Love, Ruby Lavender

A huge crowd shows up to see Eula off, despite the early hour. Ruby hides inside Mattie’s store because she doesn’t want to say goodbye. Even Phoebe “Scoop” Tolbert, who writes a newspaper column called “Happenings in Halleluia,” has come to report on Eula’s trip. Eula says “good-bye to [her] public” (38), joking about how much they’ll miss her. She thanks everyone for their kindness, especially during the past year. Once Eula departs, Ruby sees Mrs. Latham put her arm around Melba, leaning into the girl’s shoulder. When Mattie finds Ruby, she tells Ruby about not getting to say goodbye to her brother before he died and how she has always regretted it.

Tolbert’s column contains one paragraph each about the pastor’s recent activities, Ruby’s mother’s pepper-picking guidelines, and the town council meeting that announced this year’s operetta. Three paragraphs describe Eula’s departure and various community members’ responses to Eula’s trip. Ruby’s first three letters to Eula follow the article, all written on the day of Eula’s departure. She reports that she’s working on a disappearing potion to make Melba vanish, that it isn’t good for babies to be hugged too much, and how the chickens are faring. Ruby is now reading to them from the dictionary while Ivy sits on her eggs.