All too soon, Teddi knew. Dora was, she said, the wife of Mamie's son Ricky, who had recently died in a plane crash. She was to bear Ricky's son -- very soon -- and had come to live with Mamie because she had no other place to go. Mamie had never heard of Dora but, then, Ricky didn't write often. He had been working elsewhere for almost two years. It was possible, though a bit odd, that he had married and not told his mother. Because the thought of an unexpected grandchild made Ricky's loss easier for Mamie to bear, Dora was quickly settled into the household.
For Teddi, however, recently orphaned and now living with Mamie, Dora was a threat. Mamie's house was small. How long would there be room in it for Teddi, who was only a friend, as well as Dora and her baby, who were relatives? What would happen if Teddi had to leave? She had no place to go.
Teddi tried to like Dora, to accept her presence, but the awful night Teddi had to assist Dora as the baby was born, the discovery of how little identification Dora had, and, most of all, Dora's reluctance to talk about Ricky, all raised questions Teddi could not answer. Was Dora really who she said she was, and if not, how did you prove it?
Fortunately there was someone to help: Jason, the new boy next door. Yet how much did Teddi want to know? Would the truth about Dora make life better or worse -- for Teddi, for Mamie, for Dora, and for her baby?
