When Louisa brings up Lily Dyer—Joe’s mother’s caretaker—in a conversation with Joe early in the story, his reaction foreshadows his romantic relationship with Lily:
“I suppose Lily Dyer’s with [your mother] now?”
Dagget colored. “Yes, she’s with her,” he answered, slowly.
[…]
“I suppose she’s a good deal of help to your mother,” she said, further.
“I guess she is; I don’t know how mother’d get along without her,” said Dagget, with a sort of embarrassed warmth.
“She looks like a real capable girl. She’s pretty-looking too,” remarked Louisa.
“Yes, she is pretty fair looking.”
Through the subtle use of language, Freeman effectively foreshadows the fact that Joe is in a secret relationship with Lily. The fact that he “colored” (or blushed) when Louisa brought up her name, and that he speaks about Lily with “a sort of embarrassed warmth,” signals that he is trying to hide something. That Freeman also has them discuss Lily’s attractiveness is her way of subtly encouraging readers to consider the possibility of attraction between Joe and Lily.
As Louisa comes to learn, part of Joe’s restraint in naming his true feelings for Lily is not because he is intentionally being unfaithful or secretly planning to leave her for Lily, but because he plans to end his relationship with Lily in order to honor his promise to Louisa. In this way, Freeman is showing how Joe prioritizes decorum and fulfilling his commitments over his true desires. Ultimately, Freeman rewards him for this honorable behavior by having him end up with Lily at the end of the story.
