The storyteller in me wanted to end the novella with Harley and Billie smooching on stage to the applause of all their old friends. The historian in me wants me to tell everyone what really happened. After the Sadlers lost their home they moved to Abilene. Harley had a heart attack while hosting a Boy Scout benefit in Avoca. Within six months Billie developed cancer in the mouth and underwent disfiguring surgery. Her brother Burnie moved in with her but eventually the grief and pain were too much and Billie killed herself. Harley, Billie and their daughter Gloria are buried in the cemetery at Cameron, Texas, where Billie grew up. Over the years their fans died and the memories of the old traveling melodrama shows died too. But the love they had for each other and the joy they spread in West Texas during the Depression will never die.