“That’s hogwash, how many years have we been friends? How often were you and Fred out helping me when I finally decided to sell?”

“That’s what friends are for.”

“Right. I rest my case.”

They stopped at the curb, where Addy slung her backpack in the backseat and climbed in.

“You got more library books, I take it.”

“How can you tell?”

“The weight of the backpack. No lighter than when you went in. What did you do today?”

“Shelved books. Several of them came home with me. Grandma, I’m starved.”

Ginny smiled. “Figured you would be. Where do you want to stop?”

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all. We’ll drop Amalia off first.” She turned at the next stop sign. “You need anything at the store, Amalia?”

“Thanks but I’m fine. Just let me out at the street. You needn’t drive in. Thanks for the ride.” She waved them off and headed for the stairs. Much healthier than the elevator. A note on her door said:

Come on over for Mexican Train. There will be four of us. Seven.

It was signed with the initials of Lily, her friend two doors down who had been so ill. Wonderful! She opened her door to Jehoshaphat meowing as if she’d been gone for days instead of a few hours. Bending over, she scooped up her feline becoming friend and stroked his back before he squirmed to get down.

“Hey, you are settling in, I think there is hope for you yet.” She slid open the screen door and stepped out on the lanai. A slight breeze cooled her on its way past into her apartment.

What if Roxie really did fall in love and get married? How would it change the group? Change. Good thing God didn’t give them a laundry list of what was coming. Right now was enough to deal with. She went to stand in front of the freezer. What could she fix to take to the game night?

Chapter Twenty-One

Dear Roxie,

I am writing this to all of you but I have an address for you since you sold us a house many years ago. I have been a member of the UFO group from the beginning and so appreciate it. I began with a needlework picture I had started several years ago at least, for a friend of mine. She’d ask me about it once in a while because she was working on something too and we kind of challenged each other. I don’t know if she finished hers but she has been fighting a recurrence of breast cancer that metastasized to her brain. I finished my picture, framed it, and took it to her two weeks ago. We had a marvelous visit and she showed me where she wanted it hung so she could see it when she woke in the morning.

My friend went home to Jesus two nights ago and her husband said she made him promise to call me and tell me, again, how grateful she was for our friendship and that I brought her the picture just when she needed it most.