The four girls waited with baited breath, their eyes never straying from the scrutiny and battle of power before them. Aunt Ruth's lemonade stood on the table completely ignored. Droplets of perspiration slid down the pitcher in hopes of enticing a drinker or two, but no one glanced in its direction. Not that any of them would have drank it anyway. Long ago it had been decided that to drink Lisa's mother's lemonade was a death wish.

The tension hung thick in the humid air.

Still, the girls waited.

Finally Susan decided, "It's beautiful," and Lisa's mouth opened in that dazzling smile of hers. Right on cue, the other four breathed a collective sigh of relief and jumped in with their own praises, now Susan had given the say-so. Their older, married cousin's word was law in the Pingleton family. It really was a fortunate thing she'd approved, because the ring was such a perfect thing and Penny would have hated to make Lisa sit through the inevitable sidelong glances and awkward comments that would have come if Susan had said, "What an adorable promise ring! You've got to let us know when Mitch saves up for something nicer, though." They'd already put Cynthia through that and that had been just enough for Penny, thanks very much.

"I knew Mitch had good taste," said Angela.

"The design is really choice," said Cynthia.

"You are so lucky!" said Evie.

What Penny meant to ask was, "Have you set a date yet?" What she did ask was, "Is that actual diamond or just a really good knock-off?"

Everyone stared at her with a range of skepticism to disbelief to horror and everything in between. She hadn't meant to say it – it had just slipped out. Penny figured the best way to fix this was just to pretend it hadn't been a big deal.

"What?" she asked in annoyance, as though that was what everyone ever said to their newly-engaged cousin. "It's good to know this stuff in case it ever gets stolen. Not that anyone ever steals small rings – "

Lisa silenced her with a withering glare and Penny had never been more grateful. She resisted the urge to swallow Aunt Ruth's entire pitcher of lemonade, if only to ensure she never said a word ever again. Penny settled on taking a very large gulp and choking on it.

--

"Was that really necessary?"

Penny ignored her. She knew that she was never going to hear the end of her slip-up, so she might as well get used to ignoring when it was mentioned. The other girls were still in the sitting room, fawning and exclaiming over fiancés and dates and dresses. She'd needed to get away from all that, but Penny had had no idea why Evie had offered to help her bring the glasses to the kitchen. She should have guessed.

When Evie didn't get an answer, she persisted, "I don't know what's the matter with you these days. You've been sulking ever since Susan got married."

"Bug out, Ev, I have not been sulking," protested Penny. Her eyebrows rose as though to say, "See? Exactly my point." Before she actually got the chance to say it, though, Penny continued, "I just think it's too early for all this. Me and Lisa and Cynthia haven't even graduated yet."

The look on her cousin's face told her she didn't believe a word of it.

"What else are you gonna do, go to Harvard?" she asked sarcastically. Penny rolled her eyes. Not that her mother ever would have sent to her to college anyway, but she already knew she wasn't exactly the quickest-witted. She didn't need her whole family always reminding her. "Really, I think you're just bitter."

Penny almost dropped the glass she'd been putting away. So this was why she'd come. She had been careful never to be alone with Evie for too long ever since that night in the diner last year. From the innocent little smile on Evie's face she knew she'd hit right where she'd wanted. Still, Penny didn't want to give her that satisfaction, so instead she turned back to the cupboard and asked, almost scornfully, "Are you crazy. Evie? What on earth do I have to be bitter about?"

"Gee, Penny," said Evie, as though playing along with some child's game, "I figured you knew what you were getting yourself into, fooling around with some Negro. I mean, if you're expecting a ring or something, don't you know colored boys just don't think like that?"

Her sweet smile widened just a bit. She didn't think she'd retaliate. She thought Penny would just look around to make sure no one had heard what she'd said. As though it was something to be ashamed of, something she had to hide.

It was a rare thing for Penny to raise her voice, but even rarer for her to get to the point of anger where she felt herself unable to. She set the glass she had been washing down on the table and walked right up to Evie. It didn't matter that she was a full head shorter or that if Evie told her mother what she knew she wouldn't see the light of day for a month. In that moment, Evelyn Pingleton cowered in front of her and she said quietly, "And how would you know?"

Then she slapped her.