Heddy can talk to the spirit of her late grandmother, Nonni. Her brother has been injured fighting in the war and Heddy has met a man who is living in old Dr. Monroe's abandoned house.

**********************************

I help Momma carry out the wash and hand her the clothespins while she hangs everything up.

"I was thinking we could walk to the post office to mail our letters to your Aunt."

"Okay," I say, excited to go into town. It's not really a big town. There's the post office, a lady that sews clothes and sells notions. That's what Momma calls them, notions. She has odd things like sewing kits, some pretty glass dishes and stationery. Momma always looks at the stationery and tells her how much she'd like to buy it, but she never does.

One day, I asked her about it. "How come you just don't buy it. You sure do like it."

Momma just shook her head. "Costs too much, besides, I've still got enough at home."

If I ever get enough money together, I'm going to march into that store and buy every sheet she has. I'll bet my momma will be so happy she'll cry.

"Go on upstairs and wash your face and brush your teeth. I'll fix your hair when you come back downstairs."

When I come back down, she motions for me to sit on the back steps, one step below where she is. "How was that fire?" She hands me some bobby pins and starts brushing. I can hear her grunting lightly as the bristles hit one snag after another. "Land's sakes, Heddy, how do you get this many tangles in your hair?"

I shrug even though I know she isn't waiting on an answer. "This hurts," I say.

"It wouldn't hurt if you ever brushed your hair."

I doubt that's true. I don't think it's ever not hurt to get a brush through it.

**********************************

Mrs. Collette is talking to the old preacher from the Baptist Church. It's the only church on the island. My daddy went there as a child but said he didn't really cotton to a lot of their teachings. He said if God was as grumpy as the Baptists say, there wouldn't be as much beauty in the world. So, some Sundays, Daddy will sing some church songs. My favorite is The Old Rugged Cross. And my daddy has a good voice. It gets really low in the good parts, and I get chills just hearing it.

"Good morning, Reverend," Momma says. She ushers me into the post office. Her hand slides down my upper arm. "Best behavior, Heddy. We don't need him thinking you're a wild little girl who needs to go to church."

But, Mrs. Collette comes back inside alone. "That man is always trying to get me back to church," she says, slight amusement in her voice. "No thank you."

"I've got some letters to go out," Momma says, pulling the white envelopes out of her dress pocket. "Is there any mail here for us?"

Mrs. Collette turns towards the back. "Lester, could you check box 13?"

I see someone moving behind the curtain that divides the post office. A boy stumbles out from behind the curtain, two envelopes clutched in his hand.

"Lester. You're rumpling the letters," Mrs. Collette snatches them from his hand. "My sister's boy. Pleasant enough, but not too bright."

Momma smiles at him. She always has a nice smile for people she meets. "Are you here for the summer, Lester?"

He peers at her through thick lenses in his glasses. He nods quickly, a cowlick bounces around the crown of his head.

"His daddy is fighting the Japs. My sister is working at a munitions factory near Baltimore. She asked me to take him for the summer. But, I don't know, he may be here longer."

Lester sneaks a glance at me and I frown. He's a funny looking kid. He dresses like he ain't from around here. He's wearing black lace up shoes and wool pants.

"Aren't you hot?" I ask.

"Sorta," he says quietly. His voice is real soft, timid almost.

Momma makes small talk with Mrs. Collette for a few minutes then she looks over at Lester. "Would you like to come spend the afternoon at the beach? Tomorrow, Heddy can walk here and the two of you can walk back to the house." She doesn't even look at me. "Would you like to do that?"

He nods excitedly, casting a quick look at his Aunt. "May I? "

"I suppose so." She frowns for a moment before turning to my momma. "He doesn't have anything other than long pants."

"I'll go through some of Willis's clothes. We'll find something for him."

After we leave the post office, I look over at Momma. "Why did you invite him over. He's a boy, for one thing, and he's probably not gonna want to get in the water. He looks kind of sissy."

"Heddy. Stop that. If you were a child who had to spend all summer with Mrs. Collette, would you want to?"

"Well, no. I guess not."

"I think he likes you."

I groan, clutch my stomach and make a face. "Well, I don't like him."

She stops and turns me to face her. "Heddy, you will be nice to him. I'm not saying he's your boyfriend. You're both too young for that, but you will be nice."

I say little the rest of the way home, stewing in the anticipated misery that tomorrow would bring.