The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush

When Mrs. Hancock answered, Rona Jean was supposed to flip the switch that cut off her headset so that Bessie could order her groceries without Rona Jean finding out that she was going to make a tuna fish casserole for supper, or had run out of toilet paper. That was the principle, although everybody in town knew that the operators didn’t always bother to turn off their headsets, especially when the traffic on the switchboard was slow.

Long-distance phone calls involved more operators. The switchboard had a couple of lines that connected to the long-distance switchboard in Mobile. If Bessie wanted to talk to her friend Alva Ann in Pensacola, she would give the number to Rona Jean, who would call the Mobile operator and tell her that she had a party who wanted to talk to Pensacola. The Mobile operator would patch the call through (eventually) and sooner or later, Rona Jean would be able to give Alva Ann’s number to the Pensacola operator. When Alva Ann answered her phone, Pensacola would connect with Mobile and Mobile would connect with Rona Jean and Rona Jean would plug Bessie in so she and Alva Ann could trade news and recipes. It might take fifteen minutes or more to make the connection, especially if the circuits were busy or the call had to go through several long-distance operators before it finally got where it was going and back again.

Since Verna was calling during business hours, she ran into the usual “Sorry, that circuit is busy” several times. But at last she had Ima Gail on the other end of the line, and after exchanging the usual hellos and how-are-yous, was saying, “Ima Gail, I wonder if you could help me. I need to find out about someone you may know. His name is Alvin Duffy.” Rona Jean was busy handling a couple of local calls, but Verna lowered her voice when she said Mr. Duffy’s name.

“Alvin Duffy?” Ima Gail asked. Verna pictured her frowning and picking up a pencil to jot down the name. “Is that D-u-f-f-i-e?”

“D-u-f-f-y,” Verna corrected. “Mr. Duffy works for Delta Charter. Or so I’ve been told,” she added cautiously. Who in Darling knew for sure? Mr. Johnson? Maybe she ought to talk to him, too. Once she had the information from Ima Gail, she could see if it matched what Mr. Johnson knew. If he would tell her anything, which he might not. Too bad Ellery Queen wasn’t around. People always seemed to tell him everything they knew, as soon as he asked.

“Duffy,” Ima Gail repeated thoughtfully. “Sorry. The name doesn’t ring a bell. But Jackie-boy goes around with some of that Delta Charter bunch. I can ask him.” Ima Gail was partying her way through a string of boyfriends, of whom Jackie-boy (who was several years her junior) seemed to be the latest. “Any special information you’re looking for? And how soon do you need it?”

“The sooner the better,” Verna said. Diffidently, she added, “If Jack can find out anything about his . . . um, personal life, that might help.”

“Ah-ha.” Ima Gail chuckled knowingly. “The plot thickens. Do I detect the sweet scent of romance in the air? Has this gentleman expressed an interest in you?” She gave the words a sly emphasis. “Has he proposed?”

“Absolutely not.” Verna bit off the words with an emphatic firmness. “How about if I give you a call around noon tomorrow and see what you’ve found out?”

“That might be too soon,” Ima Gail said. “But it won’t hurt to call. If Jackie-boy knows anything, I’ll pass it along A-S-A-P. Romance, huh?” She chuckled again. “I keep telling you, Verna, you are looking for the man in the moon. You’ve got to lower your sights. Nobody’s perfect. There are no knights in shining armor anymore. You need to learn to take the bad with the good. Settle for what’s available and stop holding out for Mr. Ideal Husband. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

Verna did not say what she thought of this philosophy. Instead, she replied, in a reasonable tone, “I am not looking for a husband, Ima Gail, let alone an ideal one. My interest in Mr. Duffy is a purely business matter. If you can’t help—”

“Okay, okay.” Ima Gail chuckled. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Verna. I’ll see what Jackie-boy can find out about your Mr. Duffy.”

“He’s not my Mr. Duffy,” Verna said crossly.