Jo walked into the kitchen. Mrs. G. had put a bandaid on Noah's forehead and he had stopped crying. Her three youngest daughters were busy tearing lettuce for salad and Mrs. G. and Beverly Ann were both busy at the stove. Jo wiped away her tears and cleared her throat.
"Come on girls," she said. "We need to go."
"But Mom," Jordyn said, "Mrs. G. is going to teach me to make salad dressing."
"Maybe some other time Jordyn," Jo told her daughter. "Come on."
Tootie, Blair, and Natalie came into the kitchen. "We're going too, Noah," Natalie said to her son. "Get ready."
"Nat, please don't leave," Tootie pleaded. "We can all work this out."
"What is going on here?" Mrs. G. asked. "Nobody's leaving this house!"
"Yes we are," Natalie replied. "It's best."
"It was a bad idea to come back here Mrs. G." Jo said. "We can't make this work. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" Mrs. G. looked puzzled. "How can you say that? I let all of you out of my life years ago. Now I have you back, and you are not leaving!" She was yelling now. She could not believe what was happening. "You are not girls anymore. You're women. It's time you sat down and worked out these problems. No one is leaving until you do!"
"You can't keep us here, Mrs. G." Natalie responded.
"Do you want to bet?" Mrs. G. answered. "Sit down, all of you. You kids come with me. I think all this food can wait until tomorrow. We'll get Ricki off the porch, and Beverly Ann and I will take you kids out to dinner."
"Mrs. G.," Blair looked questioningly, "I'm not sure this is a good idea. You can't force people to do what they do not want to do."
"Blair, all four of you have a lot to talk about. Whether you decide to become best friends again, or never see each other, that is your choice." Mrs. G. suddenly looked very old. It was obvious that the situation was painful for her. "No one leaves until everyone sits and discusses this."
All four of the women looked sadly at her. Edna Garrett had always been there for them. She had loved them and solved their problems. She knew the only way to solve this problem was to let them solve it themselves. They couldn't let her down now, so reluctantly they all sat at the kitchen table.
Edna and Beverly Ann went into the living room to help the kids into their coats. Beverly Ann suggested they take her Winnebago in order to fit everybody. She took Noah, Jordyn, Charli, and Katie and loaded them in the vehicle. Edna sat on the porch next to Ricki.
"Where are you going?" the girl asked.
"To get something to eat," Mrs. G. offered a simple answer. "You want to come?"
Ricki was avoiding the question. "You need Katie's car seat. It's in Mom's car. I'll get it."
"Thanks for reminding me," Mrs. G. smiled at the girl. "You are a big help. I appreciate that."
"I wish my mom did." Ricki looked down. "Nothing I do is good enough for her."
"Ricki," Mrs. G. put her arm around the girl. "You know your mom loves you. You are actually a lot like her. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true. You are both so stubborn. That's why you fight. You both think you're right and neither of you want to compromise."
Ricki began to cry. "I know my mom loves me, but she is always so busy. Jordyn always needs help or has doctors' appointments. Charli is always showing off how smart she is and Mom is always there cheering her on. And Katie needs attention because she's a baby. I need attention too. My mom always wants me to help her take care of everyone else, but she doesn't have time for me."
"Have you told her that?" Mrs. G. asked.
"I just did," Ricki replied.
"No honey, you didn't. You yelled at her. You screamed and stormed out of the room." Mrs. G. was beginning to see more of Jo in her daughter. "Right now, we're going to go eat supper. When we get back, you talk to your mom. I know she'll listen."
Mrs. G, and Ricki walked to Jo's car and took out Katie's car seat. Then they went to the Winnebago, got in, and the whole group went out to dinner.
