She went and practiced her golf swing for about an hour. The first half hour was frustrating as it felt like she was starting over and her balls were going all over the place. But after a while, it got better. Her balls went higher, longer and straighter. By the time she left, she felt as though she might not totally embarrass herself the next day, and she’d gotten a little bit of a workout and burned off some nervous energy.

She made it home and to her parents’ house with minutes to spare. And she’d worked up an appetite as well.

“What are we having? Something smells great,” Andrea said as she walked in the house.

Her mother looked up from the stove where she was stirring a big pot of red sauce.

“Just meatballs and sauce. Oh, and your sister made garlic bread.”

“Yum. I brought a bottle of merlot. Shall I open it?”

“Yes. I’ll take a glass and your sister and Aunt Vivian probably will, too, but check with them.”

Andrea could hear her aunt laughing in the living room. She poked her head in the other room and saw Hallie and her aunt deep in conversation.

“So, your Uncle Freddy said he’s ready to come home now. I asked him where he planned to stay, and he got mad. He flies in tomorrow, evidently. I told him there might be room at The Whitley.”

“You’re terrible,” Hallie said. “You wouldn’t really make him stay in a hotel, would you?”

Her aunt chuckled. “No, probably not. It is fun torturing him a little, though. He has some apologizing to do when he gets home.”

“Do you two want some merlot? I’m about to open a bottle.”

They both said yes at the same time, so Andrea went and poured wine for all of them.

“Do you need help with anything?” Her mother was chopping cucumbers for a salad.

“No, go ahead in the other room and relax. We’re still waiting for your father to get home. Everything else is done.”

Andrea handed glasses of wine to her sister and aunt and settled on a comfy chair opposite from the sofa where they were sitting.

“So, what’s new with you?” Aunt Vivian asked.

“Not too much. I was just out at the driving range, hitting some balls.”

“You’ve taken up golf?” Her aunt was surprised.

“Well, I needed to practice because I have a golf date tomorrow. I met a cute guy, Ben, at a cookout, and he gave me a golf lesson and tomorrow we’re playing a round at his country club.”

Hallie frowned. “Is that the same Ben that Lucy’s been dating?”

Now it was Andrea’s turn to be confused. “I thought he was dating Paula?”