My honesty paid off, though, because the woman burst into laughter. “Bully for you!” she cried. And just like that, I had a new friend, Ida Anderson. At dinner that evening, Ida’s husband asked about my education. Their town’s teacher had recently eloped, and he was president of the school board. By the time we went to sleep that night, I had a job, and I knew exactly where I was headed.

