Allie Lamar bio
Alexandra "Allie" Johnson, 58, was born in Oxford, Mississippi. Her father, Robert, was a high-ranking member of the University of Mississippi business school faculty, and her mother, Lydia, was a nurse.
Allie was bright, but her good grades came more from her jaw-clenching resolve than innate brilliance. She studied hard, sat in the front of the class, and eagerly awaited the release of report cards. By high school, she was known as vivacious and strong-willed. Although not naturally athletic, she still worked her way to being the cheerleading team captain.
Allie had always dated casually, rarely seeing someone more than just a few dates, until she met Daniel Quentin Lamar. The son of one of Oxford's most prestigious families, Quentin was good-looking, intelligent, and just quirky enough to be interesting. Allie and Quentin were soon spending all their spare time together.
After high school, Allie attended the Mississippi University for Women, and Quentin attended Ole Miss. Quentin often drove down to Columbus to see her, and they dreamed of being together full-time.
Immediately after Allie graduated from The W, she and Quentin got engaged, and she began planning the wedding as he started law school. Allie paid close attention not only to the appearance of the wedding flowers but also to their scent. She wanted her wedding guests to be hit with a wall of fragrance when they walked into the church.
While Quentin established his legal practice, Allie combined her interest in business with her passion for fragrances and makeup to start Lamar Cosmetics. Her drive propelled the company to such impressive growth that Quentin quit his legal practice and joined her in running the business.
Between their inheritances and the Lamar Cosmetics income, Allie and Quentin were able to move into a big house on North Lamar Boulevard. But almost as soon as they moved in, Quentin began going days and even weeks without sleep and refusing to shower. He wandered the old house, yelling at imaginary enemies.
Allie's determination kept Lamar Cosmetics growing while Quentin deteriorated at home. When Allie became pregnant during one of Quentin's lucid periods, she thought fatherhood might refocus him, but instead, their son's presence tormented Quentin even more than his unseen foes.
Allie wasn't surprised when Quentin took his own life, but she was determined that her son never know his father's despair. She poured everything into the success of Lamar Cosmetics and raising her son. For a long time, Allie succeeded. Bill grew up intelligent and well-liked, and Lamar Cosmetics exceeded expectations.
When teenage Bill became inseparable from a local beauty pageant contestant named Barbara, Allie disapproved because it distracted Bill from preparing for his future as the head of Lamar Cosmetics. But she allowed the relationship, hoping it would be just a high school crush, forgotten by the first fall of college.
By the time Bill was ready to graduate from high school, Lamar Cosmetics had begun to falter. Allie's frustration mounted because, for the first time in her life, working more hours didn't solve the problem. She had to lay off employees and reduce operations.
And even more infuriating, her son didn't seem to care. Although Bill put in many hours at the company, he still left to study in Europe. He worked hard by anyone else's standards, but for Allie, he wasn't dedicated enough.
In a last-ditch effort to save what little remained of the company, Allie decided to sponsor a beauty pageant in conjunction with the Yoknapatawpha County Literature Festival. The pageant was well underway when Allie was surprised to learn her son was coming home to Oxford.
