Love for Sale

letter to Miss Langston has come back marked ‘Not known at this address.’ “
    “Oh dear,“ Lily said.
    “I double-checked the record. It was clear and in her good handwriting. I don’t quite know what to do. Maybe her people moved and she forgot to tell me. She probably didn’t remember I’d ever asked for her family’s address.”
    Or maybe she didn’t go home, Lily thought.
    “You mentioned that she has a friend here in town. I wonder if she would know the proper address?“ Lily suggested. “Would you like me to ask her?“
    “That would be very helpful. I certainly don’t want Miss Langston to think we don’t care how well she’s getting along.“
    “I’ve forgotten the name of her friend. I’m not sure you told me.“
    “It’s Miss Amelia Jurgen. And she lives on River Street. A big blue house in the middle of the block between Fifth and Sixth Street. Big garage behind it in the same color. I had to drop Miss Langston off there one day when her car wouldn’t start.“
    “I’ll walk over there after lunch and find out if she has the proper address,“ Lily volunteered.
    “I could do it myself, if you prefer,“ Mrs. Tarkington said.
    “I don’t mind a bit: I’ve never met her and I like getting to know as many people in town as I can.”
    Lily set off after Robert took over in the afternoon, and found the house easily. It was the biggest on the block. And though there were dormers, the house was wider than it was tall. She knocked at the door and when it opened, she was surprised. This woman looked like a bigger version of Lily’s friend and former teacher Miss Addie Johnson. The same fly-away rusty red hair, though younger than Addie.
    “I’m Lily Brewster,“ she said, putting out her hand. “I’m taking part of your friend Miss Langston’s teaching duties while she’s gone. You must be Miss Jurgen if I’m at the right house.“
    “Come in, Miss Brewster. I was just making coffee and rolls as a cold-day snack. Would you like to join me?“
    “I’d love to,“ Lily said.
    The house was very old and very big and well cared for, but somewhat oddly arranged. A wall stretched halfway along from front to back from the entry area. She followed Miss Jurgen to the kitchen toward the back of the house. She asked if she could help with the coffee, and Miss Jurgen said, “It’s almost ready. And the rolls are in that basket on the counter, if you’d like to take them to the studio in back.”
    Lily did as she was asked. The studio was the whole width of the back of the house and had high windows at the back end, letting in a lot of light even on this overcast day. Below the windows were corkboards across the long wall. Two worktables filled most of the space and there was a small sitting area at the right of the room with a pair of comfortable chairs and a small table between them.
    Miss Jurgen followed along shortly with a tray and cups and little dishes to put the rolls on. “Would you just shove some of that paperwork along the big table closest to us? I’ll set the tray down there.”
    She poured the coffee into very nice china cups that matched the saucers and plates, as did the butter plate and jam pot. Miss Jurgen was an elegant entertainer of drop-in guests. And the rolls, though tiny, were sweet and delicious.
    “Mrs. Tarkington told me that you and Miss Langston had a business. I glanced at some of the designs on that wall and they’re lovely.“
    “We’ve been pleased with how profitable it is. Especially in the fall, when so many women are doing projects for Christmas. I can’t take full credit for the creativity, though. Millicent does the designs and I convert them to patterns. It’s easy for embroidery, difficult for needlepoint, which has to be gridded. She can get a bit snippy if I reject one for that reason. She doesn’t understand what I do. Just what she does.“
    “Does your friend Millicent live in the other half of the house? It looks big outside and I noticed the part I came through is much longer than it is wide.”
    Miss Jurgen said, “When I inherited this house from my great-aunt in 1928, I felt guilty about having so much room. Also greedy,“ she added with a smile. “I thought first of keeping this whole floor for myself and making the upstairs another apartment. I soon found out that it wasn’t practical. When I received a bid for the work, I nearly had a stroke.
    “The builder then suggested the obvious,“ she went on. “That when