“Sally kind of caught us up on everything last night when I called her.” Polly chose a doughnut with chocolate sprinkles.

“Where have you been?” Lily sipped at her coffee.

“Me and your mama always had this dream that someday we’d go on one of those over-fifty cruises,” Polly said between bites. “We kept putting it off for years, and then your mama passed. But I got this last-minute deal in the mail a few weeks ago, and two of my cousins said they’d go with me. Seemed like an omen. We just packed our bags and drove down to Galveston, got on the ship, and went. Who knows how long any of us will be aboveground? I’ve decided to start spending my savings and do everything I can while I’m still able.” Polly reached for her second doughnut. “It was amazing. Vera would have loved it.”

“Why did you wait so long? Why didn’t you and Mama do the cruise while she was alive?” Lily asked.

“Vera wouldn’t leave your daddy, and he wouldn’t go because he got sick if he even went out on a fishing boat. And then she was so depressed after he passed away that I was lucky to talk her into going out to dinner once a week. Then she passed, and losing my best friend put me in a depression. I thought that I couldn’t go without her, so I kept putting it off.” Then Polly leaned forward and whispered, “But I kind of took her with me in spirit. I’ve got an old black-and-white photograph of the two of us when we were little girls, so I took it along. Everywhere I went, whether it was to a musical production, to watch a movie, or just to have our meals, I took the picture with me and set it up so she’d be right there with me. My cousins thought it was weird, but I didn’t give a damn.”

It took two sips of coffee for Lily to swallow the lump in her throat. “She never mentioned a cruise to me.”

Polly laid a hand on her knee. “Honey, that was our own dream—something we saved our dimes and nickels for. I’m surprised you haven’t found her stash somewhere in the house. When we got fifty dollars in change saved up, we’d cash it in for a bill.” Polly shared the last of the coffee between the mugs. “It took us years to get that first fifty dollars. I made each of us a little light-blue velvet bag to keep our fifties in. I have enough left in my bags to go on another cruise in the summer. This time I’m going to Alaska. Want to go along?”

“Thank you, but I won’t have enough vacation time by then,” Lily answered.