Providence by Lisa Colozza Cocca Page A

the grills you’ll see why I keep him tucked away in the kitchen. Secondly, this is the first shindig we’ve had in the seventeen years we’ve been here.”
    “I sure hope it’s not the last,” I said.
    The music turned from a waltz to a two-step. Pete returned Rosie to her chair. She looked flushed, but happier than a kid on her last day of school.
    “Looks like you two built up an appetite,” Dottie laughed. “How about one of Ray’s famous pulled pork sandwiches? A nice big scoop of my coleslaw on the side and you’ll be raring to get back on the dance floor.”
    I followed Dottie over to the food table. In the corner of my eye, I spotted the boy I had plowed into on the sidewalk the day I arrived in town. He was dancing with the two check-out girls from Haystack’s, and he must have felt me staring at him because he paused in the middle of the song to wave. Embarrassed to be caught staring, I pretended not to notice.
    When I returned to Rosie, carrying her dinner, I saw the boy again. This time he was down on one knee in front of Rosie. “Becky, this is John, the young man I told you about. You’ll probably see him someday working in our yard. He keeps everything looking fresh and pretty. We were just talking about a friend of mine, Lily. John thinks she could use some company, and I agree. He brought her by the store yesterday when you were out. We could barely get her to step outside the car, much less come into the store. We had no luck convincing her to come by for the parade or picnic. I think you, Georgia, and I should pay her a short visit on Sunday.”
    “Lydie mentioned her surprise at seeing Lily on the street. She said something awful had happened.”
    Rosie’s face tightened. “Lydie should be keeping her comments to herself,” she said.
    John looked like he was about to say something, but decided to swallow his words instead. After a moment or so he smiled, stretched out his hand, and said, “We’ve run into each other already but we were never formally introduced.”
    I allowed myself to watch him walk away for longer than was respectable. If Daddy was here to witness my behavior, I would be feeling the sting of his belt on my backside.
    When evening fell on Main Street and the mosquitoes outnumbered the people ten to one, everyone agreed it was time to call it a day. I ran into the ladies’ room in the diner to change Baby Girl one last time and dress her in a sleeper to keep away the bugs. When I came back outside, Dottie’s words pulled the plug on what was left of my celebrating spirit.
    “All I’m saying is that when a girl as young as Becky shows up in town with a brand new baby that doesn’t look a bit like her, you have to wonder.” Dottie threw her hands up in the air as if she thought the answers were going to fall from the sky. “Where is she from? Who are her people? Why is she here?”
    Rosie’s patience must have been worn thinner than the knees of my favorite jeans, because she let out the only sharp words I’d ever heard pass her lips. “You need to stop sticking your nose into other people’s business. You want to spend your time thinking about Becky, then think about how lucky we are she came to Watson’s Grove. Do you think any of us would be here today, celebrating together if she hadn’t? How many people came to the parade last year? How many people took part in it? How many stores here on Main Street even put up a flag? Becky is taking a layer of dust off this place. Be grateful, it will help you be kinder.”
    They lowered their voices and their heads and continued their conversation. I only caught a word here and there, but that was enough for me to know this wasn’t good news for me. Then Baby Girl let out a howl, causing Rosie and Dottie to look up from their chairs and stare at me.
    Rosie and I walked home in silence. I knew she must have been wondering what I had heard. I kept replaying the words I’d caught in my mind. Had Dottie convinced Rosie