That evening, the ladies sat on the porch and watched the sky turn to flame and the glow of evening spread across the landscape. Grace was glad to turn her mind from Randy and post-traumatic stress disorder to the affairs and concerns of her friends.

Amelia related having argued with Mike and refused to fly to New York for another show of her work. “I told Mike that that’s not what I want to do, not how I want to live. I’m not forty, and I’d rather use my energy to shoot photographs, not travel. I just don’t have the driving ambition for fame and recognition any longer. You understand, don’t you?” She looked from Grace to Hannah, and both nodded. “It’s enough that I’ve published two coffee-table books that sell well in the Carolinas. I don’t want to sleep in hotel beds or be harassed at airports. They always pat me down. I detest that. Why do they do that? What do I look like, a criminal?

“I’m satisfied with my life and my work. Look at the book of the Inman family photographs. I had misgivings about doing that book after the flood washed away almost all they owned, but they urged me to, and we all love the way that came out. They show it off wherever they go. The oldest Inman girl invited me to her school to talk about the flood and how I took the pictures.” Amelia stared into space for a moment, then changed the subject.

“I wish Mike would shoot more. He’s so talented. His black-and-white photos are magnificent. He should teach less and do less studio work. He’s so darn good, and no one sees his work. He won’t even join the local photo club, F32, and he won’t show his work at local galleries.”

“Maybe,” Hannah said, “you’ll have to take a portfolio of his work to a gallery.”

“He’d be furious.”

“Not if you land him a show,” Hannah replied. “He might pretend to be annoyed, but how could he not love that?”

“That’s a really great idea, Amelia. Do it,” Grace urged.

“I’ll think about it. But I am not going back to New York.”

“That decision have anything to do with Simon, the art critic?” Hannah asked.

Amelia turned to Hannah. “Honestly, I don’t think so, although I’d hate to think what he might say about my work after the way I treated him.”

“How badly did you treat him, anyway?” Grace asked.