Polly opened her purse and brought out a small album. “I had two of these made. One for me, and one for you. I tried to get the picture with Vera in each one.”

“Thank you.” Lily managed to keep her tears at bay as she flipped through the pictures. She wished she’d known that her mother was saving change for such a thing—she’d have given her rolls of nickels and dimes for Christmas and Mother’s Day. “This is amazing. I’ll treasure it forever.” Lily held the album to her chest.

“All right, enough sentimental crap,” Polly sighed. “I’m about to start crying, so tell us about you and Mack and the kids to get me pepped up.”

“Well,” Lily said, “Braden is interested in the goats, and Granny Hayes invited Holly to have Sunday dinner with her and showed her how to make earrings.”

“Holy shit!” Polly gasped. “No one other than Sally has even been close to that cabin. What did Holly do to get an invitation?”

“Other than the fact she was wearing a pair of the earrings that Granny Hayes makes, and maybe looks a little like my mama, I have no idea,” Lily answered. “She and Holly were visiting about the earrings while Mack brought the truck around after church yesterday. It was storming, so we offered to take her home.”

“Her old mule broke his tether and went home at the first clap of thunder, right?” Polly said.

“Yes, ma’am.” Lily took a second doughnut from the box.

“Well, that just blows my mind away,” Polly said. “Not that old Dusty took off for home, but that she asked Holly to eat with her. Was Holly bored?”

“Oh, no!” Lily shook her head. “She came home all fired up about the whole afternoon. She asked if she could have one of Granny Hayes’s kittens, and she wore her hair in braids to school today.”

“Sweet Jesus!” Polly whispered. “Has that old gal cast a spell on your daughter?”

“I don’t think so,” Lily giggled. “I’m just glad she’s making friends with an older person. She can learn so much if she just listens to what Granny Hayes has to say.”

Polly shook her head. “And I thought she and Sally had a strange friendship. It’s time for me to go if I want to get home before it starts raining again. The weatherman says we’re in for a frog strangler right after lunch.”

“Thanks for stopping by and for bringing doughnuts,” Lily said.