Fannie Flagg - Standing in the Rainbow

"Oh," said Beatrice. She began to pet Honey's head a little faster.

"Really?"

Dorothy stirred two more teaspoons of sugar into her coffee to give Beatrice time to think. "Of course, it would mean a great deal of traveling for someone… always going from one place to another…"

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I didn't say anything to Minnie… but you wouldn't be interested in anything like that, would you?"

Beatrice immediately stood up. "Oh, Dorothy, do you think they would take me? Do you think they ever would? I know all the songs and I can learn the harmonies."

"Well, Minnie is calling me in a few days and if you want I can certainly ask her. But now, I don't think it would pay much."

"I don't care about that. And if they're worried about me being blind, tell them about Honey. Tell them we get around fine. I can do almost anything. I would not be a burden. Tell them I'd sing for free."

They were both on pins and needles until Minnie called, as promised. Dorothy told her that Beatrice would be available to go on the road in Betty Raye's place if they wanted her. Minnie said she would talk it over with Ferris and call back.

An hour went by and finally the phone rang again. "Mrs. Smith, you tell that girl if she is willing to put up with us we would just love to have her. Hold on, I'm gonna put Betty Raye on the line."

While she was waiting Dorothy called out to Beatrice, who was in the kitchen waiting to hear. "They want you, honey." Then Betty Raye came on.

"Hello?"

"Betty Raye… has your mother told you everything?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Is this all right with you? You know, we really want you to come."

There was a long pause. "Mrs. Smith, you just don't know how much I want to be there."

This was almost the first complete sentence Dorothy had ever heard Betty Raye say in all the time she had known her. As worried as Dorothy had been about doing the wrong thing, at that moment she knew that she had done the right thing. Minnie got back on. "Tell Beatrice we'll be over to get her in a few weeks. I swear, just when you think there is no answer the Good Lord sends you an angel. God bless you for a saint, Mrs. Smith. You don't know what a burden has been lifted from my heart."

Dorothy hung up and went to the kitchen but Beatrice was gone. She was already next door in her room, starting to pack.

Ferris Oatman was not at all happy about losing Betty Raye and breaking up the family but for the first time in their marriage Minme had put her rather large foot down.

"Ferris, my baby wants to get off the road and go to school and that's what she's gonna do."

"Over my dead body," he said.

"If that's what it takes, then so be it but she's going."

Ferris saw the look in her eye and decided not to push it and two weeks later the Oatmans made a swing down into Missouri on their way to Arkansas to drop off Betty Raye and pick up Beatrice Woods and her dog.

When they drove up Minnie rolled down the window and said, "Mrs. Smith, I don't even have time to get out and hug your neck, we are already running late; we have to be at an all-night sing in Little Rock by eight, but I'll be praying for you all the way there." The back door opened and Betty Raye got out and Beatrice and Honey got in.

Uncle Floyd was in the front seat with Ferris and Minnie and as soon as they pulled out Chester, the Scripture-quoting dummy, turned around and looked at her and his eyebrows shot up and down and he said, "Whoo, whoo… well, hello there, good looking."

Beatrice answered right away, "Well, hello there yourself!"

Mother Smith, Dorothy, Bobby, Anna Lee, and Nurse Ruby Robinson all stood and waved good-bye, moist-eyed. But Beatrice Woods never looked back. She would not have, even if she could have seen them. She was too busy concentrating on what was ahead. At last she was out on the road, headed for the wild blue yonder and beyond. Yahoo Betty Raye had not changed much from the last time they had seen her.

She had grown a little taller and wore glasses now. Someone else had obviously picked them out for her. The frames were a bad combination of black plastic and metal rims and were not at all flattering on a teenager. As they walked into the house, Dorothy vowed to herself that the first thing she was going to do was get the poor girl a new pair of glasses.

Even though they would miss Beatrice, everybody was glad that Betty Raye was coming back to stay with them. Especially Anna Lee. She had been sad and moody all summer. Besides being worried about going away in the fall and leaving her family, she was feeling a little abandoned by her two best friends, and for the first time in her life she was lonely. Patsy Marie had started working full-time for her father down at the cleaners and Norma had gotten married. And no matter how much she and Norma vowed that nothing would ever change between them, it had. It was not like the old days, when she could call her night and day and had her to go places with anytime she wanted. Norma was now a married woman and things were different. It was nobody's fault. Anna Lee still had all the boys in town buzzing around her as usual, but still she was lonesome for a girlfriend to do things with.

And there were other considerations.

On the first night, Anna Lee went into Betty Raye's room and sat down on the bed and watched her unpack. She said, sincerely, "You just don't know how grateful I am that you are here. I felt so guilty about going off so far away from Mother and leaving her all alone with just Bobby, I almost backed out of going. But now with you here I know she won't be so lonesome and worry about me so much."

Betty Raye was still shy around Anna Lee and mumbled, "Thank you."

Anna Lee went on. "You know, if you think about it, it's almost like you're a younger sister staying behind, isn't it." She sighed. "I wish I had had a sister. Mother depends so much on me that it's hard… and as long as we are going to be like sisters, I wish you'd think about staying in my room when I leave. It would mean a lot to me if you did."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes, and I know it would make Mother very happy. She feels funny about you being in this little dinky room. Oh, not that it's not nice or anything," she added quickly, "it's just that if you stay in my room it will be like you really are my sister." Betty Raye unpacked still another homemade dress. "You know, Betty Raye, I'll bet you and I are the same size. I've got a whole closetful of clothes. I'm not taking most of them, so they will be just hanging there, and you can wear anything you want. I was going to give them away. If you don't mind hand-me-downs. They're perfectly good."

Betty Raye, who had worn hand-me-downs all her life, said, "No, I don't mind."

During the next few weeks Anna Lee spent a lot of time with Betty Raye and she made her try on all the clothes in her closet. One day Anna

Lee just came right out and asked what she had wanted to ask all along.

"Would you let me fool with your hair a little bit?"

By the time Anna Lee had finished "fooling with" Betty Raye's hair, she had also put a little lipstick and rouge on her. "There, don't you look better?"

Betty Raye looked in the mirror but could not see a thing without her glasses, and said yes anyway. The next thing Anna Lee did was to paint Betty Raye's nails bright red. Betty Raye was still too shy to say anything. But who could refuse Anna Lee anything in her pink angora sweater and pink pearls? Betty Raye was putty in her hands.

Every day Anna Lee took her shopping downtown, an event that lasted for hours. Anna Lee was busy shopping at Morgan Brothers department store for her new college wardrobe and she tried on every hat, every pair of shoes, every suit or dress some twice before she would decide what she wanted.