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house.
    “I’ve got some more work to do in the kitchen so you go on into the sitting room, it’s two doors down that hall. I’ll get the rest of the meal all finished up.” She pulled her apron back up over her head and around her neck. Before Piper could ask if there was anything she could help with, Betty was gone.
     
    Piper intended to make some polite conversation with Julie and Scott and do her best to not sound like a fool until Betty came back. As she entered the sitting room she was surprised to see Bobby lounging comfortably on the couch reading a car magazine.
    “What are you doing here?” Piper asked without the slightest attempt to cover her disappointment at his presence.
    Bobby did a slightly better job at hiding his surprise. He had years of experience at dealing with Betty’s meddling ways. He kept his face unaffected as she spoke. “I come here every Wednesday night for dinner, but I would have made the exception and skipped tonight had I known I’d be in mixed company.” He barely spared her a glance over the top of his magazine before nonchalantly returning to his reading.
    At the sight of this man lounging confidently and flinging insults her way, Piper felt her fight or flight mechanism kick in. Running out of the room seemed slightly ruder than engaging him in some hostile banter, so fight would have to do right now. “Do you have some sort of mental disorder or something? Because it seems like you do a lot of the same things at the same time in the same place every week. You might want to have that checked out. I’m going to give Betty a hand in the kitchen.” Piper turned to leave as Bobby stood up. She was still taken aback by his height and the width of his shoulders, but more so by the way he carried his size. He was so much larger than her but not the least bit intimidating.
    “No, don’t go into the kitchen. Then Betty will think I was rude to you, and I’ll catch hell for it. Sit down and I promise not to bother you.” He caught her elbow gently and she felt a shock go through her body. Its intensity was unfamiliar and scary. She didn’t think she liked the way Bobby’s touch rocked her. He pointed to the wingback chair across from the couch.
    Piper looked closely at the chair, peeking on either side of it and behind it.
    “What are you looking for?” Bobby asked, thinking this girl might be crazy.
    “I’m trying to make sure your name isn’t on this chair anywhere. I’d hate to take a seat that belongs to you again. I’ve learned my lesson.” Piper kept her face intentionally serious even though she felt like a wry smirk would fit the moment better. Bobby rolled his eyes and flopped back to his seat heavily. He pulled the magazine up in front of his face and she felt slightly victorious as she caught a glimpse of the corners of his mouth rising in a reluctant smile.
     
    The screen door squeaked open and slammed shut as someone else entered the house. A younger version of Betty stood in the doorway of the sitting room. She had all of Betty’s features: the small pointed nose, almond shaped eyes, and feminine jaw line. But they were all in a form that had not been weathered by half a lifetime of worry. Her hair, however, was crimson red—not at all like Betty’s dark caramel tresses that were now streaked with gray. Everything about this girl seemed perfectly proportioned and delicate. Her nails were artfully polished, her hair bright and voluminous. Her lips were a soft pink and freshly glossed contrasting her pale complexion which was dotted with endearing little freckles. It would have been easy to tell which attributes came from her mother and which from her father, even without ever meeting him.
    “Hi, you must be Piper. I’m Jules.” She reached her hand out and Piper shook it firmly. Piper meant to say that it was nice to meet her as well, that she was grateful to Betty for having her over for dinner and helping her to get a job. Instead all that came out