It had to be You

tomorrow if need be. When he’d left, she took a look at the storeroom.
    “You did a good job of this. It’s amazing how things slip when one of my regular employees is gone and I’m not in top form myself. Thanks for taking this on, Miss Brewster.“
    “Are your feet feeling better?“ Lily asked.
    “Not much. I had almost forgotten about them. It’s only now that I realize they do still hurt.”
    Betty returned and was apologetic. “I’m sorry, Miss Twibell. I was playing with Buddy while Mr. Brewster was chatting with Doreen.“
    “A little bit less of playing and chatting might be a good idea,“ Miss Twibell said mildly. “Now we need to get on with our work.”
    Chapter 9
    Thursday turned out to be the easiest day Lily and Robert had had yet. There was no laundry to haul up and down. And Betty had already washed the shelves of the pharmacy part of the room. Lily insisted on doing the two mop-ups. “You still look tired. You need to rest,“ Lily told her.
    Robert was reading the paper, reclining on the sofa with his shoes off so he wouldn’t get the arm of it dirty. “Looks like the banks are going to be closed longer than we thought,“ he said as Lily mopped.
    When she said “Oh?“ without much interest, he went on, “It seemed to me from the start that five days was too short a time to get all the changes in the laws of banking drawn up and approved.”
    Lily doubted that he’d thought this out on the day the banks closed. It must have been what he’d just read.
    She finished the mopping and drying and sat down on one of the side chairs. It was so peaceful today. And they were being paid for reading the paper and sitting around. She felt guilty about it. But not too guilty. They’d both put in a lot of hard work on the previous days.
    Robert set aside the paper and they both politely stood up when Miss Twibell entered the room. At least their expensive educations had drilled good manners into them. Nothing else they’d learned then had prepared them for the life they were now leading.
    “Miss Brewster, would you mind going downstairs with your brother to wait for Mattie to arrive? It’s not fair to Doreen to have to leave her work to be alert to visitors at the door when she already has so much work to do. Mr. Brewster, Mattie is a strong-minded girl. She’ll want to walk up the stairs. I leave it to you to carry her up if, in your judgment, she’s too weak to do so.”
    This was clearly an order but she said it so politely and gently that it wasn’t the least offensive.
    As they headed out the door, Miss Twibell said, “Mr. Brewster? Your shoes?”
    Robert looked down at his stockinged feet and laughed as he put them back on.
    He resumed chuckling as they descended. “What’s so funny?“ Lily asked.
    “You. I’d bet good money you’re still trying to find a tactful way to find out what happened at that hearing on Tuesday. You’re not going to get a word out of Betty or Miss Twibell, and I’ll bet Mr. Prinney will zip his lip as well. There’s no point in trying to pry it out of anyone who was there.“
    “I’m afraid you’re right. I’ve already given up the idea. But consider this: they were back so quickly that it must have gone well. If there had been a division of opinion, it would have taken much longer.”
    A car pulled up close to the front door and both of them went to help Mattie in. But it was her father bringing her. He was a big strong man who lifted her in his arms and carried her to the door.
    “I’m Mattie’s dad. Who are you two?“ he said as they followed him up the stairs.
    “We’re Mattie’s temporary substitutes. We’ve decided it takes two of us to replace her,“ Lily replied and gave him their names, adding, “Are you sure you don’t need my brother’s help?“
    “Nope. She ain’t that heavy. She’s lost weight what with being so sickly.”
    Miss Twibell was at the head of the stairs to greet them. “Thank you, Mr. Rockwell, for bringing Mattie back to us, even if she is a patient for a change. Come in and sit down while we put her to bed and examine her. You can then stay and have lunch in her room with her.”
    Her father set her down. She looked pale and a little wobbly, but with Miss Twibell holding one elbow and Betty holding the other, they got her into her room and closed the door.
    Miss Smith, maneuvering on her pair of canes, followed by Miss Jones, came out of their room to greet him. “It’s good to meet you again,