Four years after the incident, Alice is beckoned back to Lillian by Mrs. Kaznyck. Joe/Alice

Congratulations! You have been selected to participate in Lillian's Carnation Festival as a visiting Duchess.

"Do you know anything about this?" I ask, shoving the letter at Louis. He quickly vets it and throws it back at me, rolling his eyes.

"Damn Jessica Kaznyck," he grunts, finishing off the rest of his Budweiser. "Always trying to tell me how to raise a kid. As if having five or ten or however many she's up to now makes her the expert. Just put down on the form that you can't do it. It's a hell of a lot of money for me, anyway."

I quickly peruse the letter and find that Mrs. Kaznyck is indeed involved with the Carnation Festival—she is listed at the bottom of the letter as the 'Duchess Chairman'.

"Please just throw it away," Louis snaps. He tosses his beer can at the trash bin, misses, and then stomps into the den.

But instead I take the letter and lock myself in my room. Regardless of whether or not I accept this offer, I consider anything from Lillian to be special—sacred, almost. The wall above my desk is dedicated to Lillian: mostly news clippings from that summer, with occasional police reports involving Deputy Lamb. If Louis knew, he'd rip them off and rip them to shreds. But I've told him, time and time again, he's not allowed to enter my room.

We moved to Lima not two months after the incident. We weren't the only ones, either. Crazy Mrs. Babbit got the hell out, and Donny's family moved as well. The boys stayed, though. Preston, Martin, Cary, Charles, and Joe.

I know that Deputy Lamb and my dad reconciled—or at least decided to be hospitable towards each other. But after the incident, Louis couldn't turn a corner in Lillian without getting choked up about my mother, Elizabeth, or the alien. So one morning, I left for Charles's house, excited to edit The Case and flirt with Joe. By the time I returned home that evening, Louis had packed up the house. There was a little house waiting for us in Lima. He had a new construction job.

I was not given time for goodbyes.

After the move, I biked to nearly every library in town trying to find a phonebook for Montgomery County. No such luck. Whenever I tried calling information, Louis made me hang up the phone, growling about how it cost money. Until I could find the money and the resources to drive myself down to Lillian, I was lost to Joe and the boys. And I hated myself every single day for it.

I read and reread the letter about the Carnation Festival. As far as I can tell, it's a pseudo-debutante ball designed to make the small-town girls of Lillian feel better about themselves. But what interests me is not the pageantry, but the fact that Mrs. Kaznyck, who I considered lost to the ages, has not only obtained my address, but sent me an invitation. She remembers me, and she wants me to come back.

She wants me to come home.

-x-

I work at the video store after school, ostensibly to help save money for college—if you can call the Lima campus of Ohio State 'college'. Three years of working there has helped me save enough, which is why I don't feel bad about withdrawing $150 for my Carnation Festival entrance fee.

In the few minutes I have between my shift and when Louis gets home, I bike to the post office and drop my money and my response down the mail chute.

-x-

Dear Mrs. Kaznyck,

As I stated on the form, I will be attending the Carnation Festival as a visiting Duchess, although I'm not quite sure what that means or entails. I've guessed though that it means a lot of money and a lot of travel.

As you can tell, my father, Louis, is no longer very keen on Lillian. I think this is because of the incident back in '79. I, however, miss Lillian every day. I didn't spend much time at all with Charles and Joe and the rest of them, but at the time that I left, I think they were my best friends.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I really want to do this festival, but I don't have the money to do it beyond the $150 I just sent you. I don't have a car to drive myself down to Lillian either. I know Louis won't contribute a dime. If you could please cover my bus fare down to Lillian, I could make everything else work. And I would pay you back, if you'd be patient and willing. The best time to contact me is during weekdays between the hours of 3 and 4 pm at 4195679791.

I really appreciate you thinking of me, and I'm really excited to do this festival. I'm dying to see what Lillian is like four years later.

Please send Charles and Joe my best.

Sincerely,

Alice Dainard