"Have you been in these wet socks all day?" Beatrice Gallagher was helping her little Phoebe get ready for bed, which was not the easiest thing to do since her daughter was dancing and twirling around her bedroom with excitement.
"Oh Momma, it was just lovely! Everyone wanted to smell them." Phoebe was referring not to her damp socks, but to the bouquet of lilacs she and her mother had gathered in the dewy back yard that morning. Phoebe had decided at the last minute that she needed to take some of the flowers to her teacher, Miss Kittiebittle. 
It had been a harried morning in the Gallagher household and Walter had left earlier than normal in order to receive a shipment at the grocery store. So Beatrice had quickly wrapped the bouquet in a makeshift nosegay of wet paper towels and aluminum foil before she and Phoebe headed out the door. It was a brisk walk since they were running late and Beatrice could see the rivulets of water running down Phoebe’s sleeve as she jostled along, grasping the bouquet tighter and tighter in her little hands. It did not help matters when Mimsy Shrewsbury delayed them by thrusting her nose into the center of the blooms, showering florets onto the sidewalk. Luckily, it was a generous bouquet that looked no worse for wear as Phoebe was delivered to the playground. 
"And, Momma, the best part was when I got to walk down to the janitor’s closet to fill the bucket with water!" "Why did you need a bucket of water?" asked Mrs. Gallagher. "That’s what Miss Kittiebittle put the flowers in. She said she was sorry she didn’t have a vase. Beatrice sighed and closed her eyes but smiled as she remembered that many parents would be coming into her gift shop looking for end of the school year teacher gifts. She made a mental note to suggest flower vases to each and every one of them. " 
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