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Joy picked up the crock of pulled pork and hurried with it over to the table.It went right in the center, and she stepped back to assess.Buns, cut and ready in the cutest little basket she’d ever seen.
Cole slaw, chilled and waiting on the table.
Pulled pork, check.
Her daddy’s famous, award-winning barbecue sauce?Standing at the ready for anyone who wanted to sauce up their sandwich.
Potato chips—ridged potato chips—had been poured into a huge bowl and sat ready at the end of the table.She’d set that with her best dishware, her sterling silver utensils, and her grandmama’s hand-stitched napkins.
Maybe she’d gone a little overboard.But Bea and Cass would be here for Supper Club tonight, all the way from the East Coast, and she’d invited Cherry Forrester.The woman had said she’d come too, and Joy’s nerves bounced around like a ping-pong ball getting smacked from one side of the table to the other.
The doorbell rang, and she spun toward it.Bessie opened the door before Joy could take a single step, and she called, “It’s just me.”
“Come in.”Joy moved in that direction now.“You don’t need to take off your shoes.”
Bessie did anyway, saying, “I like not wearing them.”
“Then everyone thinks they need to.”Joy bent and picked up Bessie’s shoes.She deposited them in the laundry room while Bessie went into the kitchen.
“This looks amazing, Joy.”
She hugged her, holding extra-tight for a few moments.“Thanks.”She sighed as she stepped back.“Cherry’s coming.”
“So your text said.”Bessie smiled.“It might be nice to have an extra person on the months Bea and Cass don’t come.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Joy said.“Plus, I’m never leaving Sweet Water Falls, so we need more members in the Supper Club.”
Bessie nodded, and the doorbell rang again.
“It’s us,” Lauren trilled out, and laughing and squealing commenced.She’d been in Hilton Head for almost two months now, and Joy missed her more than she could admit.She hugged Lauren so tightly, the two of them just stuck together without saying anything.
When she finally stepped back to embrace Cass and then Bea, she noticed that Lauren had tears in her eyes.“When are you coming home?”she asked.
“Soon,” Lauren said.“Before the next Supper Club.”
“Good,” Bessie said.“Because you’re the hostess next month.”She grinned and hugged Lauren while Joy turned her attention to Bea.
“Wow,” she said.“Look at your hair.”She reached out to touch it, and Bea simply smiled and let her.“You didn’t cut the top this time.”
“It’s a little wispy,” Bea said, running her fingers through it.“But I like how different it is.”
Differentwas a good way to describe it.It was almost pure white now, and Joy knew that came from a bottle, because Bea was definitely brassier than that.The sides and back of her head had very nearly been shaved, but the top was still long.She’d styled it up and around, and it swooped in a beautiful style.
Cass looked the same as she usually did.Decked out in clothes that said so much with so little.She wore no makeup and no jewelry tonight, which was a bit odd.But because she was so classically beautiful, it didn’t matter.
Her hair had been pulled all the way back, which she also didn’t do very often, but they had flown in from Carolina today.Maybe it had been a tough night or a rough flight.
Joy hugged her hard too, and said, “Come see what I made for Harrison.”
“You made something for Harrison?”Cass went with her, and Joy nearly burst with excitement.
“Yes,” she said.She opened the fridge and got out the jar.“And fine.I went to a truffle-making class at Sweet Water Taffy, and Gretchen was selling these.”She handed the jar of jelly to Cass.“But look.Harrison said he loves jalapeño jelly, and it’s hard to find.Now he’ll have some.”She beamed like this was wonderful, because it had made her feel wonderful to buy it for him.
Cass grinned at the jar.“Joy,” she said.“He’ll love this.Thank you.”She hugged her again, snapped a picture of the jelly, and sent it presumably to Harrison.
“Was Gretchen doing the class?”she asked.
