The wife of the younger of the district’s two preachers and mother to six children, she’d followed the Lord in holy baptism at the youthful age of sixteen, when other girls were more interested in attending Singings and pairing up with potential beaus. Sally was not only a dutiful woman; she was a good friend to everyone who’d ever known her. Lettie included. Sally had nearly died of cancer, which may have contributed to the gentleness of her mannerisms, although Lettie had always known her to be a tender soul, offering a kind touch and a soft voice to her little ones. Now, as Lettie carried her suitcase up the lane to Sally’s back door, she wondered just how cordial her longtime friend might be tonight. Would the preacher’s sympathetic wife open the door wide and invite her in? Lettie’s heart was fragile yet hopeful as she stood silently at the back stoop. She rapped on the door, her heart beating ever so fast.
