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you sleeping?”
    “Yeah, I get some sleep when I can.”
    Anna -Marie loves her mom, but she really does overreact. 
    Ann a stares at her beautiful daughter, who is now sitting up on the couch in her faded old sweats.  The dark circles encase her once glistening green eyes and her matted hair is up in its usual loose ponytail making it obvious of the despair she is in. 
    “Okay !  Well, since I’m here and it’s too late to plan dinner, why don’t we go out to eat?  I’m starved and we can catch up some.”
    “Mama, I really don’t feel like it.”
    “Anna-Marie, I’ve come all this way just to make sure your okay and I know you think you’re fine, but I’ve known you your whole life and know that you are far from it-”
    “Mama , really, I’m fine-”
    “I’m not done yet.  I understand that this has been very hard on you.  We all loved Dylan, but you c annot go on like this and I have a funny feeling you know it, too.  I will respect you and let you to continue to work your way through this on your own because you have always had excellent judgment.  But eventually you have to pull yourself out of this.  Now that being said, I just drove two hours and I’m hungry.  I’d very much like for you to get out of those filthy clothes and out of this sad apartment and go out to dinner with me.”
    If she only knew what I’ve done, I think she would totally change her mind about praising my excellent judgment , Anna-Marie thinks to herself.
     
    ***
     
    “Dinner was good, mama.  Thanks for making me go out.”
    It would probably hurt her mom’s feelings if she knew how out of place Anna-Marie felt all evening amongst the living.
    “You’re welcome honey .  It was my pleasure, even if I almost had to hogtie you to get you to go.  You didn’t really eat much though.  You kinda just pushed the food around your plate.”
    “I guess I wasn’t that hungry.”
    Anna goes and sits on the couch while Anna-Marie goes to the kitchen for a bottle of wine.
    “Hey , mama, do you want a glass?” She asks her as she shakes the bottle of wine in her direction.
    “Sure , why not.  I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
    “I should have known that ,” Anna-Marie says under her breath.
    “Here you go ,” Anna-Marie says as she hands Anna her glass of white wine and sits beside her on the couch.  They sit in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts while sipping their wine.
    “Man, it has been a long time since I went out.  I feel like I am totally out of practice.” Anna-Marie says.
    “You’ll get it back, don’t worry , honey.  It’ll be like riding a bike.”
    “So, is there anything new in the County?” Anna-Marie asks, referring to the county she grew up in.
    Her mom starts laughing .  “Actually, yes, there is.  Would you believe, we actually got a second stop light in Bayboro?  It’s in front of the Courthouse.  Oh, and the four lane is almost finished.  It has been going on for so long I had wondered on many occasions if it was even going to be done during my lifetime.” 
    “Wow, really?  That kinda sucks.  I always liked describing to people how small my county is.”
    Her mother looks at her confused.
    “You know, so small there’s only one stop light in the whole county.”
    This time they both start laughing. 
    It makes Anna-Marie sad to think of the county she loves so much growing so quickly.  It was one of the few coastal counties left untouched by the big bustling outside world, with many unblemished coastal towns.  With new development going on, its apparent outsiders have discovered the tiny piece of heaven.
    “Well, I don’t know how many tickets have been given for running the stupid thing.  I got pulled over myself a couple of weeks ago.  I just went right on through, completely forgetting about it.  Thank the lord it was Edgar that pulled me.  Bless his soul !  He let me off with a warning.  I felt so embarrassed.”
    Anna -Marie