“I thought the MacLemores’ nephew was nice. Very polite.” Mama waved her fork around while she talked. “First impressions ain’t always what they appear. Norm’s not much of a specimen himself. Reckon the nephew’s made from the same cloth. I’ll have another salmon patty, sugar.” Daddy held out his plate to Mama. “I don’t know. You seemed to think I was all right the first time we met.” She gave Daddy a wink. “Different deal entirely. It’s Sis here we got to concern ourselves with.” “I suppose you’re right.” Mama reached over and touched me on the arm. “Sammie, you’ve got all the time in the world for boys.” “He just wanted to teach me backgammon. It’s not that big a deal.” And that wasn’t the point. Daddy didn’t trust me to pick my own friends. My stomach churned, but before I had time to think about it, Mama skipped off in a whole other direction.
