“But I think it all ended well. Don’t you?”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“I mean he invited me to the party this evening even though I sent over those mothballs. I still can’t believe I did that.” Lark groaned.
“I can’t either. It’s a good thing he didn’t think you were crackers. What made you think of mothballs?”
“It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. You know—”
Calli made a comical huffing sound. “Before you had time to pray kind of thing?”
“Hey, are you spreading a little chastisement?” Lark sighed. “Oh well, I deserve it.”
“No way, ladybug.” Calli did a smacking thing with her lips. “Well, maybe a little.”
Lark grinned. “Hey, what’s with this ladybug stuff, anyway? Surely I’m not that flighty.”
“I wondered when you’d finally ask me,” Calli said. “This is a good story, so you’d better sit for this one.”
Lark perched herself on a kitchen stool and waited for her friend to continue.
Calli took in a long breath. “Well, one time I was exiting off 540, and I saw this ladybug on my windshield. While I turned all my corners, it held on. No matter what happened, the sweet little thing stayed there fluttering its wings and clinging to dear life. When I got home, I held out my hand, and that ladybug climbed on my fingers and flew away as if it knew all along everything would be okay. With what you went through in your life, I guess it’s kind of the way I see you.”
“Thanks, Calli. It is a good story. Consider yourself hugged.” A few tears pooled in Lark’s eyes. “By the way, I sure wish you’d move to Eureka Springs.”
Calli sniffled. “Find me a good man to marry there, and I guess I’d be forced to move.” She blew her nose.
Lark wondered if her friend could be serious.
“Girl, now you know I’m kidding,” Calli said.
“I wasn’t sure.” Lark stifled a laugh.
“You don’t have to start setting me up with blind dates like some orthopedic queen.”
Lark gasped. “I would never do that.”
Calli laughed. “Well, I heard this pregnant pause, so I just thought maybe you were getting one of your little ideas.”
“No, it’s just indigestion from all the bean burritos we ate last night,” Lark said.
After another round of laughs and some sweet good-byes, Lark busied herself by collecting acorns from the backyard. She found several dozen of the little nuts, which had been peeking their heads out of the snow. Lark gathered them up and stuffed them in the pocket of her lavender painting smock.
When she brought her treasures inside, she turned on the kettle for tea and gingerly placed her acorns in an earthenware bowl on the kitchen table. Some of the acorns were missing their little hats, but she thought those looked interesting, too, so she put them all together. After turning off the overhead light, she switched on a freestanding spotlight, which gave the acorns an oblique light of dramatic shadows. Ahh. Perfect for sketching now.
But her mind drifted again to the evening ahead. After all, Everett was escorting her to one of the most romantic places in town. She dropped three black currant teabags into her Victorian pot as she thought of the dress she’d wear—a floor-length emerald gown with color-coordinating evening bag and shoes. She laughed at her sudden attention to detail as if she were getting ready for her very first date.
Of course, crowds of people would be at the party. Perhaps even women who’d had a crush on Everett. A speck of jealousy? This is so not me. Yeah, and I haven’t been myself lately either. I guess attraction does that to people. Takes a perfectly sane sanguine temperament and turns her into a paranoid melancholy. Snap out of it, Lark. She poured hot water into her little pot, letting the heat relax her face. Maybe what she really needed was a few relaxing hours at a local spa. A seaweed mask, some eucalyptus steam, and a massage. Oh, yeah.
The teacher on the French language tape said the
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“I mean he invited me to the party this evening even though I sent over those mothballs. I still can’t believe I did that.” Lark groaned.
“I can’t either. It’s a good thing he didn’t think you were crackers. What made you think of mothballs?”
“It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. You know—”
Calli made a comical huffing sound. “Before you had time to pray kind of thing?”
“Hey, are you spreading a little chastisement?” Lark sighed. “Oh well, I deserve it.”
“No way, ladybug.” Calli did a smacking thing with her lips. “Well, maybe a little.”
Lark grinned. “Hey, what’s with this ladybug stuff, anyway? Surely I’m not that flighty.”
“I wondered when you’d finally ask me,” Calli said. “This is a good story, so you’d better sit for this one.”
Lark perched herself on a kitchen stool and waited for her friend to continue.
Calli took in a long breath. “Well, one time I was exiting off 540, and I saw this ladybug on my windshield. While I turned all my corners, it held on. No matter what happened, the sweet little thing stayed there fluttering its wings and clinging to dear life. When I got home, I held out my hand, and that ladybug climbed on my fingers and flew away as if it knew all along everything would be okay. With what you went through in your life, I guess it’s kind of the way I see you.”
“Thanks, Calli. It is a good story. Consider yourself hugged.” A few tears pooled in Lark’s eyes. “By the way, I sure wish you’d move to Eureka Springs.”
Calli sniffled. “Find me a good man to marry there, and I guess I’d be forced to move.” She blew her nose.
Lark wondered if her friend could be serious.
“Girl, now you know I’m kidding,” Calli said.
“I wasn’t sure.” Lark stifled a laugh.
“You don’t have to start setting me up with blind dates like some orthopedic queen.”
Lark gasped. “I would never do that.”
Calli laughed. “Well, I heard this pregnant pause, so I just thought maybe you were getting one of your little ideas.”
“No, it’s just indigestion from all the bean burritos we ate last night,” Lark said.
After another round of laughs and some sweet good-byes, Lark busied herself by collecting acorns from the backyard. She found several dozen of the little nuts, which had been peeking their heads out of the snow. Lark gathered them up and stuffed them in the pocket of her lavender painting smock.
When she brought her treasures inside, she turned on the kettle for tea and gingerly placed her acorns in an earthenware bowl on the kitchen table. Some of the acorns were missing their little hats, but she thought those looked interesting, too, so she put them all together. After turning off the overhead light, she switched on a freestanding spotlight, which gave the acorns an oblique light of dramatic shadows. Ahh. Perfect for sketching now.
But her mind drifted again to the evening ahead. After all, Everett was escorting her to one of the most romantic places in town. She dropped three black currant teabags into her Victorian pot as she thought of the dress she’d wear—a floor-length emerald gown with color-coordinating evening bag and shoes. She laughed at her sudden attention to detail as if she were getting ready for her very first date.
Of course, crowds of people would be at the party. Perhaps even women who’d had a crush on Everett. A speck of jealousy? This is so not me. Yeah, and I haven’t been myself lately either. I guess attraction does that to people. Takes a perfectly sane sanguine temperament and turns her into a paranoid melancholy. Snap out of it, Lark. She poured hot water into her little pot, letting the heat relax her face. Maybe what she really needed was a few relaxing hours at a local spa. A seaweed mask, some eucalyptus steam, and a massage. Oh, yeah.
The teacher on the French language tape said the
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