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wait to do that until Bill gets home. He should be along in another half hour or so.”
    “You’re making chicken and dumplings? Your mom’s chicken and dumplings?”
    “Of course. She gave me the recipe when Bill and I got engaged. Said I needed to fatten that boy up.”
    “Oh my God, I’m never going to fit into my clothes when I go home. I haven’t had chicken and dumplings in years.” Twelve years.
    “You could use a few pounds on you. It’ll make the rest of us feel better. Now, tell me about your date with J.T. I want all the juicy details.” Mary Ellen took a peek into the den before plopping herself down at the table. “We’ve got twenty more minutes until their show is over. Spill it.”
    Nadya laughed out loud. She’d known what she was in for when she’d texted that J.T. was taking her to dinner. “There’s not much to tell. He took me to a nice restaurant. We ate, we talked, he drove me back to the hotel.”
    “That’s it? Nadya, I’m disappointed in you! You’re thirty years old, for heaven’s sake. It’s not like you’re some blushing virgin. How could you let a fine specimen of man just drive on home without trying to get a little something? You’re not still a virgin, are you?” She looked appalled.
    “No, I lost that in college.” And would have gladly given it up to J.T. that day at the creek. “Mar, I don’t know how long I’m going to be in Georgia. I can’t get all wrapped up in J.T. again.”
    “It’s different now though. You’re not eighteen and sheltered. You’re a woman of the world now. Surely you could have an affair with him before you go back.”
    “Mary Ellen! If your mama heard you talking like that she’d wash your mouth out with soap.”
    “Oh, please. You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about what it would be like to have sex with him. I remember talking to you about it when we were teens. If you recall, I was the first person you called after you went to second base behind the high school.”
    “You were the only person I told about that. But I’m not eighteen anymore. I can look past the next moment and weigh the consequences of my actions.”
    “Are you on the pill?”
    “Yes.”
    “Are you disease free?”
    “Of course!”
    “Are you seeing anyone else?”
    “No.”
    “Then what consequences are you worried about? I say ride that man like a prize stallion at the rodeo every chance you get until you go back to the city.”
    “I cannot believe we are having this conversation in your mama’s kitchen with your two children ten feet away.”
    “It’s my kitchen now, and one of those children was conceived on this very table.”
    Nadya yanked her arms off the table, then made a face at Mary Ellen when she laughed hysterically. “TMI, Mar, TMI.”
    “God, the look on your face. Like you expected to see a pair of panties dangling off the chair.” She wiped her eyes. “Shoot, now I have to pee. Stir the chicken, will you?”
    The smell of chicken and seasonings made her mouth water as it filled the kitchen. She tapped the wooden spoon on the side of the pot and turned to put it in the sink. When she did, she almost tripped over little Billy. He stood there, staring silently at her.
    “Your mama just went to the bathroom. She’ll be right back.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    Nadya was at a loss. She hadn’t been around children very often and they were another species to her. “Can I get you something? Would you like some juice?”
    “No, ma’am. Mama doesn’t let us have juice before dinner.”
    “Oh.” He certainly was a serious soul. She had no idea what to do next when she remembered the presents she had gotten earlier. “If you go get your brother, I have some things for the two of you.”
    “What kind of things?”
    “Presents.”
    His face lit up and he scampered to the family room. Nadya crossed to where she’d left the bags and put them on the table. Seconds later, Billy came back dragging Hunter with him.
    “Now, if you