Georgie rode her bike down the street toward the grocery store, waving to the people who called after her as she passed them. That was something she sure was going to miss. She liked small town living. If she needed a cup of sugar, all she had to do was call across to Mrs. Ruthers and she'd have plenty to spare. Or eggs, if she needed eggs and she couldn't swing by the store, there was always the Kerrs, they'd have a few to spare from their hens.

She couldn't imagine how different Los Angeles was going to be compared to Edenton.

She'd made peace with it, however, and intended to enjoy her last few hours at home. The few friends she had had planned a going away party. All of them were under the impression that she was the one who asked to move, none of them knew why. Well, a couple neighbors knew but they had learned the art of discretion long before she had been born.

"Georgie, honeybee," called Ms. Whitby, waving the girl down as she almost ran right into a parked car. She was an older woman, almost in her eighties from what Georgie had heard, but she was still kicking fit, looking like Georgie's boss, who was in her fifties. As always, she had been working in her front yard and there was dirt smeared on her cheek and shirt. And if Georgie took a deep enough whiff, she'd smell the manure that the old woman always used. "How are you doing, sweet thing?" asked Ms. Whitby, smiling as Georgie came to a stop at the gate of her house.

The old women on the street had been asking how she was since the news of her momma's latest indiscretion came around. And by indiscretion, that meant a full meltdown at one of the local liquor stores when she was refused a bottle of bourbon by the guy behind the register. Getting a call from the sheriff at three in the morning was startling, but she was used to it. It wasn't the first time and it would not be the last.

Well, it might have been the last.

"Doing fine, Ms. Whitby," she assured the older woman. She'd lived on the same stretch of road since she was seven and she'd known Ms. Whitby since then. The old woman had been babysitting since before her husband had sadly passed away and she'd grown rather close to the girl during those years. "It's real hot out today, you make sure to keep in the shade." She was like a grandmother. More of a grandmother than either of Georgie's own grandmothers. One grandmother acted like she didn't exist and the other hated that she had a mind of her own. "And drink lots of water."

"Oh, sweet peach, you don't have to tell me twice, but if you need anything, you know where I am," Ms. Whitby told the girl as she adjusted the large hat on her head. She'd worn that hat every year since she moved to Edenton, every summer when she was out working in her yard, and every Fourth of July party. If Ms. Whitby didn't have that hat on, something wasn't right. "Don't you forget to be home for the party."

"I won't forget, Ms. Whitby," she promised, smiling at the kind old woman, thinking that she probably wouldn't see her again.

As she took off on her bike, it dawned on Georgie that a lot of their elderly neighbors weren't going to be around for much longer. She was never going to have to another Fourth of July with Ms. Whitby, drunk of sherry and wearing that oversized hat, dancing with one of the neighbor boys to something from the forties, telling them she grew up listening to the sweetest music.

She blinked tears out of her eyes, thinking about the fact that the next time she saw Ms. Whitby would probably be at her funeral. If her grandchildren had the grace to invite her, that was.

So many people, she was going to say goodbye to tonight before she boarded a flight to start a new life in California.

At her going away party, Georgie spent little time talking about what things she was looking forward to in California. She'd sooner talk about how excited she was to meet her younger siblings. Joselyn was eight, or maybe she was already nine, and Georgie had only met her once. She had been four at the time, or maybe three, she couldn't quite remember. That was the last time she spent any real time with her dad.

Her momma had been sent to another rehab place in California and someone had to look after Georgie, so she spent a few weeks with her dad's family. But she didn't feel like she was with family. She felt like she was staying with one of those homestay families, like she didn't share DNA with any of them. And her older brother, Chase, had made it very obvious that he didn't like her. Why would he want yet another little sister when he already had one that annoyed him day in, day out?

"I'm so jealous!" stated her best friend, Maxine, holding a red solo cup in both hands as she looked ready to dance with glee. "I am so visiting you! And you can introduce me to all the hot Cali boys. Your brother must have a few friends who're looking for a sweet Southern Belle to love."

Georgie involuntarily laughed, almost choking on her drink as Maxine raised her eyebrows, one hundred percent insulted by her best friend's laugh. "What?" Georgie asked, wiping her chin as Maxine pouted. "You're sweet, but no Southern Belle. Your family moved here from Illinois, Max."

