Sometimes I even answered my own questions.
“Is that Bernice?” Annie crowded into my personal space but I didn’t mind. All of us—Elise, Annie, Bree and I—missed Bernice already and she hadn’t even been gone a week. I held the phone away from my ear so we could share the conversation.
“Hi, Annie. I’m glad you’re there because I have a confession. I shipped Nathaniel and Joanna some things.”
“From France?” The wonder in Annie’s voice made me smile.
“Yes, France. And I think there’s something from London, too. I’m losing track.”
“Bernice, you can’t spoil them like that.” Annie made a face at the phone.
“Yes, I can. And we haven’t been to Italy or Greece yet. I found a silk scarf for Esther today. If I tuck it into the next outgoing batch, will you make sure she gets it?”
Esther Crandall lived in the Golden Oaks Nursing Home. Another one of Bernice’s friends I’d promised to check on over the course of the summer.
“Sure. Now I’m going to back out of this conversation so you and Heather can talk.” Annie made a kissing noise into the phone and handed it back to me.
“How did you survive Mrs. Kirkwood?” Bernice wanted to know.
“I think the wounds are finally healing.”
Bernice laughed. “I knew you’d charm her.”
“Charm her?”
“Did she schedule another appointment?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“There you go.”
We talked a few more minutes and I told her about horseback riding with Bree and Marissa’s haircut and Jared Ward coming to town. Bernice may not have raised me, but her next question proved that her Mom Alert was completely functioning. And set on high.
“Jared Ward? What’s he like?”
Since I knew I’d have this exact conversation with Mom over the weekend, I figured I might as well practice. “He’s about twenty-three or twenty-four.”
“Really?”
Is he good-looking? Three…two…one…
“What does he look like?”
Close enough. “He looks a little like Orlando Bloom.” With a motorcycle. “Denise told him he could stay in your apartment for the summer.”
“What!”
“It’s all straightened out.” I probably should have mentioned that first. “He’s living in Marissa’s garage instead.”
I heard Bernice whispering something to Alex. Maybe she was asking him to hire a private investigator to check into Jared’s background. She and Alex could probably split the cost with Mom and Dad!
“Mama B, I should go now. It’s almost closing time.”
“Right. It’s Friday night.” Bernice sounded a bit wistful.
“What happens on Friday night?” I asked eagerly. Maybe there was something about Friday nights in Prichett I didn’t know yet.
“Nothing that doesn’t happen during the rest of the week,” Bernice admitted. “It’s nice to know that life in Prichett doesn’t change, but I suppose it’s going to be too quiet for you this summer. You’re used to a lot more choices.”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her just before we said goodbye. I wanted quiet. Prichett was my Go square. It was eight weeks of security before I stepped into my life. I’d traveled around Europe with a close friend and I’d lived apart from my parents for almost a year, but things felt different now. Even though I knew my family would always be there for me, I was going to be the one making decisions now. Like what to do with the rest of my life. The whole idea gave me a queasy feeling.
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