The Wedding Circle by Ashton Lee Page A

own.”
    â€œTell ya what,” Periwinkle said, taking it all in with a serene demeanor. “You pay half price for the two you stole, Barry, and I’ll consider we’re even. Have we got a deal?”
    â€œYeah, we got a deal. Thank you, Miz Peri,” he answered, looking very relieved as the two shook hands.
    â€œAnd you don’t have to sneak your girlfriend in the back door, either,” Periwinkle added. “You bring her in through the front so we can visit and get to know her a little better. That is, if you’re serious about the relationship. I have to assume you are, the way you’re movin’ my custard on the sly.”
    â€œYes, ma’am, I am,” Barry told her with conviction in his voice. “I mean, I’m sixteen now, and I have this real good job here. Hey, there’s nothin’ I like better than drivin’ all around town. I sure never thought I’d get paid for it and get such awesome tips. These two high-school buddies a’ mine, Scott and ‘Crispy’—well, his real name’s Lawrence, but he likes bacon so much we all call him Crispy—anyhow, my buddies are so jealous of the money I’m makin.’ And then they both wish they could be goin’ out with a hottie like Mollie Musselwhite. It’s so sweet—I got it all over ’em.”
    â€œYou keep at it, son. I can assure you that being a hard worker will impress any sixteen-year-old girl. And when it comes to tips, here’s the best one I can give you about women in general: We’re all of us on the lookout for solid, responsible men,” Periwinkle told him.
    â€œWell, I think it’s a good thing we nipped this in the bud,” Lalie said, getting in a final word. “It was Mollie’s mother who called me up and put me on to it, and I brought it straight to ya as soon as I heard, Miz Peri.”
    â€œFor which I thank you.” She paused to reflect, briefly bit her lip, and then nodded. “So, I think we’re done here.”
    At which point Lalie and Barry headed back into the kitchen and Periwinkle resumed her seat, gathering her notes in front of her once again. “Now, where were we, folks? I believe we’d whittled it down to either a cucumber and red onion salad or my tomato aspic for the first course.”
    â€œI vote for the cucumber and red onion,” Mr. Place said. “Not quite as heavy on the tummy in this August heat, you know. By the way, that was well done back there with Barry.”
    Periwinkle’s smile was clearly not of the surface variety, and she even winked at him at the end. “There’s nothin’ I can’t handle, Parker.”
    Maura Beth quietly observed the two of them throughout the rest of the meeting. It was the subtle things she couldn’t help but notice: a stolen glance now and then; the tone of voice they used with one another; even reaching out to touch in what could only be described as a flirtatious manner. It was becoming apparent that they were probably moving beyond the friendship stage. Periwinkle had even suggested as much to Maura Beth recently. “Parker’s just such a change from Harlan and those sneaky ways he tries to take advantage of me,” she had revealed at one point. “But Parker’s pastries aren’t the only thing sweet about him, and I think I’m ready for that kind of man in my life right now.”
    But Maura Beth also wondered frankly just how open they were prepared to be about their relationship and what steps they might take next. Yes, it was the millennium, but it was still the small-town South and all that came with that. A burgeoning romance between a black man and a white woman might not attract the attention it once did, but it still wasn’t the sort of thing it was wise to flaunt. Not to mention that he was still living with his elderly mother, Ardenia, on Big Hill Lane, and Periwinkle still drove home