“I’ll be ready in a minute.” Nessa pushed back her chair. “I just have to grab my purse.”

“Me too.” April was on her feet and headed outside before Nessa could even push back her chair. She was already in the SUV when Nessa slid in behind the wheel.

“You must really not like washing dishes,” Nessa said.

“No, I don’t mind doing any kind of housework, and I can cook. Nanny Lucy made sure that I knew how to do all kinds of things before I left—like clean, cook, work with the roses, and change the oil and tires on the car.” April rolled up the window when Nessa started the engine and turned on the air conditioner. “I just didn’t want to talk about my failures anymore. It’s depressing.”

“Failure doesn’t have to define us,” Nessa said. “It can be the turning point in our lives that leads us to something better.”

“Is that Uncle Isaac I hear?” April asked.

“No, it’s straight from my school counselor. I confided a lot of stuff in her, and I remember seeing that quote hanging on her wall. I have no idea who said it. For all I know, she thought it up herself and printed it out right there in her room. But it has helped me a lot, even when I kept making the same mistakes over and over,” Nessa said.

“Ever get a good outcome from one of them?” April asked.

“Not one time. Same old thing, time after time.” Nessa turned onto the paved highway. “Well, that helped take care of the shake, rattle, and roll. Think they’ll ever pave this road?”

“Probably not for just two houses. Every time I drive Nanny Lucy’s car out onto the highway, I think the same thing.” April turned on the radio, and they listened to country music all the way to Paris. Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy were singing “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” when Nessa found a parking spot not far from the entrance to Walmart. Nessa kept time with the beat with her thumbs on the steering wheel. April bobbed her head along with the lyrics.

“You believe that everything is really gonna be all right?” Nessa asked.

“I do, but we have to give it time. It took a lifetime for us to get in the condition that we’re in, so we don’t need to be over our past in three weeks. I’ve already got rid of one of the monkeys on my back, like they’re singing about. Now I just have to not worry and for sure not hit the panic button, because . . .”—April moved her shoulders and arms to the music—“for the first time I really feel like just maybe things will be all right.”