Blast From the Past

It was obvious now I wasn't the only one who lived to see Madeline smile. For as big a hard ass as Loretta could be, she, too, was a pushover when it came to her daughters. Madeline had already told me the story more than once, and even showed me photos of her and Maggie's sweet sixteenth birthday present from their mama. A trip to New York. For a woman from a small town making a modest living working at a feed store, I could only imagine such a trip must've taken years to save up for. But it was Madeline's dream to visit the art galleries of New York, and with Maggie's interest in the culinary world, she was just as excited about visiting some of the world famous restaurants there. So Mama delivered.

Now just a few weeks after our bug conversation, Madeline was in heaven driving around in her new convertible Volkswagen. It still made me nervous because, as expected, it had a ton of miles and was not in the best shape. Though its fresh coat of baby blue paint made for a very "cute" Be