Lily felt a pang of jealousy that they were so warm and sweet with her friend. She and Teena joined the three of them in the hallway, crowding up the small space.

“We’ve been here about an hour, helping your mama unpack. And now, we need some help getting those three boxes down the stairs,” Sally said.

Without so much as a sigh or a grumble, Braden and Holly each picked one up. Teena got the last one, and they all five paraded down the stairs together. The kids even took the boxes out to Sally’s bright-red vintage Mustang and helped her get them in the trunk—in the drizzling rain.

“Have they forgiven you?” Sally asked.

“Nope, but it’s good to see they still have some manners,” Lily answered in a soft voice.

“It’ll take time. I remember when my boys were fourteen. The world would have come to an end if I’d jerked them out of their school and took them away from their friends,” Teena said.

“I didn’t have much choice. I thought about every possibility for two days before I made up my mind,” Lily told her. “How are the twins?”

“They’re moving back into the dorms on Sunday. I’ve loved having them home for a month, but truth is, I’m glad they’re going back to college. Ryder spends every waking minute he can with his girlfriend, and Creed stays up all night playing video games with his friends and sleeps all day,” Teena answered. “They didn’t make all As, but they did pass all their courses, and they didn’t get kicked out of school, so I guess I shouldn’t bitch about them.”

“You don’t mind having an empty nest?” Lily asked.

“I did at first, but then they came home every couple of weekends, so it wasn’t a big deal,” Teena replied. “Okay, girl. I’m leaving now.”

“Call if you need anything. We’ll see you in church tomorrow morning, right?” Sally got into her car and waved out the window.

“We’ll be there, and thanks again.” Lily waved at both vehicles until they were out of sight.

The kids stopped on the porch to wave for a few seconds, and then they went back inside. When Lily got to the living room, Braden was sacked out on the sofa with a disgusted expression on his face. Holly was sitting in the recliner, frowning and picking at her nails.

“Mama, we don’t even have cable,” Braden moaned.

“I told him that we were going to live back in the caveman days, but he didn’t believe me,” Holly smarted off.

“This is back before that, even,” Braden said. “I keep expecting a dinosaur to peek in the windows.”