Chapter 26

Just like that, the decision about the car was settled. But then a curious female voice broke through the moment. "Are you Melanie from Smith Village?" Melanie and Edward turned in surprise toward the voice belonging to a guest at Anna's home. Melanie squinted at the woman, feeling a flicker of recognition. "Yes, that's me. And you are?" She was puzzled. The woman's clothes suggested she was no ordinary person. How would someone like her know Melanie? The Smith family struggled to make ends meet, so how could they have any connections to someone like this? "We met yesterday at the cinema," the woman, Janet Hawke, reminded her. Suddenly, it clicked for Melanie. They had indeed crossed paths. But a fleeting encounter at the movies didn't warrant this kind of connection. "What a coincidence! I never expected to see you here. So you married someone in the city!" Janet's face lit up with excitement. Yesterday, she had thought Melanie looked familiar, but running into her at Anna's