揑 need a cold beer. Anyone else??Jessica asked.
揘ot me,?Haley said. 揑抦 driving and pregnant.?
揑抣l take one since I抦 not driving,?Mary Nell answered and slumped down into a chair. 揟his has been so much fun . . . and peaceful.?
揟hat抯 a strange word for the Fourth of July.?Jessica brought out two beers and handed one to Mary Nell.
揟hanks,?she said as she rolled the cold bottle around on her forehead before she twisted the top off. 揗aybe what I should have said was there was a lot less tension. I didn抰 realize how much stress I was living with until I got away from it. Reminds me of when Mama made Daddy get hearing aids. He said he didn抰 know what he had been missing.?
揑 didn抰 know Oscar had hearing aids,?Jessica said.
揗e either.?Haley brought out a pitcher of sweet tea and poured herself a glass.
揑抦 sorry,?Mary Nell said. 揑 should have done that for you. Come on over here and sit down with us. And yes, Daddy has had hearing aids for more than twenty years. He can抰 hear jack squat without them.?
揑抦 pregnant, but I抦 still able to do for myself,?Haley said. 揑 wish I could have a cold beer with y抋ll, but this will have to do.?
Lily and Daisy came in like a whirlwind, both looking like they could chew up church pews and spit out Tinkertoys.
揟hose boys already gone??Jessica asked.
揧es, and they can both go straight to hell,?Lily growled and stomped over to the refrigerator. She pulled out two bottles of root beer and handed one to Daisy.
揥hat did they do??Jessica asked.
揟hey told us that if we wanted to be popular . . .?Daisy blushed as she opened her soda pop and took a long drink.
揟hat what??Haley asked.
揟hat we had to be willing to . . .?Lily抯 face turned even redder than her sister抯。
揚ut out??Mary Nell finished for her.
Both girls nodded.
揇id they mean tonight??Haley asked.
揕andon tried to kiss me, but I pushed him away. He called me a prude, and that抯 when he said what he did,?Daisy answered.
揈li said we抎 never be popular if we were 憈hat kind挃梥he air quoted the last two words棑of girls. Then they got in their truck and left.?
Lily hiked a hip on the side of the table. 揟hey said that . . . ,?she stammered. 揑 feel my face turning red just thinking about it.?
Daisy finished the sentence. 揟hat since we were bar bunnies, we should expect guys to treat us like what we were.?
揥hat did you do??Haley asked.
揑 slapped Landon so hard that he almost fell,?Lily said.
揟hat抯 when they got in their truck and drove away,?Daisy said. 揑 don抰 think they were really here to go fishing anyway.?
揇id y抋ll sleep with the football players back then??Daisy asked.
揥e did not,?Haley said. 揑 didn抰 have sex until I was in college.?
揗e either.?Mary Nell wasn抰 going to admit that the only man she抎 ever slept with was Kevin.
揑抎 been in the army a year and thought I was in love before I went to bed with a guy.?Jessica pounded her left fist right into her right palm.
揑 guess we might as well not even try out for the cheerleader squad if that抯 what it takes.?Lily sighed.
揇on抰 let those rascals tell you what to do or intimidate you,?Jessica growled. 揑f they ever come around here again, I intend to tell them to take their sorry butts back into their pickups and find somewhere else to park.?
Mary Nell spoke up. 揇on抰 worry about the tryouts. You will just meet in the gym and do your best two cheers for a panel of judges. Riverbend is a small school, so there抯 just a teacher who serves as a cheer sponsor. It抯 not like in the big schools, where there抯 a flag squad or props for the cheer tryouts. It抯 just you and the judges. The football team has nothing to do with any of it.?
揟hat抯 the way it was in Kentucky, too.?Lily stood up and carried her empty bottle to the trash. 揥e always wanted to try out, but Granny Martha said no. Please don抰 tell Mama about tonight,?she said. 揑t would just worry her. She wants us to be happy.?
揑抦 telling her soon as I get home,?Daisy declared. 揥e all three promised not to keep secrets.?
Lily shot a dirty look toward her sister and then turned toward Mary Nell. 揥ould you tell your mama about something like this when you were about to be a senior in high school??
揝enior? I thought you girls were sixteen,?Mary Nell said.
揙ur birthday is September the first. We抣l be seventeen then,?Daisy answered. 揥e抣l be young graduates.?
揑 see.?Mary Nell took a long drink of her tea. 揟o answer your question, yes, I would have told her. Mama and I shared almost everything.?
揓essica??Lily asked. 揌ow about you??
揚robably敆Jessica nodded棑but mainly because I would have gone home so mad that she would have known something was wrong.?