had noticed how both Ida and Charles tended to follow Mike’s lead. To them, their son was one of thegreatest minds of this, or any, century. Lily had no doubt that contesting her custody of Mimi had beenMike’s big idea ... and that he had convinced Ida and Charles of its wisdom.
“Hel-lo!” Jeanie half sang, emerging from the kitchen as though she was making her big entrancein a play. “Please, sit down, and make yourselves at home. I’m Jeanie McGilly, Ben’s mama.” She shookhands with her guests, who introduced themselves. “I am so sorry that my husband hasn’t arrived yet. I’msure you know how hard it is to drag a man away from work, don’t you, Ida?” Jeanie’s smile wasstunning. “Can I get you folks anything to drink before dinner?”
Lily saw Charles recoil slightly. The Maycombs were teetotalers who regarded anyone who drankso much as a beer a day as a hopeless alcoholic. Jeanie must have noticed Charles’s reaction, too, becauseshe added, “Iced tea? Lemonade?”
They all sat in the living room, glasses of lemonade in hand, unable to come up with a single topicof conversation. Lily sat close to Ben on the couch, her hand in his. It was difficult to pretend to be inlove. Real love was such a natural flow of feeling that it was hard to know how to fake it.
“So, Lily,” Ida said at the point where the sipping of lemonade was becoming a deafening sound,
“how did you and Ben meet?”
“Oh, we’ve been friends for years,” Lily said, trying to smile at Ben adoringly. “It was onlyrecently that we started to become ... more.” She attempted a giggle, but stopped it when she decided shesounded demented.
“Yeah,” Ben added, “Lily and me together—who’d have thought it?”
“It’s just like that movie When Harry Met Sally,” Jeanie said, “where the couple’s been friends foryears before they realize they were meant to be together. I just love mushy movies like that, don’t you,Ida?”
“We don’t see many movies,” Charles answered for her. “Too much bad language.”
Jeanie smiled politely “It is a sight, isn’t it?”
“Well, I think we all know who’s in charge of Hollywood,” Mike said “And it’s not theChristians.”
Lily squeezed Ben’s hand so hard she expected to hear the bones crack. They had been sitting inuncomfortable silence for a few moments when the front door swung open. “Oh, that must be myhusband,” Jeanie said.
It was. Big Ben was wearing his customary plain white T-shirt, blue jeans, and work boots, but hewas smeared from head to toe with what appeared to be axle grease. His lips looked startlingly pink in