“Don’t do what I’ve done and let a good guy slip out of your life because you are judging him by someone else’s actions,” Stevie said.

“What if I invited him to dinner, and he says he doesn’t want to meet my folks?” Mia asked.

“Then tell him to get lost,” Stevie said. “He can come to Sunday dinner, or he can go find another young woman to flirt with.”

Mia nodded. “I knew you’d be the one to talk to. Now, I guess I should tell Mama and the rest of the folks.”

“That would be a good idea, for sure.” Stevie picked up her first cookie.

“Time for you to need chocolate too?” Mia asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Stevie answered, “and it wasn’t your uncle Cody who kept me awake last night, but I did dream about him. It wasn’t the first time either, and it all started more than twenty years ago.”

Mia sat up a little straighter, and her eyes widened. “I knew there was something between y’all. I just knew it. He looks at you like…” She started on another cookie.

“Like what?” Stevie asked.

“Like Daddy did and still does at Mama,” Mia asked. “Now I want to hear the rest of the story.”

Stevie told her a little bit of the story, ending with it was all probably just an infatuation. “I bet that’s what you had with Ricky, right?”

“Probably,” Mia said, “but it felt real at the time.”

“So did what I felt,” Stevie said, “but it wasn’t real love. You are smarter than I am. You’re not letting your experience define who you are, but be careful that you don’t let it ruin any potential relationships you might be destined for.”

Mia was quiet for several minutes, as if she was letting what Stevie had said soak into her heart and soul. “What did he say when you talked to him last night?”

“We decided that we should be just friends, and I’m not angry with him anymore. After all, we’ve got a lot in common, and we have to be together for a few days until the roads are clear. It would be better to be friends than to be enemies right now, don’t you think?”

Stevie’s phone rang before Mia could answer. She picked it up and said, “Hello, Gracie. Is Fifi happier now?”

“Poor little darlin’ is tuckered out from her walk, and so am I,” Gracie answered. “We’re both cuddled up under a blanket in my recliner and watching game shows on television. Getting out is just what she needed. Now, let’s talk about this thing with you being out there with Cody Ryan. You know that folks are already talking, don’t you?”