obvious. The man woke up in the middle of night to steal a rotten tooth to avoid forking over a quarter--and now he's willing out money, and he ain't sick!"

"It was Daddy who did that?" Leonard asked.

"Yes, he did. I thought once y'all figured it out, we would laugh about it and y'all would start dropping by once in a while."

"Did Daddy know anything about this?" Ruth Ann asked.

"No. He was curious why all a sudden everyone started calling and coming by. He wouldn't admit it to nobody, even me, but he was glad y'all..." She broke, sobbing loudly. "He was a stingy, foul-mouthed cuss...but I loved him!"

Robert Earl said, "Give me a break!"

"It's all right, Mother," Leonard said. "Everything is going to be all right."

"I think aboutin her periphery the newspaper on the end table. "I was thinking..." She looked at him...gasped and put her hand to her mouth. She saw it, or rather she didn't see it.

My God!

The scar wasn't there!

"What happened to your face, Lester?" She realized it was a stupid question as soon as she said it.

Lester laughed. "I had it removed. A friend told me about this doctor in Jackson, Mississippi. He's from Europe somewhere, and he specializes in removing scars and tattoos with a laser."

"May I touch it?" Another stupid question. Lester didn't respond.

Silence. Uncomfortable silence. Awkward silence.

"It's not half as hot as it was last week," she said, for lack of anything else to say.

Lester nodded.

"Lester, you really look good. Really, you do. I don't mean to stare--you