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woman he had ever seen. Her hair was shoulder length and blond, like Grace’s. She flashed a wide smile; she spoke her greeting in a high toned voice. She drew out her one word, from up to down, with a thick southern accent, seemingly too thick for the area.
    “Hi,” she said. “Would you be Fredrick Lincoln?” She lifted a federal express overnight package. On top of it was a plate with plastic wrap over it.
    “Oh my God,” Freddy placed his hand on his chest. “How Reese Witherspoon.”
    She giggled. “People say that all the time.” She tilted her head with the smile. “Frederick?”
    “Freddy.”
    She handed him the package, speaking quick. “That plates for you all. Little welcome to the neighborhood from me. Marybeth.” She extended her hand.
    “Pleasure. Would you like to come in?”
    “Oh, I don’t want to be a bother. I know you’re just getting settled and all.”
    “No bother. Come in.” Freddy opened the door wider.
    “Thank you.”
    “Grace,” Freddy called out. “We have company.”
    When Grace appeared, Marybeth greeted her with an extended hand. “Hi. Marybeth. Welcome to the neighborhood.”
    “You are so Reese Witherspoon.”
    Marybeth waved out her hand with a smile. “I made you some brownies. I hope you all like brownies.”
    Grace looked at the plate. “I never had them.”
    “You never had brownies?” Marybeth asked. “Ever.”
    Freddy replied. “Her mother was neurotic about her weight.”
    “Gosh, you’re so thin. I don’t see why.” Marybeth said. “That package was delivered to me this morning because you all hadn’t arrived yet. It’s from the phone company. It think it’s phones.”
    “Thank you,” Freddy set down the box. “Can I get you anything?”
    “No. Nah, I’m fine.” Marybeth placed her hands in her back pockets and looked around. “Sure did nice with this place. I didn’t even know it had been rented. They cleaned up in here real nice. Shame what happened. Oh, they got new carpet, for ya. Am I bothering you?”
    Freddy shook his head. “No, we’re glad to meet you. We were hoping to meet a few people in town.”
    “No one really knows you were moving in. There were no moving trucks. Only reason I knew is because I saw, George down the street. He’s so nice. He’s the phone guy. He told me new people were moving in today. I said, how you like that.”
    “There were no trucks because … we um, were looking for something furnished,” Grace replied.
    “Really?” Marybeth asked. “Did something happen to your own or are you two like those traveling nurses that go from town to town. Sorry. That’s none of my business.”
    Freddy replied. “No, we’re not nurses. Actually ….” He sighed. “Grace here just went through a nasty divorce. She needed to get away. My grandmother had lived in Walworth…”
    “Wadsworth,” Grace corrected.
    “Yes,” Freddy said. “And we focused on this charming little town. And since she lost the house in the divorce, we traveled out here and settled.”
    “Wow, how ironic.” Marybeth said. “Sound like my story. I just went through a nasty divorce myself. I’m from Texas. I needed to get away too, only I just threw a dart at a map.” She snickered. “Sounds silly, I know. I looked where it landed, found the nearest small town, said, yep that’s where I want to raise my kids. Called an area nursing home, told them bout my experience, they said, come on up.” She smiled. “Here I am.”
    Grace asked. “You have children.”
    “Two.” Marybeth held up two fingers. “Boys. Twelve and fifteen. Handful. But good boys. I been here about eight months. I love it.”
    Freddy said, “That’s very brave of you raising the children alone.”
    “You do what you gotta do, right?” she smiled. “I’m happy.”
    Grace nudged Freddy. “See what I mean.”
    “Well,” Marybeth clapped her hands together. “I’ll let you all be. I know you just got here and you have to get settled and all. If