Granny took her up on that offer. As soon as Elizabeth walked in the door Friday after work, she assigned her a few chores. After changing into shorts, a T-shirt, and sneakers, she started hauling things from the kitchen out to the back deck, where Pops had created a stage under a thousand lights swinging from the house, around the trees, and back again.
The scent from the smoker punched the air with the aroma of smoked meat, and the food table was already loaded with sides like potato salad, coleslaw, hushpuppies, salads, greens, cornbread that melted in your mouth, jams and jellies, chips, and fruit concoctions with Cool Whip and Jell-O.
“Granny outdid herself.” Julie, Ethan’s wife, set a hot casserole on the table, then turned to Elizabeth. “You’ve never been to a Dorsey guitar pull, have you?”
“First one.”
“You’re in for a treat. Some of the unknowns are better than the knowns. I saw Buck here when he was still a struggling songwriter.” She made a funny face. “One of his songs made me fall in love with Ethan.”
“Made you?” Elizabeth laughed. “Buck Mathews’s songs cannot cast a spell over me.”
“I don’t know, he’s got some powerful melodies. That being said, you ready for your first term at Wharton? When are you leaving?”
“First of August.”
Julie leaned close. “Piece of advice? Study the course curriculum, clubs, the campus layout. Reach out to alumni. It’ll help you feel more at home when you step foot on campus.”
“I did a lot of that when I visited in the spring, but you’re right, I should review.”
From Pops’s stage, players tuned their guitars. More and more folks arrived, filling the table with good eats. Elizabeth felt like she was standing in a scene from an old Hollywood movie.
Then someone grabbed her from behind. JoJo, Buck’s wife, who Elizabeth’s younger self had wanted to be like back in the day. They talked in the shade of the large elm, catching up, celebrating JoJo’s pregnancy with twins, and making sure they had each other’s phone numbers.
Tina arrived with her son Cole, his wife Haley, and their kids. “I left Lucy and D’Angelo in charge of Ella’s,” she said, holding on to her grandson with her right hand, her granddaughter with her left. “If the place burns down, I guess it’s time to retire.”
Pops banged on a giant pot from the deck. “Dinner’s on. Let’s thank the good Lord for the food and friends, then get this party started.”
There was a lot of whooping and cheering as Pops started his prayer. Tina’s grandson took hold of Elizabeth’s right hand just as a warm, firm masculine hand slid into her left.
Ryder.
“I’m glad you’re back,” he said after Pops shouted “Amen!”
“Yeah, me too.” Oddly enough, she meant it.
She’d not seen him all week, but he’d crossed her mind every day while reconciling accounts.
“About when you called that night,” she said as they entered the long food line. “Are you really going to Colorado?”
“To be honest, no. Well, the offer is still on the table, but when I called, you sounded so happy, with your people, in your world, I wanted to seem like I had something going on too. How lame is that?”
“Not very.” Elizabeth stepped forward as the food line moved.
“I didn’t plan on saying it. It just came out. I realized you were off to grad school. That’s where you belong. Suddenly, I needed to have something on the front burner too.”
“Why do you need something on the front burner?”
He made a wry face. “Why do you think? I want to impress you.”
“What makes you think I’m not already impressed?” She looked back, willing him to see in her eyes how much she admired him.
“You’re beautiful, Elizabeth Dorsey. Smart, ambitious, and all the things…I’m just a country boy with a degree in wildlife management.”
At the food table, Elizabeth took up a plate and a napkin ring, grateful this personal conversation was covered by the dozens and dozens of conversations around them.
“Well, I’m just a city girl with a degree in management science.”
“And the two shall never meet,” Ryder said, reaching for his own plate and napkin roll.
