From the other room, the Douglases, who had come a quarter of an hour too early, could hear Peggy’s monotone singing, “I got shoes, I got shoes, everybody got shoes, everybody got shoes. Even baby.” Alison prowled around the living room, peering into dishes. She helped herself to a cheese spread, several wedges from a beautifully-made open pie filled with artificially colored delicacies, and a handful of toasted almonds.
“Hi,” Martha said, coming in with a tray of drinks. “How pretty you look, Alison.”
“Do you like the dress? It’s a Ceil Chapman. One of my customers gave it to me.” She helped herself to nuts.
In the bedroom d**k said to Peggy, “If you don’t quiet down, you’ll have a hairbrush instead of shoes.”
“Ha, ha, that’s a laugh, Daddy, some eyebrows crooked, some short. Our teac
