The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star

During the past few days, Myra May and Violet had gone over the party menu several times, with Mildred’s caution in mind: “Please be thrifty. I’ve got to cut every corner I can.”


In the end, they had agreed on a light buffet supper: sausage puffs; slivers of ham with slices of fresh cucumber on buttermilk-cheese biscuits the size of silver dollars; finger sandwiches in three shapes, made with a variety of fillings; small tomatoes stuffed with chicken salad and topped with sprigs of mint; deviled eggs; Southern banana pudding with whipped cream; and watermelon and cantaloupe cubes. When Raylene looked at the menu, she suggested that they add a cheese custard pie with onions and sausage.

“Custard pie with . . . cheese?” Violet had asked dubiously. “Never heard of it.”

“I saw it in a cookbook called The Joy of Cooking, by Irma Rombauer,” Raylene said. “It’s a book she published herself, a couple of years ago. The recipe uses lots of eggs, which are cheap, and you can scrimp a bit on the cheese if you add more eggs. My version includes onions and sausage and a few herbs. Oh, and you can make it ahead and serve it warm or cold.”

“Well, I guess we can give it a try,” Myra May said. Armed with the shopping list, she went down the block to consult with Mrs. Hancock, who had ordered what she didn’t already have in stock—for example, two boxes of vanilla wafers for the banana pudding and extra bread and fresh buttermilk.

On Thursday night, after the diner closed, Myra May and Violet stayed up late, boiling eggs, slicing ham, baking cheese biscuits, and making sandwich fillings. On Friday, as soon as the noon lunch crowd left, Myra May and Violet put all the prepared food and groceries into big baskets, which they loaded into Myra May’s Chevy touring car, Big Bertha. Bertha was a genuine antique but was still bravely running. (Just in case, Myra May always said a fervent “Bless your heart, Bertha,” every time she turned the key in the ignition and patted the dashboard affectionately when Bertha coughed into life.) Violet was staying behind at the diner with a cook who was coming in to try out for part-time work.

Myra May and Raylene drove Bertha, fully loaded, out to the Kilgores’ house. They planned to assemble and prepare everything in Mildred’s kitchen, add the finishing touches, and be ready to serve to the guests around eight o’clock that night.

At the Kilgores’, Myra May pulled around the back and parked near the kitchen door so they could start unloading. When Mildred came out to give them a hand, Myra May was a little startled to see that her friend’s eye was purple and puffy. She thought about making a joke out of it (“What does the other person look like?”) but she didn’t want to hurt Mildred’s feelings, so she didn’t.

“I’m glad to see you two,” Mildred said, taking the small basket Myra May handed her. “Things were a little chaotic this morning, but we’re back to normal now, more or less. I think everything is all set for tonight—except for the food, of course.” She called to the two neatly uniformed colored girls from the Darling Academy that she had hired for the day and evening. “Girls, come and help carry this stuff to the kitchen.”

With everyone’s help, they made quick work of unloading the car. In the spacious, fully modern kitchen, Myra May and Raylene put on their aprons and began organizing their team of helpers for the greatest efficiency. As they worked, Myra May was delighted with Raylene’s proficiency in handling a large party prep, which she chalked up to her experience in a hotel kitchen. She wondered once again why a woman with Raylene’s skill and talent would want to bury herself in the small town of Darling. Surely there was a mystery here.

Myra May was also mystified by the obviously serious conversation that Raylene had had with Verna and Liz at the diner that morning. But she couldn’t think of a way to open the subject and Raylene didn’t volunteer any information. Raylene seemed unusually quiet and thoughtful, though, as she organized the making of the dozens of party sandwiches Mildred had ordered. She set out loaves of fresh bread and bowls of the sandwich fillings that Myra May and Violet had made and put the helpers to work at the long table in the dining room, where there was plenty of clear workspace.