I was actually glad the youth group was heading to Savannah for our retreat. It would be a lot easier to avoid Mom if we weren’t sleeping under the same roof.I hadn’t talked to Madeline either, but not for lack of trying. That morning, like every other morning, I had tried to call her cell. Usually, I got sent directly to voice mail, but today, I got a message saying her service had been disconnected.I stepped onto the bus hoping to find an empty seat, but most were occupied by at least one other person. Rachel spotted me, timidly smiled, and moved over a little in her seat. I didn’t really want to sit beside her—I didn’t think I could stand sitting through three hours of giggling—but the only other available seats were across from Donna and Dora, and I sure didn’t want to sit next to them.I plopped down beside Rachel. “You couldn’t convince Tony to come?”“Are you kidding? He and Charlotte are practically joined at the hip. Ever since they…well, you know…it’s like they can’t go ten minutes without talking to each other.”“So you know about Tony and Charlotte?”She nodded.
