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rushed away, and I went to the office and punched in the number to Corky’s cell. He answered on the second ring.
    “Hey, Victoria.” Huh? Oh. You’d think by now I’d be used to caller ID.
    “Hi, Corky. How goes everything out there?”
    “Great. Aunt Aggie’s ordering around all the interior decorators as though they were small children instead of professionals with degrees.” He laughed.
    “I just invited Phoebe to dinner tonight. Are you free?”
    “Are you kidding? If my girl’s going to be there? I’ll call the bank and tell her I’ll pick her up.”
    “Good. See you later.”
    The seniors arrived home around two o’clock, and they all went upstairs to take naps. They started to trail back downstairs a couple of hours later, most of them settling into the recreation room in front of the big-screen TV.
    I peeked in, thinking I might join them, but when I saw the black-and-white cowboy movie jumping across the screen, I hurriedly turned away. Of course, it could be worse. Martin’s favorite old-time actor was W. C. Fields.
    I made a quick call to Ben and invited him to dinner. He and Corky had become fast friends over the last couple of years, which made it nice for Phoebe and me.
    “I’ll be there,” Ben said.
    Before I knew it, the words tumbled out of my mouth. “Has Christiana started working yet?”
    “Yes, is that still bothering you?” I distinctly heard a sigh. “I told you I wouldn’t hire her if it bothered you.”
    “Don’t jump to conclusions. It doesn’t
bother
me. I just wondered if she’d started yet.”
    “Okay, that’s good. She’s doing a really good job, and I’d hate to have to let her go.”
    Yeah, I’ll just bet he would
. Oops. I was doing it again. “I’ll see you later then. Bye.” I needed to control my emotions better.
    “Bye, sweetheart.”
    I sighed. I probably didn’t deserve a sweet guy like Benjamin, even if he had been my tormentor when we were kids. Actually, he’d mostly been my dog Sparky’s tormentor. However, Ben had turned out very well, in spite of my expectations to the contrary.
    Corky and Phoebe arrived at six fifteen, and Benjamin’s Avalanche pulled up a few minutes later.
    “Benjamin and Corky. What fun.” Miss Aggie chortled. She adored her nephew, and I knew Ben came in a close second. She tolerated Phoebe and me.
    We sat down to dinner at seven. Mabel had prepared everything buffet style before she went home. She’d fried chicken, much to Ben’s delight. I hoped for his sake she would never leave us, because my fried chicken always turned out greasy and undercooked.
    “How’s the hotel coming along?” Frank asked. Miss Aggie had forbidden anyone to come to Pennington House for the last few weeks, wanting to surprise us on opening day.
    “Just a few finishing touches and we’re ready to go.” Corky’s voice held excitement. His dream had been to restore Pennington House to its original splendor and convert it to a posh restaurant/hotel. From the joy in his eyes, I was pretty sure he wasn’t disappointed.
    “Okay, Phoebe,” I said. “I know you’re bursting to tell everyone your news, so go ahead.”
    She laughed, her eyes lighting up. “Uncle Jack is coming this weekend.”
    A murmur of pleasure rose from the seniors. Miss Georgina clapped her hands. “Oh, good. He can tell us more stories.”
    “Maybe he’s sick and tired of always having to tell us stories, Georgina,” Martin piped up. “Ever think of that?”
    Miss Georgina’s face crumpled. “Oh, I didn’t think about that.” Clearly distressed, she appeared to be near tears.
    “Aw, I was just kidding.” Martin reached over and patted her hand. A few months ago, we’d all have been shocked, but we’d come to realize a budding romance between those two. I hoped Martin would learn to think before he spoke instead of always having to comfort her after the fact.
    Miss Jane glared at him but didn’t say anything.
    “I wonder why he’s coming at this