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to have interests that are compatible with his. As for passion, that's not as necessary as you might think.
Passion fades. Love will always be there, and so will compatibility. Does that answer your question?"
"Partly," Addie said thoughtfully. "You don't think passion is a bad thing, do you?"
"In some ways, yes. It blinds people to what's really in their hearts. They're more easily swayed by
passion than reason, and that's a bad thing. It's an empty emo-tion. "
Addie didn't agree at all, but she held her tongue rather than argue. In the silence, May turned back to
the closet and located the dress she'd been looking for. "Here it is, Adeline." She laid it on the bed with a
flourish,' and Addie went to look at it.
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"It's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen," she said, touching a fold of it reverently. The turquoise
dress shimmered and glistened in the daylight. It had a heart-shaped neckline, elbow-length sleeves
trimmed with ruffles, and an elaborately draped skirt orna-mented with gauze and moss roses. She could
hardly wait to try it on.
"If you like it, it's yours."
"I love it," Addie exclaimed animatedly, and they both chuckled as she scooped it up and went over to
the mirror to hold it against herself.
"It'll be beautiful on you, with that honey-colored hair and those pretty brown eyes," May observed, her
face glowing with pleasure.
"Why do you look so happy?" Addie demanded with a laugh. "I'm the one who's getting the dress."
May came up to her and gave her a quick hug from behind. "I'm your mama. I'm always happy when
you are, sugar. Haven't I told you that before?"
A queer sensation went through Addie as she saw their two faces in the mirror. For a split second she
saw a child posing in front of that same mirror in finery borrowed from May's closet, and then the image
disappeared, leaving her shaken. "Yes, you have," she whispered.
"Adeline, what's wrong?"
Slowly Addie turned to look at her, and something inside clicked into place, like the missing piece of a
puzzle. Suddenly May looked familiar to her, in a dif-ferent way from before. Addie was stunned by the
dearness of that face, the ache of love that had taken hold of her heart in just an instant. The sight of
May's concerned expression brought forth another image, much clearer than the first. Addie could see
herself as a little girl, tearful and guilt-ridden, seeking May's forgiveness. Mama, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry .
. .
"I just remembered something," Addie said husk-ily, her gaze becoming distant. "A long time ago I
borrowed something of yours without asking. A gold bracelet,wasn't it? And . . . I lost it,didn't I?"
"That's all forgotten."
"But it did happen," Addie pressed.
"Yes, but it's not important now."
But it had happened.
Remembering that was enough to make Addie be-lieve. I've just got to be her daughter. May is my
mother. I know she is. Her eyes stung, and she wiped at them fiercely. Her throat ached as she tried to
speak.
For so many years I've wanted you. . . never even hoped . . . no reason to hope.
May held her arms out and gathered her close, her expression clouded with confusion. "What? What's
wrong?"
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Addie rested her head on that soft shoulder, trembling with emotion. "Nothing. Nothing at all, Mama."
The land surrounding the Fanins' main house swarmed with people, animals, and vehicles. The house
seemed more like a hotel than a home, large enough to accommodate countless guests and visitors. After
the barbecue this afternoon and parties tonight, the wedding would be held tomorrow morning, fol-lowed
by a dance and two days of festivities.
"I didn't expect there'd be this many people," Ad-die whispered to Caroline, who laughed dryly.
"Looks like Mrs. Fanin invited a few hundred of her closest friends. I suppose she thought a turnout
smaller than this would've made her look stingy. Look-over there on the veranda. She's makin' a point of
receivin' everyone. How would you like to coo over fivehundred people in a row? That's what I call
hos-pitality. "
Peter and Russell helped the women out of the car-riage, while Cade caught sight of a friend and ran off
to join him. Addie averted her gaze from Russell's as she took his hand and stepped down to the ground.
Before she could turn away, he stopped her with a quiet warning.
"I'll have my eye on you most of the time. Don't let me catch you anywhere near that Johnson boy. And I
mean that, Adeline."
"I thought a cease-fire had been called."
"It has. But that doesn't mean the war's ended. And I don't want you to give anyone of those
fence-cutters so much as a howdy-do. Got that?"
"It's not my war."
"Yes it is. You're a Warner."
She nodded shortly and turned away from him, join-ing May and Caroline as they went to greet Mrs.
Fanin.
"Mah goodness, how long it's been!" Mrs. Fanin exclaimed in a syrupy drawl, her dark eyes almost
dis-appearing as she bestowed a brilliant, crinkling smile on them. "Oh, Adeline, how beautiful you are! I
'spect we'll be at your weddin' next, won't we?"
Adeline smiled uncomfortably. "I don't know about that "
"And, Carolahnn . . . you, in this heat . . . we'll have to sit you down with a cool drink right away. May,
Ah just cain't believe how sweet your two girls ah. Y'all must let me show off some of the gifts Ruthie has
received."
"What did we give her?" Addie whispered to Car-oline as they followed Mrs. Fanin into the house.
"Crystal artichoke plates."
Addie couldn't smother a grin. "Nice to know we gave her something really useful."
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Caroline, who had helped May pick out the plates, lifted her nose in the air. "Ruth already has everything
she needs. Most important, Jeff's younger brother for a husband. "
Immediately Addie's smile disappeared. "Caro, if you see Jeff around, tell me. I've got to explain some
things to him."
"You're askin' for trouble, little sister. And you don't need to explain anything to him. He already knows
why you haven't returned his notes or gone to meet him."
"Just tell me if you see him," Addie said impa-tiently.
After admiring and exclaiming over the tables loaded down with Ruth's wedding gifts, Addie and
Caroline managed to escape to their rooms in order to take brief naps and freshen up before the
barbecue. May re-mained by Mrs. Fanin's side to help her receive the rest of the guests.
A cool breeze drifted into the room, easing the heat of the day, but Addie couldn't sleep. She went to
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