“Oh Lord, you women and your rivalries.”
Norma Ray peered up from sewing, the square of fabric about an inch from her face. “It’s well-known that the only reason Dottie became the Peach Queen back in ’62 was because she was dating Dooley at the time. If she hadn’t been dating Dooley, Malene would have won. Now, where did I put that backing? A minute ago it was right here.”
“If you wore your glasses, you’d be able to find it,” Malene said snidely.
“I do not need glasses,” Norma Ray countered.
Where Malene wore slippers everywhere she went and always had her blue hair up in a bun, Norma Ray was the complete opposite. She dressed in colors reminiscent of spring, cardigans and button-down blouses. Needless to say, Norma was very put together except for the whole thing about wearing her glasses.
“You do need glasses,” Urleen Crenshaw said. Urleen was the youngest of the three, if you considered sixty-five young. But she was also a mother hen, as was proven when she pulled out an extra set of glasses from her purse. “Take these, Norma. I got them at the Walgreens. They’ve got just about everything at the Walgreens. Why, I swear, if you need anything, you just go there and they’ll have it for you.”
Norma swatted the glasses away. “No thanks, I’m doing just fine on my own. Ouch! Poked myself with the needle.” She popped her finger into her mouth as Urleen and Malene shot each other pointed looks.
“Whatever you say,” Urleen said.
“Enough with all this nonsense.” Malene put down her square and glanced at me. “What were you and Shane talking about?”
I scoffed. “Since at the window you commanded me to say yes, I figured you already knew.”
“Oh, we do,” Urleen stated, “but we just want to make sure.”
“What happened with Shane is no one’s business,” I said.
“I agree,” Norma Ray chimed. “If the handsomest bachelor this side of the Mississippi wants to take our sweet Clementine out on a date, it’s nobody’s business but y’all’s.” She eyed me with excitement. “That is, unless you want to go ahead and confirm our suspicions.”
There would be no getting out of this, would there? Unless the quilting bee knew exactly what was going on, their heads would fall off. It just came with the small-town territory, I suppose. Old ladies had to know all the ins and outs and the happenings. So me and Shane having a private conversation would just about drive those three bonkers.
I sighed. Might as well tell them before Malene started a rumor that Shane and I were getting married. Heck no, I would not put that past her. Trust me, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened, and I doubt it would be the last.
“Just so y’all won’t make up some crazy story, I’ll go ahead and tell you.”
Malene smiled before quickly forcing her lips back into a neutral position. “Oh? Well, only if you want to. We’ll be okay without knowing.”
“Now that is a lie, Malene, and you know it,” Urleen quipped. “Why, you were just saying that if you didn’t find out what Shane asked, then you were going to follow his truck tonight.”
My jaw unhinged as I stared at her. “Malene, are you honestly telling me that you would havespiedon Shane just to find out what he had asked?”
Malene grimaced. “For the sake of this town, I would, and I’m not ashamed of it. Why, one time, my snooping paid off. Old Man Juniper was just about set the town on fire. If I hadn’t discovered him making Molotov cocktails, half of Peach Street would have burned to the ground.”
“I’ve never heard that story,” I murmured.
“That’s because Old Man Juniper doesn’t try that sort of thing as much anymore.” Malene shook a finger at me. “But you can bet your biscuits that I still watch him.”
“Now, now, we all know the service that you do for Peachwood, Malene.” Norma Ray reached over to pat her hand and ended up patting the rocking chair’s arm instead. “You are a gem to us. Why is your hand so wooden?”
“Because you’re fondling the chair,” Urleen said sharply. “If you’d wear your glasses, you would know that.”
Norma Ray scoffed.
“Shane asked me to sit by a bonfire with him and have a couple of drinks tonight. No big deal. He said he wanted to get to know me better.”
“Ooo, somebody likes somebody else,” Malene gushed. “That Shane’s a good one. You couldn’t do much better than him, at least not in Peachwood.”
“Isn’t he dating that nail tech?” Urleen asked.
“That’s what I wondered.” I slumped down into my chair and brought one leg over the other, wagging my foot in the air. “I was sure he had a girlfriend.”
Norma Ray hiked her shoulders to her ears. “Probably broke up. You know how it is with these young folks and their social media.”
