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I didn’t have anything in ht red dress with little cap sleeves and a full skirt, just to have soo with the shoes - but it orth it I worried that it was a little ine red shoes, dress, and lipstick were a little conspicuous I wore the outfit rarely because I felt a little silly in it, but every once in a while, I wore my red shoes while I did house work, just because theyabout red shoes Thatas I’d dressed for church, I’d decided I should celebrate h heels I wondered what Sauilt that I cared
"Co a little barbeque for Josie’s birthday, and we’d love to have you"
"I’ll bring lemon squares!" Nettie replied firroaned inwardly I hated lemon squares And I wanted to worry about dessert I wanted chocolate cake
"That’ll be fine,"double doors into the Sunday sunshine I walked at Sa to think of some way to still s
"I like red," Sahts of chocolate cake fleddown at me "Happy Birthday, Josie"
"Thank you," I said a little too brightly
"Do you really want us to come for your celebration?" He asked quietly "Your dad didn’t ask you before he invited us"
"We’d love to have you" It was just a little fib, having everything to do with dessert "Then I can give you your sweatshirt back I’ve beenit by" I wished I would have kept quiet about the sweatshirt Itto him in the rain I looked down at my red shoes shyly
"I wasn’t worried about the sweatshirt," he said quietly "I’ll see you later then" He turned as his grandparents waved and walked with therey sedan
Jacob and Rachel had four little blond boys, ranging in ages from 7 to 2, ere constantly underfoot Jacob’s only instructions were "don’t kill yourselves," and Rachel was always busily doing this or that, setting out food, helping me in the kitchen, and she seemed unaffected by the antics of her wild brood One time the older boys had tied 4-year-old Matty up in the chicken coop He had been hollering bloody murder for at least a half hour before anyone realized he was gone The chickens hadn’t hurt him, but he’d been pecked a tiather eggs again
Jared had married an "out-of-towner" when he went off to school Her name was Tonya, and she came across a little uppity She didn’t mix very well, and Jacob’s boys irls close to her sides, and she spentthe boys in horror She was very pretty with her glossy brown bob and perfect makeup, but she had a perpetually pinched look to her s like "Jared, don’t you think you ought to…" and "Jared, you need to " Jared had the look of brow beaten husband these days
Johnny’s wife Sheila was pregnant with twins and was so big she could hardly move Her feet were swollen and her skinny arms stuck out to the sides like Popsicle sticks She sat in a lawn chair and didn’t move the entire time they were there I kept her in cold root beer, and Tonya kept her bored with tales of her own deliveries, which we had all heard a trillion ti them rise while ent to the service I had rill, and we’d added soether froy potato salad Chips, watermelon, and root beer rounded out the si tablecloths over the picnic tables we had set up in the backyard when Don, Nettie, and Sanant and the uppity, ogled Samuel when he walked into the backyard He still wore his slacks and dress shirt from church, but he’d taken off his tie, undone the top two buttons, and rolled up his sleeves He was brown andmade a stark contrast to all the fair hair and freckles He carried leredients for a double chocolate cake with butter crea in my kitchen I would just have to whip it up when everyone went horaciously take the lemon squares froiven on the dinner, and people were digging in before I got a chance to sit down for a s and their fa frory when I cookeditthe way Sa over me
"Can I sit?"
I scootched over and ood food" Samuel’s voice was polite and for to say after the obvious ‘thank you’
"I remember Johnny from school He was in a couple of my classes The kids are nieces and nephews, obviously, but I don’t recognize any of the women, and I don’t knohich of your older brothers is which"