"See you in church tomorrow," Grace said to Jo and Blair after the four of them had chatted together for a few minutes.
"Okay. See ya," Jo replied. Blair just stared.
"Did she mean me too?" Blair asked after Grace and Rhetta had left.
"I don't know," said Jo. "Why don't you come anyway? I don't think you'll be disappointed. You can even meet Earl."
"Who's Earl?" Blair frowned. "Don't tell me you're already trying to set me up!"
"Oh, no!" Jo had to laugh at the idea of Earl and Blair on a date together. "He's...a very special friend of Grace's. I think you'd like him."
"She reminds me a lot of you," Blair remarked.
"I suppose you're right," said Jo. "I've never really thought about that. She is kind of rough around the edges, but she has a good heart."
"Like you," Blair added.
"So are you coming tomorrow?" asked Jo.
Blair shrugged. "Might as well."
Jo returned home to find Doug sitting in the recliner with his feet propped up watching television. "Find any good deals?"
"Jamie found some make-up and stuff." Jo took Bethany out of her carrier and removed her winter clothing. The baby awakened and began to cry, and Jo sat on the sofa and nursed her. "We ran into Grace and Rhetta."
"Oh yeah?"
"Grace mentioned church tomorrow, and Blair said she might come."
"She should," Doug replied. "It would do her good."
"I told her she might meet Earl. She thought I was trying to set her up." They both laughed heartily.
Blair and her children did attend church the following day, and were introduced to the rest of Grace's family and to Earl. She was polite but didn't seem impressed. Doug was silent on the ride home.
"What's wrong?" asked Jo.
"I hate to sound negative, but I don't think your friend is gonna fit in around here," he replied.
"Yeah, I think you're right," she agreed dolefully.
"She's one of those hoity-toity uppity types, ain't she? I can tell she is."
"Well, yeah, but she really is a good person at heart, if you give her a chance."
Doug only snorted in response.
Jo was depressed for the rest of the evening, torn between her love for her husband and her new life and her loyalty to her best friend.
She didn't hear from Blair for several days after that. Late Friday evening, Blair finally called her. Jo was excited and happy to hear from her friend until she found out what she had to say.
"Want to take the kids to the park tomorrow?" Blair asked. "The weather's supposed to be nice, and I thought it would be a nice chance to say good-bye."
"What do you mean, good-bye?" asked Jo.
"That's just what I mean. There's really nothing here for me, Jo. Everybody I've met so far is just so...backwards and hickish. Well, most of them, anyway. New York is my home. It's where I belong."
"But you've only been here for a couple of weeks!"
"That's long enough," Blair said quietly. "If anything, too long."
"I wish you'd give it more of a chance," Jo said helplessly.
"I'm sorry," Blair replied. "My mind's made up."
Jo hung the telephone up and wandered desolately into the living room, where she plopped down onto the sofa and sat staring glumly at the floor.
"Why the long face?" asked Doug.
"It's Blair. She's moving away."
"Already? But she just moved here!"
"She says there's nothing for her here and New York is where she belongs."
Doug sighed and went to his wife and put his arms around her. "She's right, hon," he said gently. "I know you care about her and enjoy being around her, but if she isn't happy here, it's best that she go back."
The sun was indeed shining the following morning as Jo set out to meet Blair at the park. She spotted her friend's rented car and parked beside it, took the stroller out of the trunk, and put Bethany into it.
She saw Blair sitting on a park bench and went to sit beside her. They chatted as they watched Adam and Alyssa at play. Suddenly Adam approached them, his hands cupped together. "Look what I found, Mommy!"
It was a caterpillar.
"Neat!" said Jo.
"Disgusting!" Blair made a face. "Where's your sister?"
She looked all around, but Alyssa was nowhere to be found.