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Sleepy. Had a bad dream that made me Grumpy.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    Geneva’s attempt at humor was lost on her mother. “I said I had a bad dream that made me grumpy.”
    “Another one? Not about me, I hope.”
    Geneva scrambled in her purse for her head meds. She swallowed two pills with a sip of bottled water. “No, not about you, Mama.” “You’ve been having those awful dreams since you were in the first grade and predicted Elvis’ death.”
    Geneva glanced at herself in the mirrored wall above the couch and frowned at what she saw. Her green eyes looked tired. Her black hair fell in a tangled mess below her shoulders.
    “Wish I could talk, Mama, but I need to get dressed if I’m going to get out of here. Sorry I snapped at you. And hey, thanks for calling and giving me the warning about the hurricane.”
    “I know you don’t have cable there.”
    Through the phone, Geneva heard her mother’s television. A female broadcaster said, “Warnings in effect for Northwest Florida’s Panhandle...”
    “Before you go, Sweetie, good news. Barry and Carol are expecting.”
    “A baby?”
    Virginia laughed. “Of course, a baby, what else would they have? Due around the middle of March. And guess what else? Barry wants to deliver my grandbaby himself.”
    Geneva glanced at her wrist, forgetting she’d taken off her watch to put time out of her mind. The wall clock couldn’t be right. “Is it ten, already? God, I hate this noisy clock Loughton bought. It’s ticking away my life. Loud enough to drive a person insane.”
    “Might be your biological clock you’re hearing.”
    “No, mother, it’s not my biological clock, so don’t rub it in, just because my younger brother, who delivers other people’s babies, is having a baby of his own and delivering it, which I’m not a bit surprised about. Knowing Barry, he’ll charge his insurance company and make money off the deal.” “Oh, pooh, your brother’s a sweet, sensitive guy, and you know it. He told me most women fall in love with their OB/GYNs. Delivering their baby himself will make him and Carol closer. I told him I fell in love with Doc Sanders after he delivered y’all.”
    “Too much information, Mama.”
    “Did I ever tell you the story about Doc Sanders and the Green Stamps? Barry thought it was hilarious.”
    “What do Green Stamps have to do with falling in love with Dr. Sanders?”
    “Just listen. I was pregnant with you at the time. It was thirty-five years ago, can you believe it?”
    “Don’t remind me.” Geneva rubbed her aching temples.
    “Well, anyway, I was in Doc Sanders’ office. I had to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, there was no toilet paper, and I was forced to use a tissue from my purse, filled with green stamps. Little did I know that one of the green stamps stuck to the tissue and transferred to my. .you know what. Doc Sanders found it and accused me of giving out green stamps in a unique dispenser.
    Geneva laughed. “Thanks for sharing. I think.”
    “Your dad thought it was hilarious, too.”
    “He would.”
    “I sure do miss him.”
    “Doc Sanders?”
    “No, silly, your dad. I put fresh roses on his grave yesterday.”
    “From the way you talk, you spend half your time at Daddy’s gravesite.”
    “Gives me a chance to mourn and. .share things.” “What do you mean by share things?” “Talk to him, as if he’s still alive.”
    “Oh, Mama, that’s not healthy.”
    “I disagree. Some people talk to themselves; I talk to your dad.”
    Geneva closed her eyes to fight the tears. “What do you talk with Daddy about?”
    “Yesterday, it was my genealogy research. On your father’s side was a woman hanged in Salem for witchcraft. Imagine. In 1692 we had a witch in the family. She was psychic like you are.”
    “Mama, you and I both know the women hanged in Salem weren’t witches.” Geneva balanced the phone on her shoulder as she pulled her dark, tangled hair into a