“I cannot believe the turnout! Thank you for all the kitchen help, Ida. Alvie, the pulled pork pan looks bottomless even though everyone piles their plates with it. You two earned hugs.” Cora steps to each woman, hugging her as if saying a final goodbye – or a ‘I love you and need you more than you’ll ever know.’ When she steps back, Cora wipes tears from her cheeks. “I’m lovey-dovey and crying a lot lately. I nap every day still. But Doc says it’s okay, that my brain needs time to renew itself.”
The three women stand apart from the well-wishers who crowd Cora Bell’s new home. Ida Olive says, “I’d say you’re expecting if I didn’t know better.”
Alvie laughs and adds, “Yep. All the symptoms. But if my gossip party line has any credibility, I hear that you are as solo as a n***o in Woolwort
