his wet clothing on the floor. A good hot shower would warm him up before he got into dry clothing, but he didn’t want to take the time when the ladies already had popcorn and hot chocolate ready. He grabbed a towel, dried his body and hair, got dressed in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt, and threw a flannel shirt over that. Once he’d pulled on a pair of thick socks, he hung his wet things and the towel over the shower stall.
He went straight to the fireplace to warm his hands after he left the bathroom. “Unless you have to go out for something, stay inside. That rain is colder than ice water. If the temperature drops any more, we may be in for an ice storm.”
“It feels like night, and it’s only three thirty,” Tootsie said as she snuggled down with a fluffy throw in her favorite recliner. “I’m sure glad y’all are here. This would be a dreary day without company.”
Joanie handed her a cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of popcorn. “Drink this. It will warm you from the inside.”
“Thank you, darlin’!” Tootsie held the mug in her hands to toast them before she took a sip. “I heard y’all talking about MacGyver, so let’s get him on the television. I like him really good, but the actor I really like is that handsome George Eads that plays Jack Dalton. Now there’s a man after my heart. He kind of reminds me of Smokey.”
Luke set his laptop on the end table, took a throw from a rack sitting behind the sofa, and settled down to see what this television show was all about. He’d seen George Eads in a few episodes of CSI, so maybe it wasn’t totally a chick flick.
“Before we get started, thank you to whoever cleaned all the water off the floor,” he said.
Diana raised a hand. “That would be me. It wasn’t a big job. You were almost flying.”
“I tried.” He liked the idea that Diana had cleaned up after him. That was almost personal, even if it was just water from the floor. “I should’ve stayed out in the motor home.”
Tootsie sipped her hot chocolate and then set it on the table between her and Joanie. “That’s nonsense. Water can be mopped up off floors, and we’d have missed you.”
Diana settled in between him and Carmen, her hip touching his. Joanie picked up the remote and started episode one. He was immediately drawn into the show, but he enjoyed watching Diana’s expressions as much or more than anything else. Joanie hit the pause button after they’d watched two episodes, and they all made sandwiches to eat in the living room while they watched MacGyver use paper clips and plastic straws to get out of tight places.
At ten o’clock, Tootsie yawned and said, “You kids can watch this until dawn if you want, but I’m going to bed.”
“Me, too,” Carmen said.
Luke looked at the hard rain still pounding against the window. “Guess I’ll get a cold shower on the way to the motor home.”
“Nonsense!” Tootsie spit out one of her favorite words. “You can sleep on the sofa until it lets up.”
“I’m getting partial to that big king-sized bed. I’ve got plenty of dry clothes, so I’ll just run between the raindrops.” He got to his feet and rolled the kinks out of his neck. “Anyone want to walk me out to the motor home?”
“Honey, I love you, but I wouldn’t get out in that weather for Jesus,” Tootsie said.
“Then I guess I’ll go by myself. If I don’t make it in for breakfast, y’all can figure I slipped and fell, bumped my head on something, and drowned in the pouring rain,” he teased.
“Poor baby,” Carmen shot back as she gathered up the empty cups and bowls.
“Enough about bumping heads and dying,” Tootsie said. “I don’t want to go to another funeral for at least ten years. And now I’ll have the hymn they sang at the service today stuck in my head while I’m trying to sleep.”
“Which one?” Carmen asked.
“‘I’ll Fly Away,’” Tootsie answered.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Tootsie. That was insensitive of me to bring up such a thing after this morning,” Luke apologized.
“Accepted. Now good night to all y’all.”
“Good night,” all four of them sing-songed as she left the room.
Luke stood up to leave next and said, “If it’s still raining tomorrow, maybe we can watch some more of that show. I liked it.”