Finally a little something.

We finally got around to arrange girls night. I had stocked up on champagne, wine and sparkling cider. It turned out that I was the only one able to drink alcohol. AB and Wanda were pregnant, Lemon was on painkillers for her broken ankle and Rose was a minor. No point in me getting wasted alone, so I settled for the cider and ice tea like the rest of the girls.

It started with us pampering ourselves with facials, foot baths and manicures. Wanda had prepared facial masks with her grannys recipet, guaranteed to make us look younger, fresher and rejuvenated. We had all the colors of the rainbow in nail polishes. As a treat for the girls I had hired a massuse to relieve any muscle tension we might have. I thought it would be best to have a female, we didn´t need to drool over some well built adonis while focusing on gossiping. Bridget turned out to be a really funny lady and we invited her to join us for food and drinks, which she accepted gladly.

We proved that we could have fun without alcohol. AB was hilarious, the stories she told about the Memory Matrons and their doings had us all squirming with laughter. Lemon shared some of the fashion secrets the stars use. How to look taller, slimmer and bustier. I can´t say I haven´t used some of those tricks my self, on ocation. Do you know what you can do with duck tape and regular cooking oil? It is amazing what a pattern in fabric can do for your body type.

It was inevitable that we at some point got to talk about boys, well one boy and four men. It was really endearing and sweet to hear Rose go on about Frederic Dean, their first date, first dance, first kiss. They had been dating now for six months, did she see it going any further, who can tell. We only slightly touched the subject of her Fox-TV interview after the Founders Day Parade and the performance.

Wanda and Tom had met at a Star Wars convention in Miami. They were a perfect match for each other, really sweet and loving, yet a bit goofy. Tom always had some crazy, out of this world, ideas for making money. Wanda was more down to earth. They balanced each other perfectly. It was going to be interesting to see how they are as parents.

AB and Lavon first met in college. She dated Jake Nass, a football player from Auburn, while Lavon played for Bama. They met ocationally at parties and pre- and postgame events, got a long fine and became sort of friends. Both being in committed relationships, it didn´t escalate from there. AB and Jake got married straight out of college and were happy for a while. When things got rocky, Lavon was there for her. Him now being single, left behind, for a career in the big city, by his girlfriend Ruby. AB had another good friend supporting her through her divorce, George, he made sure that she got a good settlement and spousal alimony for years to come. She got the house and a houseboat, the cottage and even Jakes golfbag. That´s the price for cheating.

Lemon and George had been together since high school and would be married in September. Sure, they´d had their ups and downs, but it seemed they always found their way back. They had really made the long distance dating ´s what made their relationship fresh and exciting, she said. Now Lemon was struggling with staying in Bluebell when married or returning to L.A. George had been west for a few years but thought the people there were pretentious and phony. Maybe he could put up with that if Lemon wanted to go back. They knew they were going to have the BIG talk, rather sooner than later.

Bridget told us she had married Frank, "the boy next door", right out of high school, started a family and stayed home with the four kids on their farm. They owned the largest strawberry farm outside of Bluebell. During the years she had taken courses at community college in accounting and marketing, with a side of physical therapy. She said that she took the massage gigs to get out of the house and to meet new people. A girls night like this was her first ever and she didn´t intend on missing out. She was having so much fun.

I knew it would come up eventually. What was going on between Wade and I. I told them, truthfully, we were taking it slow. Of course, we made out fiercely, but it wasn´t just physical. We talked about everything and anything. We had fun and we goofed around a lot. Sure, I wanted to go further with him and I know he wanted it too. He told me, he´ll be all mine, if I decide to stay. Less heart brake if I leave, he said. It may sound as emotional blackmail, but I know he was saving me from the heartache as well.

The sun had set ages ago, but we kept going. We decided to go swimning in the pond. Lucky for us, Wade was working, because no-one had bought their swim suits and we vent skinny dipping in the moonlight. Wade would have liked that show.

We had been sitting out on the porch but after the swim we moved the party inside.

"What´s upstairs?" Rose asked.

I had to admit I hadn´t been up there , even though I´ve lived here, well technically been on holiday, for nearly four months. I grabbed a flashlight and we ventured up the squeaky stairs. There were five doors of the hallway and a pair of French doors across the stairwell. Behind the first door was a small bedroom, almost walk-in-closet size with a small window and a door to the left. The second door in the hall lead to a bathroom, very outdated, but never the less, a bathroom. Inside there were two adjoining doors, one to the "closet" and the other to a larger bedroom. In that bedroom there was a french balcony with a view over the pond and Wades gatehouse. The french doors in the hallway lead to a balcony on top of the outside stairs. Doors four and five led to equal sized bedrooms.

Obviously the mayor and previous occupants used these rooms for storage. I saw some really nice pieces of furniture, a full length mirror with ornate gold plated framing and a piano. We tried to reach for the instrument. Rose being the tiniest one squeezed her self between an armoire and an armchair and lifted the lid covering the keys. She tried to play a tune, but the piano was in dire need of tuning. And I knew just the person to do that. Shula, she was not only my old singing coach, she was also a virtuoso on the piano. I would have to ask her to come by some day. I was actually thinking of restoring some of the furniture for future use. It seems that I was, unintentionally, making the decision to stay. And to stay in the carriage house. The thought of asking Lavon if it was ok, didn´t even cross my mind.

The first person I wanted to tell wasn´t any of the girls that were here, it was Wade. I sent him a text asking him to come for coffee first thing in the morning. He replied with "something wrong? You need me to come over tonight? I finish working at midnight." "No, tomorrow when you wake up is fine. XO" "Ok, sweet dreams princess XOXO"

Lemon had called George to come and pick her up. She didn´t want to walk with the broken ankle. They gathered, the now sleeping, Rose and left. Bridget packed away her massage table and parted with an invite to spend the day at the farm during strawberry season. We promised we´d be there. AB helped to clean up before, she too, left for the mayors mansion.

"Will we see you two for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

"You two who?"

"Duh, you and Wade. Who´d you think? You and Earl? It´s pretty clear that you had an revelation when we went upstairs."

"I can´t deny the scale tipping in that direction. I invited him for coffee first thing and we´ll be over later. Ok?"

"Ok, good night sweetie."

"Good night, give Lavon a hug for me."