"A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot." —Proverbs 14:30
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Trixie blamed her tardiness to work on the fact that she could not locate her makeup among all the crates that had been dropped off at the house, choosing very deliberately to ignore the dream she'd had. The dream Polly had told her about. Three knocks, priest with a noose. It all meant she was going to die—but then again, of course she was. Everyone died, even without having a prophetic dream about it.
By the time she arrived at the Garrison, Arthur was wiping the bar down with a rag he didn't quite know how to use, while Grace opened up one of the shipment crates on a table. "Morning, Trixie," she greeted, smiling politely. "I heard the exciting news."
"You weren't working last night, were you?" Trixie dropped her purse on one of the tables and slipped off her gloves. "I would've said hello."
"No, I wasn't," said Grace. "My one night off, and I miss the wedding. I thought you were waiting for spring?"
Trixie nodded, sliding into the chair across from her. "Circumstances pushed things up."
When Arthur heard that, he threw the rag down on the bar and disappeared into the back office, apparently done hearing the women's business.
"I'm pregnant," Trixie whispered with a coy smile. "And so—well—" She gestured vaguely at her stomach. "You know."
"That's so exciting," said Grace, lighting up. She moved around the table and wrapped Trixie in a tight hug, before stepping back to stare at her stomach.
Trixie resisted the urge to crumple under her gaze. Had she been pregnant in reality, maybe the attention would've been warranted, but all Grace was truly looking at was her torso and nothing else. "Thank you," she said, trying to match Grace's joy even knowing it was probably artificial. "I'm hoping for a girl."
"Do you have a name?" Grace asked, moving back to the crate of cigarettes.
"Oh, um—" Trixie noticed Arthur in the back office, looking through the different drawers for something. "Arthurina," she blurted out. "Tommy wants to name the children after his family."
