"Dad, Bill's here," Susan called. "We can start loading Mom's things in the van." She walked into her parents' bedroom and saw her father sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her mother's faded yellow dress.

"Oh Dad," she said softly. "That old dress again. Mom should have given that away years ago. I don't know why she held on to it. She hadn't been able to wear it for years."

"It was her favorite."

"I know, and it wss really pretty once. But now it's faded and worn. It's time to give it away."

"Do you know why it was your mother's favorite?"

"Yeah, she said you bought it for her." Susan chuckled. "Mom always was sentimental that way."

Ted shook his head. "No, I bought it for her but that's not why she kept it. You see Susan, when your mother and I got married money was tight. It wasn't long before her birthday that first year that she found out she was pregnant with you.

"Neither of us knew how we were going to keep a baby clothed and fed. She was really feeling down. I wanted to do something special for her birthday to cheer her up and take her mind off things. I didn't have much money but I did have...