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Lexie and Jeremy squeezed their way through the crowd and caught a glimpse of Doris loading more baskets of hush puppies onto a tray. Off to the side, Rachel, the restaurant’s rather flirtatious waitress, waved away the cigarette smoke. Unlike New York City, Boone Creek did not frown upon smoking-in fact, it seemed to be almost as popular as the bingo game itself.
“Are those wedding bells I hear?” Jeremy heard the mayor intone. Suddenly, the bingo-number calling stopped, and the only audible sound came from the whirring fans. Every face in the restaurant had turned to stare at Lexie and Jeremy. Jeremy had never seen so many cigarettes dangling from lips in his entire life. Then, remembering what people did around here, he nodded and waved.
People nodded and waved back.
“Out of the way . . . coming through . . . ,” Jeremy heard Doris call out. There were rustles of movement as people began pressing into one another, making way, and Doris appeared in front of them. She immediately pulled Lexie into her arms.
When Doris released her, she looked from Lexie to Jeremy and back again. From the corner of his eye, Jeremy noticed the crowd doing the same thing, as if they were part of the reunion as well. Which, considering their proximity, they probably were.
“Well, I’ll be,” Doris pronounced. Born and bred in the South, she sounded as if she were pronouncing the letters L-I-B. “I didn’t expect you home until a little later.”
Lexie nodded toward Jeremy. “You can thank lead-foot here. He regards the speed limit as more of a guideline than an actual rule.”
“Good for you, Jeremy,” Doris said with a wink. “Oh, we’ve got so much to talk about! I want to hear all about your week in New York. I want to hear all about everything. And where’s that ring you’ve been telling me about?”
Everyone’s eyes flashed toward Lexie’s ring. Necks were craning as Lexie held up her hand. A couple of oohs and aahs rose from the throng. Folks began closing in to get a better peek, and Jeremy could feel someone breathing on the back of his neck.
“Now, dat dere’s a purty ring,” Jeremy heard someone say behind him.
“Hold it up a bit, Lex,” another added.
“It looks like dem cubic zircomiums from the Home Shopping Network,” a woman offered.
For the first time, Lexie and Doris seemed to realize they were the center of attention.
“Okay, okay . . . show’s over, folks,” Doris said. “Let me talk to my granddaughter alone. We’ve got some catching up to do. Give us a little room.”
Amid murmurs of disappointment, the crowd tried to back away, but there was really nowhere to go. Mainly, people shuffled their feet.
“Let’s go in the back,” Doris finally suggested. “Follow me. . . .”
Doris grabbed Lexie’s hand and they were off; Jeremy struggled to keep up with them as they headed for Doris’s office just beyond the kitchen.
Once there, Doris peppered Lexie with questions in rapid-fire succession. Lexie told her all about their visit to the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and-of course-the Empire State Building. The faster they talked, the more southern they sounded, and despite Jeremy’s attempts to keep up, he was unable to follow everything they were saying. He managed to decipher the fact that Lexie had enjoyed his family but was less than thrilled when she said the evening reminded her of something “you might have seen on Everybody Loves Raymond, except six times bigger, with in-laws crazy in a different kind of way.”
“Sounds like a hoot,” Doris said. “Now, let me get a better look at that ring.”
Again Lexie held it out, preening like a schoolgirl. Doris caught Jeremy’s eye.
“Did you pick this out yourself?”
Jeremy shrugged. “With a bit of help.”
“Well, it’s gorgeous.”
At that moment, Rachel poked her head in. “Hey, Lex. Hey, Jeremy. Sorry for interrupting, but the hush puppies are running low, Doris. Do you want me to start another batch?”
“Probably. But