Now Dottie was telling stories about her grandkids. “So then little Jessie says, ‘That was too much tater and not enough tot, Mamaw,’ ” Dottie said. “Can you believe that little punkin’? He’s only five.” After Georgia told a story about an elderly couple she knew who were taking ballroom dancing lessons, Laurie said to Claire, “You’re quite an accomplished dancer, yourself, aren’t you, Claire?” Claire blushed, and then said, “I don’t know why you would think that,” before abruptly changing the subject. Laurie smiled in amusement and Kay noted that Ed didn’t seem to notice the exchange. After they discussed the phenomena of having songs stuck in their heads, Laurie brought up the subject of favorite songs, said his was “Claire de Lune” by Debussy, and asked each person at the table to name their favorite. When he got to Claire, she said, “I don’t have a favorite.” Laurie turned to Ed. “Surely you know Claire’s favorite song, Ed.” “Nope,”
