Unknown

Bea_s pony

CHAPTER ONE

I had an opportunity to visit my sister last fall when an oddball assignment took me to Texas. I don't usually like to leave New York in the fall. To my way of thinking it's the nicest time of the year to be in the city, but I accepted anyway, as I had not seen Helen for some time.

My work as a senior editor on the staff of Pet World normally confined me to the office, but occasionally, just to get out and around, I would take a story, especially if it was of an unusual nature.

My sister lived in Irving, a suburb of Dallas on the Fort Worth side, and I had never visited her there before. Helen had lived in New Jersey before her husband was transferred, when we used to visit each other quite regularly. I would spend weekends in Pompton Lakes, and during the week Helen would come into the city and stay at my place overnight.

We had always been close, Helen and I, as close as any two sisters could be, even though Helen was several years older than I, and for a time after she moved to Texas I felt her absence keenly.

At twenty-eight I was still unmarried. Helen had married a year or two out of high school but had never had any children. Her husband, Jack, had been working for years with the same company, one of the big tire concerns, as a salesman.

When I knew I was going to be visiting them, I tried to visualize Jack. He was rather a nondescript type and hard to remember in your mind's eye after you hadn't seen him for a while. He was a pleasant enough person, however, and I was certain that Helen had made a happy marriage in many respects.

Helen was at the airport to meet me when I arrived in Dallas. I first saw her waving madly from behind the little fence separating the visitors from the departure area. She was wearing dark glasses, and had on a light blue cotton dress. She seemed overjoyed that I had come to see her.

"Oh, Bea, I'm so happy you've come. You look grand," she said, kissing me on the cheek.

"Never thought I'd make it to Texas, did you?" I said jokingly.

We stood there just looking at each other for a full thirty seconds, people milling past us. She had gotten a little chubby, I thought, and I wondered how I appeared to her.