"I have been here for two years now, I'm basically Southern," she nudged Georgie's hip, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and resting her head on her friend's. "I'm gonna miss you, Peachie."

Peachie. Peach. Lil Sweet Peach, by Ms. Whitby only. She hated the nickname at first. Her name wasn't an abbreviation or a nickname, but people were convinced that her full name was Georgia. It had grown on her, however, and now, she knew she was going to miss it.

When the party guests started to dissipate, Georgie had to find her momma and make sure she hadn't been drinking. Not only was she heading out to California that night, her momma was going to the rehab facility the next day. They wouldn't accept her if she'd been drinking and she'd have to wait before being accepted again. She had to show that she was willing to abstain, otherwise she would lose her place.

She found her momma in the house, tucked away in the pantry, the door ajar. She was with one of the guys that she'd promised was just a friend…making out. Definitely not just a friend. But, who could blame the woman when she would probably be without for a while?

"Momma?" Georgie cleared her throat. Her momma pushed her companion away from her and tried to make it look like she hadn't just been esophagus deep in the man a second again. "People are starting to head. I think we should start cleaning up before─"

"Georgie, baby, the cleaning can wait until tomorrow," insisted Kitty. "But if people are heading out, we should go say goodbye," she nodded, adjusting her shirt and then her hair. "And then we can head out to the airport."

They had to leave within the hour when they realized the time, Georgie not being able to say goodbye to all of her guests because of it. She waved to Max at the end of her driveway, her best friend in tears as she bid her goodbye.

The drive to the airport was quiet.

She tried not to cry. It wasn't like she'd never see her momma again, however, she knew it was going to be a while. She'd be settled into a new school by the time she saw her again. But Georgie did not want to cry. She'd accepted it, she knew that she had no other options, and she was fine.

She wasn't a crier, she'd never been one as a baby. It was something that her momma would tell everyone, she boasted about it even. Georgie had always been a good baby, she only ever cried if she got hurt, which was few and far between. And now, she was a good teenager who sacrificed her freedom for the sake of her mother's rehabilitation, and she would not cry. She didn't want to sully that good reputation of hers. And she didn't want her crying face to be the one she left her momma remembering.

The last hug she gave her momma was tight, long, and warm.

Georgie knew she'd see her momma again, and she'd probably speak to her sooner than she'd see her. But she wouldn't see her for a while, not until after she'd settled into her new school. So much was going to happen between this last hug and the next one. They'd both be different people.

"When you land, make sure your daddy lets you find a payphone, and you call me," Kitty told her daughter, brushing her hair behind her ear and admiring the person she'd made. She was her daddy's double, she had his big brown eyes, his turned-up button nose, his bow-shaped lips but Georgie had her momma's smile.

"I promise," the teenager nodded, smiling at her and hoisting her bag onto her shoulder.

They would see one another again but not soon enough.

Georgie sat in her plane seat, her headphones on and blasting the mix-tape her momma had made for her. It had all of her favorite songs on it and all of the songs they sang together at the top of their lungs.

It was just as the plane took off that Georgie broke down, the man in the seat next to her giving her the side eye. She tried to suck it up, but she couldn't stop the tears now that they'd started.

The flight attendant lady had stopped by with some tissues and water, to try to help her calm down after her aislemate had complained about her crying.

She cried the entire flight, only managing to stifle her tears as they descended into LAX. Her aislemate was quick to get up and hurry his way to the exit, while she fumbled to get her bag down from the overhead space, her cassette player falling out of her pocket. Thankfully, the flight attendant helped her.

Her face stung when the cold breeze hit her skin, descending the stairs to the tarmac and following the line of people. She just followed the people in front of her and managed to find her way to baggage claim, managed to find her suitcase. She cleared customs pretty quickly and left the airport, looking for her dad.

She wondered if his time management had improved since she'd seen him last, but judging by the fact that he wasn't there, she guessed not. She wasn't sure how long she was waiting before he finally showed up, but her stomach was empty and growling at her, and the granola bar that she'd bought before boarding hadn't been enough.

"You're late," she stated, not even bothering with the hug that he offered her as she headed toward the car park.