CHAPTER TWENTY - CHAMOMILE AND CONNECTIONS

"Amanda, darling, you should go to bed."

Dotty's voice made Amanda bring her head up, fast, in surprise. She found herself sitting on the sofa in the den, the department store book open in her lap.

"What, Mother?"

"You dozed right off while you were reading just now."

"Oh." Amanda swallowed a yawn. She shouldn't have had that second glass of wine, but Lee had joined them and it had actually turned out to be nice, sitting together at Ned's, picking at fries and contemplating their case. "Long day, I guess."

Dotty shot her a look over the top of her reading glasses, and Amanda shifted in her seat.

"Long day and too much Chardonnay," she amended, and Dotty chuckled. "I'm sorry I missed dinner."

"I told you, it was fine. We had leftovers anyway and then the boys ran off with their friends. It's been a quiet evening."

"Well, I should have been here."

"I think it's nice you were out with a friend from work. And the mysterious Mr Stetson."

"Oh, Mother." Amanda knew she blushed and hated herself for it. "I told you, he won't be mysterious for much longer."

"Mm hm. I'll believe it when he's sitting at that dining room table," Dotty said.

"He wants to meet you, I promise." Amanda stretched a little and looked down at her book. "What was Warren's like when you worked there?"

"Oh. I don't know. Like any other place I suppose." Dotty set down her own book, her finger tucked between the pages to mark her place. "There were five or six of us working full-time in ladies wear and we used to have fun dressing the mannequins. But those girls in formalwear could be terrible. Alice Goodwin, especially."

"Goodwin?"

"You know the Goodwins and the Warrens started the store together. And then something happened, I don't know what, and the Goodwins were squeezed out." Dotty shook her head. "She held on to a lot of bitterness, that girl. And she wasn't even born when the whole thing had happened!"

Amanda nodded, unsure what to say at first. She wondered if the book in her lap held any insight into the story.

"Anyway, those things happen in business all the time, right? Dirty deals. I mean they must or we wouldn't like Dallas so much."

Amanda laughed. "You're probably right, Mother. It's probably human nature."

Dotty sighed. "I suppose it is."

"Whatever happened to Alice Goodwin?" Amanda asked. "Did you ever find out?"

Dotty waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, I don't know. We lost touch. I'm sure she married well and everything turned out just fine."

Amanda nodded.

"It's funny, though, they had a reunion of sorts to celebrate the store's one hundredth last year. Did I show you the letter they sent?"

Amanda frowned. "No. Why didn't you go?"

"Oh darling, it's like you said with your high school reunion. I didn't really care about catching up with those people. I mean I still see Bunny Filmore sometimes and we exchange Christmas cards, but otherwise I haven't bothered." Dotty got up from the sofa, sliding a bookmark into her novel. "I think I did keep the little booklet they sent, though. Do you want to see it? Maybe there's something you can use for your pitch thing."

"That'd be great."

"It's just upstairs. I'll be right back. If you can stay awake."

"Of course I can stay awake," Amanda said, trying not to bristle. She stood up. "I'm going to make some tea to take up to bed. Want any?"

"Only if it's chamomile," Dotty said, and jogged up the stairs.

When she came back she was carrying a manila envelope, which she emptied to reveal a little booklet. "Warren's: 100 Years" it said on the cover.

"Here," Dotty said, just as the kettle whistled. "You can look through this."

"Are you in here?"

Dotty laughed. "Oh, no. I only worked there a few months. Bunny is, though. She stayed until she had children." She reached for the kettle and filled the teapot Amanda had prepared. "Some of the Warrens are in there, though."

Amanda flipped through the book. There were photos of the first general store, and Marshall Warren's grandfather standing with his business partner, Henry Goodwin,, shoulder to shoulder in front.. Another, twenty years later, of Horace Warren standing alone, in front of the site that became the flagship store. A few pages later there was a photo of Marshall Warren Senior and his wife, Marvel, at the company's thirtieth anniversary dinner.

She flipped through the book as the tea steeped, stopping at photos of the seventy-fifth anniversary. There was a younger Marshal Warren, standing with his arm around the shoulders of a blonde woman. Alice Goodwin Bircher, the caption said.

"Alice Bircher," Amanda murmured. "Mother. Is that the Alice Goodwin you were just talking about?"

Dotty peered at the photo. "Yes, that's her."

"She doesn't look so bitter there," Amanda said.

Dotty lifted the teapot and began to pour. "No, she doesn't." Dotty shrugged. "Maybe they made their peace, the Warrens and the Goodwins."

"Do you mind if I borrow this for a couple of days?" Amanda asked. "I want to make a copy."

"Oh, you can keep it if you want. I don't know why I hung onto it." Dotty sipped her tea. "It's just going to sit in a pile somewhere. Maybe it'll help you win the pitch contest."

Amanda leaned forward and kissed her mother on the cheek. "I think it'll do more than that, Mother. Thank you." She scooped up her book and her tea and headed for the stairs. "Goodnight."