Chapters (53)
“Religious and political problems, people fighting in the streets, burning other people’s property. Sarina’s brother-in-law was shot in the leg, a random shooting they think, but he was shot, nevertheless.”
“Why, that’s just terrible, shooting people like that.” Velma shook her head. “People all over the world’s got such big problems these days, don’t they?”
“It’s a complicated world we live in,” Grace replied. “I had a letter recently from Randy Banks. Remember him? He’s Lucy’s—the little girl I tutored at Caster Elementary—older brother. He joined the army and went to Afghanistan and was sent on to Iraq.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. No, I didn’t know him. What’s he have to say?”
“That he’s scared all the time. That the tension, the not knowing when a bomb’s going to blow them to smithereens, makes them all edgy and sick to their stomachs. He speaks of the noise of war and how horrible it is, and how even when it’s quiet, he can hear gunshots and explosions in his mind. He wishes he’d never joined up.”
“I feel so bad for all those young fellows over there,” Velma said. “I didn’t approve of this war. Charlie thinks we had to do it. I never believed that stuff about us being attacked by Saddam Hussein.”
“Neither did I. Say a prayer for Randy, will you, Velma? That he comes back alive and well.”
“I surely will. I’ll get my prayer circle to add him to our list.”
“Thanks.”
Driving back to Covington, Grace thought about May and weighed the potential narrowness of a small village toward one of its own against the sense of belonging provided by that village, which had come to mean so much to her. But Denny Ledbetter and May McCorkle romantically involved? Now, that was ridiculous.
Still, Velma had started her thinking about May. Where did May live since she had left her husband? Grace didn’t know. Did she have a job, and if so, what kind of a job? What was her education? Grace regretted her ignorance about a woman she had spent many hours with prior to the weddings. But except for the monthly red hat luncheons, she never saw May. Who had invited May to join their red hat chapter, anyway? Had it been Amelia or Brenda Tate? Probably Brenda. As principal of Caster Elementary School, she knew all the families of Covington. She would ask Brenda about this. Brenda could be trusted to present a fair assessment. But later that afternoon, when Grace phoned Brenda, an answering machine invited her to leave a message.