with Henry and his family and flying to Paris that night.
“Love you, Mom! Just go have a ball and quit worrying!” Beth was standing by the kitchen door with Lola tucked in her arms. She had been carrying her all morning because with all the people shuffling about, she worried that Lola might get stepped on and squashed like a grape.
“Love you too, sweetheart, and your precious dog. Okay, that’s it. If I forgot anything, I’ll just buy it over there. They have stores in Paris, right?”
“Um, I think so.”
Henry blew the horn of his car with two short toots. Susan hugged Beth’s neck one truly last time, ruffled her granddog’s tiny head, inhaled and exhaled with enough gusto to shift the curtains, and hurried down the back steps.
“Whew! I thought they’d never get her to leave!” Sophie said. “If I was going to Paris for a year, I’d already be there!”
“For real,” Beth said.
Only Beth and Sophie remained. Sophie was lollygagging about, unenthusiastic about getting on the road in her rental car to drive to Columbia to meet her twin.
“I could stay here for a month,” Sophie said. “The breeze on that front porch is nothing but a drug.”
“Yeah, it is. I’d better go pick up all the newspapers before they blow over to Morris Island. I wish you would stay. Hey, how come you didn’t go with Uncle Timmy?”
“And be the seventh fanny in a hot SUV? Nah. I’m way too spoiled for that. Anyway, it would take him an hour just to find Allison and I knew he was antsy to get going. That reminds me, I need to MapQuest the directions. You got a laptop?”
“Yep, in my room. I can do it for you.”
“That would be great. Come on, I’ll give you a hand with the porch.”
The front porch, which had been straightened up over and over throughout the course of the weekend, was littered with newspapers, sandy flip-flops, coffee mugs, and a half dozen or so beach towels still damp from morning swims, hung haphazardly over the rails to dry.
“Gee whiz,” Beth said, “what a bunch of pigs. Ding-dong. The maid’s here.”
“I hear you. I’ll knock the sand out of these because otherwise it ruins the washer. Or, maybe I should wait until they’re dry. What do you think?”
“Leave ’em till they’re dry. If I total the washer and dryer, Aunt Maggie will get on a plane, come back here, and kill me.”
“Yeah, with her ESP, she probably already knows.” Sophie giggled. “Listen to me, Maggie was Born to Mother. When I was a kid, Maggie was all over us, wiping our faces every two minutes like a crew from 60 Minutes was dropping by to document what a bunch of filthy little Geechee brats we were.”
“I figure Aunt Maggie can’t help herself, that’s why I never get too upset with her. Here, Aunt Sophie, hand me those mugs and I’ll throw them in the dishwasher. And I always think it would have been more fun to be my mother’s sister than her daughter because then I wouldn’t be an only child. You know?”
Sophie was lining up the rocking chairs.
“And all I ever wanted was to be an only child! This porch could use a broom. How come we always want what we don’t have?”
“Good question. Forget the broom. Pray for a stiff wind or I’ll do it later.”
After Beth printed out the driving directions to Sophie’s destination in Columbia, Sophie brought her things to the kitchen, preparing, at last, to leave.
“Do you need anything for the road?”
Sophie opened the refrigerator and peered in at all the leftovers, wrapped in waxed paper and plastic bags.
“Maybe a bottle of water. What in the world are you going to do with all this food?”
“Dump it. When you leave I’m going on starvation. That’s the only diet that works.”
Sophie reached in her canvas tote bag and pulled out a handful of DVDs.
“Actually, it really doesn’t. Here you go! Stretch and workout with your aunties! But kiddo, you don’t need to lose any weight. You look gorgeous. However, exercise is
“Love you, Mom! Just go have a ball and quit worrying!” Beth was standing by the kitchen door with Lola tucked in her arms. She had been carrying her all morning because with all the people shuffling about, she worried that Lola might get stepped on and squashed like a grape.
“Love you too, sweetheart, and your precious dog. Okay, that’s it. If I forgot anything, I’ll just buy it over there. They have stores in Paris, right?”
“Um, I think so.”
Henry blew the horn of his car with two short toots. Susan hugged Beth’s neck one truly last time, ruffled her granddog’s tiny head, inhaled and exhaled with enough gusto to shift the curtains, and hurried down the back steps.
“Whew! I thought they’d never get her to leave!” Sophie said. “If I was going to Paris for a year, I’d already be there!”
“For real,” Beth said.
Only Beth and Sophie remained. Sophie was lollygagging about, unenthusiastic about getting on the road in her rental car to drive to Columbia to meet her twin.
“I could stay here for a month,” Sophie said. “The breeze on that front porch is nothing but a drug.”
“Yeah, it is. I’d better go pick up all the newspapers before they blow over to Morris Island. I wish you would stay. Hey, how come you didn’t go with Uncle Timmy?”
“And be the seventh fanny in a hot SUV? Nah. I’m way too spoiled for that. Anyway, it would take him an hour just to find Allison and I knew he was antsy to get going. That reminds me, I need to MapQuest the directions. You got a laptop?”
“Yep, in my room. I can do it for you.”
“That would be great. Come on, I’ll give you a hand with the porch.”
The front porch, which had been straightened up over and over throughout the course of the weekend, was littered with newspapers, sandy flip-flops, coffee mugs, and a half dozen or so beach towels still damp from morning swims, hung haphazardly over the rails to dry.
“Gee whiz,” Beth said, “what a bunch of pigs. Ding-dong. The maid’s here.”
“I hear you. I’ll knock the sand out of these because otherwise it ruins the washer. Or, maybe I should wait until they’re dry. What do you think?”
“Leave ’em till they’re dry. If I total the washer and dryer, Aunt Maggie will get on a plane, come back here, and kill me.”
“Yeah, with her ESP, she probably already knows.” Sophie giggled. “Listen to me, Maggie was Born to Mother. When I was a kid, Maggie was all over us, wiping our faces every two minutes like a crew from 60 Minutes was dropping by to document what a bunch of filthy little Geechee brats we were.”
“I figure Aunt Maggie can’t help herself, that’s why I never get too upset with her. Here, Aunt Sophie, hand me those mugs and I’ll throw them in the dishwasher. And I always think it would have been more fun to be my mother’s sister than her daughter because then I wouldn’t be an only child. You know?”
Sophie was lining up the rocking chairs.
“And all I ever wanted was to be an only child! This porch could use a broom. How come we always want what we don’t have?”
“Good question. Forget the broom. Pray for a stiff wind or I’ll do it later.”
After Beth printed out the driving directions to Sophie’s destination in Columbia, Sophie brought her things to the kitchen, preparing, at last, to leave.
“Do you need anything for the road?”
Sophie opened the refrigerator and peered in at all the leftovers, wrapped in waxed paper and plastic bags.
“Maybe a bottle of water. What in the world are you going to do with all this food?”
“Dump it. When you leave I’m going on starvation. That’s the only diet that works.”
Sophie reached in her canvas tote bag and pulled out a handful of DVDs.
“Actually, it really doesn’t. Here you go! Stretch and workout with your aunties! But kiddo, you don’t need to lose any weight. You look gorgeous. However, exercise is
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