started to push her down the hall toward the porch, Miss Janie held up a hand.
“Stop right here for a minute,” she said. “Feel that breeze? They don’t build houses like this no more.”
“No, they don’t.” Teresa didn’t have the heart to tell Miss Janie that cool air from the air-conditioning vent right above her was causing the breeze. There was no way any kind of wind could find its way through two glass storm doors.
“When I’m gone, I want y’all to promise me that you’ll convince Kayla to stay here awhile. She’s not as grounded as you are,” Miss Janie whispered. “She needs family.”
“Of course we will,” Teresa agreed. If Miss Janie asked her to gather up the stars into a big basket, Teresa would give it her best shot.
“You three were like my own children. Noah, because this was the only stable place he knew, what with his family being transferred from here to Kalamazoo every couple of years. And you girls, y’all were my redemption. Kayla just hasn’t gotten roots yet like y’all have. Now, let’s go to the back porch,” Miss Janie said.
Teresa wasn’t sure just how deep her roots went, but she would do what she could, especially for one of Miss Janie’s lucid moments. Besides, neither of them would ever realize their dream of a senior citizens place if the other one left Birthright. “I promise, but you aren’t leaving us anytime soon.”
“I ask for forgiveness for all my sins every time I close my eyes, just in case.” Miss Janie smiled. “We hear in church that God is merciful, so maybe He will let me into heaven. I hope so, because I sure want to see Aunt Ruthie again.”
“Who else do you want to see in heaven?” Teresa asked.
“If I get there, I want to see my girls,” she answered, “and ask them to forgive me for giving them away. But I hope they put my mama and daddy in a different section than me.”
Teresa had not given much thought to eternity or who might be in heaven, but she understood Miss Janie’s statement very well. If her mother, Angel, made it to heaven, Teresa wouldn’t want to be in the same area as she was, either.
When they reached the porch, Miss Janie took one look at Sam and began to cry. “Oh, Sam, I miss Delia so much. Her funeral today was beautiful. We did good picking out that pink casket for her. She always loved pink so much.”
Sam patted her hand. “Yes, she did. We’ll both miss her.”
Teresa noticed that Sam’s Adam’s apple bobbed several times after he answered Miss Janie. She hadn’t thought about how hard it must be on Sam to see his dear old friend like this, or to have such memories of Delia brought up so often. When Miss Janie said something like that about the casket, it had to cause him pain.
Kayla brought out a tray with cups and the full coffeepot on it, poured for all four of them, and then sat down on the swing beside Miss Janie. “I stirred the beans while I was in the kitchen.”
“Appreciate that.” Teresa nodded.
A lovely breeze stirred the leaves of the pecan tree beside the house and brought the aroma of roses and honeysuckle with it across the porch.
“This was always my favorite place the five years I was here. I’d bring a book and a blanket out here in the winter and read for hours.” Teresa inhaled deeply. “Every time I caught a whiff of roses after I left, it reminded me of this spot right here.” She didn’t say that she often remembered stolen kisses when she smelled the roses and honeysuckle.
“Honeysuckle does the same for me,” Noah said. “When I was a little boy, I begged my parents to let me sleep out here, but they never would. A couple of times since I’ve been back, I have, though.”
“Was it as much fun as you thought it would be?” she asked.
“Nope,” he chuckled. “Even with a blow-up mattress and my own pillow, I figured out that I like central air-conditioning too much for this.”
“Guess we outgrow our childhood fantasies, don’t we?” She took a sip of her coffee.
“Yep, we sure do,” Kayla agreed.
Miss Janie took two sips of her coffee and nodded off. Yet when a buzzard screeched overhead, she jerked her head up. “I’m ready to go take a nap now. Mama says that sleeping in the day is bad, but me and