Talley set the drinks on the table, but none of the three women looked up. Mrs. Manchester reached for a red packet of Pall Mall cigarettes, snapped open a silver lighter, and held the flame to the tip. She inhaled and exhaled rings of smoke.

Talley came over to the hut with her tray, still sporting two bottles of Coke. “Aunt Edna said we could have a soda.”

Never one for soft words or hugs, Mama did her communicating through cold sodas, new art pencils, and trips to Elizabeth City. “Thanks.”

Water droplets rippled down the side of Ruth’s misty cold bottle as she took a long drink, draining nearly half the soda as Talley sipped hers.

Talley wrinkled her nose, and her face softened with pure pleasure. “Wow, this tastes really good.”

“You ever had a cola before?” Ruth asked.

“Once when I was twelve, my cousin let me take a sip of his. But I never had a whole bottle to myself.”

“Mama always lets us have one on Saturdays during the summer. It’s the busiest day of the week.”

“Aunt Edna’s been really nice.”

“We only have about another half hour here,” Ruth said. “Then we help Mama set up the dining room for dinner.”

“You think we can watch when that lady sings after dinner?” Talley asked.

“We got to be around to wait on the guests, so there’s no reason why we can’t listen to the songs in between fetching drinks.”

“I’ve never seen a woman like her,” Talley said, a little breathless.

“You ever been to the movies?”

“No.”

“Mama took me to see Melody Time last year. Full of all kinds of songs and ladies who look like Carlotta.”

“I read for fun mostly.”

When Talley arrived, she had carefully unpacked three worn paperback novels and arranged them on her nightstand. “What do you like to read?”

“I like Nancy Drew. I’m partial to the mysteries,” Talley said.

“Who is Nancy Drew?”

“She’s a girl like us who solves crimes.”

“Why would she want to do that?” Ruth asked.

The Manchester boy cannonballed right into the center of several girls, including his older sister, and splashed water over the edge of the pool toward Ruth. The girls screamed and called for their mothers, but Ruth enjoyed the cool spray of water droplets on her face. Pete dived under the water when his mother called his name.

“I don’t know,” Talley said. “Nancy’s smart, and she likes to figure things out.”

“Nancy,” Ruth said, smiling as she raised the soda bottle to her lips. “You say her name like you two are friends.”

“It feels that way sometimes.”

Ruth stared into her cola bottle and wished there was more than a swallow left. She had no book friends, but when she drew her sketches, she never felt alone as she shaded more here, drew the lines darker there, or just left the space white.

“Be on the lookout for books this summer. These folks leave all kinds of things in their bungalows after they check out. In fact, Mama might still have a big box of books from last year in the storage room.”