"Pa!" Clover leaped from the stack of hay he'd been playing in with a few other children whose parents were shopping in the marketplace and dashed over to his father, throwing his arms around his leg and hanging on tight. This was somewhat of a ritual between father and son, one that they'd formed over Clover's love of climbing and Frederic's tolerance for being hung on as such. As usual, Clover's father grinned down at his son and paused his walking to ruffle the little boy's reddish-brown hair. "If it isn't the little spud." "I'm a big spud now!" And so Clover jumped off his Pa's leg and took his hand instead, and thus the tradition was complete. It was only then that he noticed a pretty woman on Frederic's arm, and he gasped with excitement. Out of all the ladies he tried to get his father to fall in love with, he'd never seen someone so pretty. In fact, Clover was at a loss for words, and sort of hid behind his Pa as he stared up at her in awe.

"Miss Calloway, this is my son, Clover," said Frederic with a smile, and as Clover glanced between them, he saw what he'd wanted to see for so long- a spark of attraction. Coming out of his shell, he offered the hand that wasn't holding Frederic's out to Miss Calloway after wiping it carefully on his overalls and announced cheerfully, "You're reeaaaal pretty!"