Dry as Rain

  Isabella gasped, but I beamed. “Mama Peg.”

  My grandmother winked at me before turning her milky gaze to her great-granddaughter. “You must be Bella.”

  Isabella’s mouth opened and a strange squeal escaped. I don’t know who was more horrified at that moment—Isabella at the sight of Mama Peg, Mama Peg at Isabella’s revulsion, or me at their initial reactions to each other.

  Mama Peg broke out in a deep belly laugh, intermingled with emphysemic hacks. Isabella leaped back as though she expected my grandmother and her tank to explode.

  I laughed so hard tears streamed down my cheeks. That seemed to calm Isabella, and soon she was grinning too.

  “I’m a wretched sight now, little girl, but not so long ago, I used to be as pretty as you,” my grandmother managed through her own amusement.

  Isabella looked at me to dispel this ridiculous claim. I could only nod. I should have prepared her for this.

  Mama Peg raised an unruly eyebrow at me. “I don’t think she believes me.”

  Catching my breath, I wiped my eyes. “I’m not sure I do either.” I added a wink to soften the jab. I knew she had been lovely, of course. I’d seen the proof in photographs. She still was in my eyes—one of the most beautiful women I had ever known, despite the cruel effects of tobacco and time.

  An exaggerated scowl deepened her wrinkles. “Genevieve Paige Lucas, you’re still a brat.”

  Leaning in, I hugged her with all I had. “I missed you, Grandma.”

  “You too, Jenny. You stayed away far too long.”