to let him in, he had noticed how pretty she looked in her frilly pink dress. He hadn’t seen the backs of her legs then, but now, as she led the way to the kitchen, Dan couldn’t help but notice the strange, squiggly dark lines running up both legs.
    “What happened, Bev?” he queried. “Did Amy use her new crayons to draw on your legs?”
    Bev whirled around, her face turning as pink as her dress. “I—I didn’t have a decent pair of hose to wear, so I improvised.”
    Dan tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t hold back the laughter bubbling in his throat.
    Bev’s eyes pooled with tears, and he realized he had embarrassed her.“I’m sorry.If you’d told me you needed new hosiery, I would have given you the money.”
    She lifted her chin. “I don’t need your money or your pity, and I’m sorry you think my predicament is so funny.”
    “I don’t really.” He glanced at the crooked lines again and fought the temptation to gather her into his arms.
    Bev craned her neck and stuck one leg out behind her. When she looked back at him, she wore a half smile. Soon the smile turned into a snicker.The snicker became a giggle, and the giggle turned into a chortle. She covered her mouth with the palm of her hand and stared up at him. “You had every right to laugh. What I did was pretty silly. But I was worried that if I didn’t wear any hose, you’d think I wasn’t properly dressed.”
    Dan shook his head. “I’d never think that, and as far as your being worried…I have a little quote about worry hanging in my studio.”
    “What does it say?”
    “ ‘Worry is the darkroom in which negatives