He brushed a quick peck onto my cheek and said, "Good night, Trudy."

I could hear him whistling all the way to his house, as I held my hand to my cheek to see if it was really as warm as it felt.

Momma was having a good day when I got to the nursing home the next evening. I'd taken a shower and put on the new Capri set I'd worn in Jefferson so she wouldn't be ashamed of me. She looked up from her recliner, where she was watching a Golden Girls rerun, and smiled. "Trudy, I'm so glad to see you. Did you have a good birthday? I'm sorry we didn't get to go out and have lunch."

I didn't notice Lessie sitting in the shadows until she whispered into my ear as she left. "She thought she was five years old the past three days. Played with a doll and sang nursery rhymes. It's just in the last hour that she's been right."

I nodded and mouthed, "Thank you"

"Well, did you?" Mother asked.

"Oh, Momma, I did have a wonderful birthday. Let me tell you all about it." I pulled up a folding chair, took her hand in mine, and told her everything, even about the book.

"Well, I suppose since it's an old book, it's not improper for you to keep it. Now, if it had been a personal item, like something you wear, then you'd have had to refuse it," she said seriously.

"You are so right, Momma," I allowed. "Do you remember anything about Billy Lee's relatives?"

She patted my hand and held her head high. "Well, of course I remember them, Trudy. They lived right next to Granny Molly and Aunt Gert all my life. Best neighbors in the world. They had one daughter named Wilma, and she was a couple of years older than me. She was really, really smart but kind of slow in another way. Book learning came easy to her, but she'd been born late in their life, and she was . . "

"A nerd?" I asked when Momma stammered. I held my breath, fearful that she'd drift back into the gray fog.

Her eyebrows drew together as if she was trying to remember. "That's what you would have called her in your day. In our time she was just odd. Anyway, they lived in that little house right beside Gert's place. You did tell me she left that house to you, didn't you? I'm glad. You need a place to live, and it was a fine old house. You can make it nice again, but it'll take lots of work. Have you lost weight? Your face looks thinner."

"Yes, Momma, I have. You were telling me about Wilma Tucker."

She nodded and went on. "Oh, yes. Wilma was one of those girls who never, ever had a date. She wasn't a very big girl, but she dressed all wrong. She wore old-granny oxfords and her hair pulled back in a tight bun like her mother's. The rest of the girls were all wearing cute little bobs, but not Wilma. She graduated from high school before me, and we'd see her around town with her mother or at church. And that's about it."

I sensed she was leaving something out. "But when did she get married?"

Momma lowered her voice to a whisper. "She married a truck driver, and he died, and then Billy Lee was born. Most of us didn't even know she was expecting until he was already born"

She smoothed her hair back with her hands. "Looking back, it seems like one day she was skinny as a rail, wearing dresses that hung on her frame, and the next day she was carrying around a baby boy. When Billy Lee was about two years old, she took sick and died. His grandparents raised him. They died within a year of each other when he was in college. He just kept on living in that house. He's a hermit kind of person, but he doesn't bother anyone. Gert said he was the best neighbor a person could have"

I had to know more. "Why does Billy Lee go by Wilma's maiden name?"

"Don't know. I guess after the truck driver died, she decided to keep her maiden name and gave Billy Lee the Tucker name. He's a good man, just odd like his mother. He proved it on your birthday. Who'd give a girl an old book for a birthday present? He should've given you a bouquet of flowers."

I thought before I spoke because I was afraid any show of anger could set her back. "I like the book."

"I'm glad. You should have a nice birthday. Did I tell you Marty came by today? She was all up in arms about seeing you coming to the fireworks with Billy Lee. Said the whole town was saying you gave up Drew for him."

"Momma, I really don't care what anyone says. I only have to live with me and my heart"

"Well, I'm glad," she said. "I wish you'd had that kind of backbone when you were married. What on earth changed you?"

"Eavesdropping in the ladies' room at Gert's funeral on Marty and Betsy bragging about all the women they knew who'd slept with Drew. Remember? I told you all about it," I said.

She hugged me tightly. "Both of them act like their sorry daddies. Now, tell me all about the house. When can we go see it?"

"Right now, Momma. We can go this very minute, and we'll go down to the Dairy Queen and get some ice cream while we're out. Would you like that?"

"I'd love it. Do I have to change clothes?"

She wore khaki slacks and an orange-and-white-checked shirt. Her hair was combed neatly, and her Keds were spotless, but I looked her up and down for effect, anyway. "You look lovely just as you are. Would you like to drive past our old place?"

"I would, but after we see your new house. I want to see for myself if those floors shine like they did when I was a little girl."

I drove straight to the house, fearing every moment that Alzheimer's would claim her before she saw the floors. She walked inside and clapped her hands together. "It's just like it was in the old days when Granny Molly lived here."

I floated on a cloud high above heaven.

She claimed a rocking chair in the living room. "Okay, now tell me again, how long have you lived here? I forget sometimes, you know."

"Since Aunt Gert died. I moved in the very day of her funeral. It'll take a year or more to make it all pretty again, but I've got lots of time. I don't think I'm going back to work at the school this fall."

"Looks to me like you've got enough to keep you busy right here. Wouldn't be any need to work anywhere else. Are you okay with this divorce thing?" She took my face in her hands and looked right into my eyes, the way she had when I was a little girl and she wanted nothing but the truth.

"You always told me when I was dating and broke up with a boy that I could only be sad for one day. I was sad that long and then mad for a couple of weeks. Most days I don't even think of Drew anymore. He's fading away pretty fast for a man that I lived with for twenty years"

She kissed me on the cheek. "That's real good. I'm glad. I'd like to see you married again, but be careful who you date. If it don't feel right, don't do it."

"Momma, I don't care anything about marrying again. Look what Lonnie did to Gert and what Drew did to me. We trusted them, and we got our hearts broken."

"You got Crystal out of the deal, so it wasn't all bad. Don't waste an opportunity for happiness. Just be wise," she said.

We visited for a while and then went to the Dairy Queen. Momma had a banana split, and then we took a long drive. The light was fading fast by the time we got back to the nursing home. We were walking down the hallway to her room when she stopped and studied my face. "Trudy, sometimes I don't remember things. I hope I remember today for a long time. It was so good to spend it with you"