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was a timid “hello” and then it was too late, the conversation moved on without her. Piper hated how the events in her life over the past few years had changed her so greatly and how weak she must look to people. She missed being labeled as a firecracker and partaking in clever banter. She felt constantly confined by her new identity and her responsibility to maintain its credibility.
    “So you don’t even say hello anymore, Bobby? Have you been as rude to poor Piper here as you’ve been to the rest of us lately?” Jules’s hand rested on her hip, and she stood on tippy-toes to catch Bobby’s eye over the top of his magazine.
    “Hello Jules. Where’s Scott, or have you wised up and left him?” He raised his magazine higher as a shield from her frosty stare.
    “You’re such an ass. Actually he’s stuck on a job. He’ll be here when he’s finished.” She crossed the small room and sat beside him on the couch. She was just about to turn the conversation back to Piper when Bobby spoke.
    “Some big cable company emergency? Boy they sure are lucky to have a dedicated guy like Scott there when HBO is on the fritz. I’m sure he’s up for a medal or something by now.” He threw his magazine to the coffee table and readied himself for Jules to fire back. Piper was having a hard time telling if they were both enjoying themselves or genuinely couldn’t stand each other. Regardless, she was slightly envious of the chemistry between them. This was the dynamic she had missed since moving here.
    “You know what Bobby? His job is important, and he’s good at it. What’s the point of having some big job like yours if you’re just going to screw it up in the first place?” Piper cringed with the direct hit that Bobby had just taken to his ego.
    “Whatever, I’m going in the kitchen to see if Betty needs any more help with dinner. The sooner it’s ready the sooner I can get out of here.” He went to stand and Jules grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back to the couch.
    “No way, if you go in there she’ll know I am giving you a hard time and she’ll give me hell for it,” Jules stammered.
    With that, Bobby’s eyes met Piper’s and they both did their best to stifle a laugh.
    “Supper’s ready,” Betty called from the kitchen. It was still strange to Piper to hear the last meal of the day referred to as supper, rather than dinner. There were certainly things down South she felt she’d never get accustomed to.
    Piper felt her palms begin to sweat as she ran through the rules of etiquette once more in her mind. She waited for everyone to take what she assumed were customary seats. Betty pointed to the open chair by Bobby, and Piper cringed inside at the thought of having to apply rule number five regarding polite conversation to him. She was still beating herself up about blowing it on rule number one, but was relieved to see a paper towel in place of a napkin sitting across her plate. She still laid it over her lap, but at least it wasn’t a beautifully folded cloth napkin to contend with. She also noticed that there was no endless line of different shaped cutlery at either side of her plate, just a fork and knife.
    “So Piper, this meal is about as country as it gets, and I won’t be offended it you don’t like it. I know we all tend to like what we grew up on. You eat what you like; no feelings will be hurt here. What was your favorite dish growing up, dear?” Betty asked as she served herself a heaping spoon of mashed potatoes and passed the bowl over to Bobby. Piper noticed no one at the table seemed to have read the same article she had regarding etiquette.
    “Um… we ate a lot of takeout when I was growing up. Pizza, fast food, not a lot of home cooking, but this all looks amazing, I’m sure I’ll love it. Are these your own recipes or something from a cookbook?” Piper had become incredibly astute at redirecting a conversation away from her. She had found people generally enjoyed talking