She wasn’t sure if Miss Leona heard her enter the room. She stood there in another one of her flowy, two-piece ensembles in a lovely bright green. She had on a longer wig, the blond-streaked curls falling around her shoulders. Evie wondered for a moment when she would get back to being somewhat fashionable, if ever. For now her jeans and slouchy sweatshirt would have to do.
“Good morning,” Evie said.
Miss Leona turned and smiled at her before she turned her attention back to the photos. “Good morning, baby.”
Evie joined her at the counter and looked at the black-and-white photo that seemed to have Miss Leona’s full attention. She recognized a young Miss Leona sitting at a round table in an elegant scoop-neck gown. Beside her was a much younger version of her own grandmother. In most of the photos she’d seen of her nana she was sporting jeans, a flannel shirt, and some rugged boots. Her hair was pulled back or under a weathered hat, but in this photo she looked downright glamorous, her big, slick curls wrapped in a pretty up-do.
“That’s your grandmother Amelia and your grandfather Justice. And that’s my Gerald and me in all my postpartum glory.” She gestured to her face with a flourish.
“You’d just had a baby?” Evie looked at the picture a little closer. She didn’t have any specific memories of any pregnant women in mind, but she had a sense women who just gave birth never looked that good.
“Yes, my oldest son, Gerald Jr. That’s Lilah’s daddy. He and his Denise live up in wine country. We went out to The Orange Grove that night. A fancy place near the beach. We had to wait until the second show to get in because we were colored,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “But we had a blast.”
“Were you celebrating anything in particular that night, or just enjoying some time out?”
“Just a night out.” Miss Leona fell silent again.
“You were really close?” Evie asked.
“Thick as thieves. Your grandmother and I couldn’t be more different. Give me gowns and wigs any day, and Amelia just really loved being around animals, but our friendship just worked. I don’t think we would have taken over this ranch without your grandparents’ emotional support.”
“What do you miss the most about them?”
“Watching your grandfather ride. My Gerald was an amazing horse trainer. He could get a filly to two-step sideways back into her own stall, but your granddaddy was born in the saddle. It was impressive to see. And your grandma? I miss the way she could always make me laugh.”
“She was funny?”
“Oh, and she was quick. Girl. When your grandfather proposed, she told him she had no use for a husband, but if he stayed out of her hair she’d let him stick around.”
“Did they love each other? Did she love him?” Evie wondered out loud as her fingers touched the edge of the frame.
“They did. Very much. We had our own little bubble. Whatever horrible thing was happening in the world, any bit of bad news any of us got, when we were together, everything was alright. I miss them very much.”
Evie looked at the photo: her grandmother’s face and her grandfather’s hand on her shoulder. She looked at the four of them so happy together. She’d had so much fun spending time with everyone here at Pleasant Lane, and it had only been a few days. What must it be like to have a friendship that lasted years and years and then to lose all of those people? Evie leaned over and wrapped her arms around Miss Leona’s shoulders.
“I wish I could remember them.”
Miss Leona patted her arm. “You will one day, baby. I’m sure of it.”
They stood that way for a few moments, looking at the photos, thinking their own thoughts. What would her grandmother tell her to do now? What would she want for Evie? There was no way of knowing, but Miss Leona was here now, and Evie knew that was a pretty great substitute.
She stepped away, giving the older woman her personal space back. Miss Leona let out a deep sigh, then seemed to reset herself, like she was getting back into character for the next scene of the day.
“Okay, now I usually cook a big Sunday dinner, but I’m going up to Los Angeles tonight for a few days.”
“Oh? Alright. So this will be our last lesson for a few days.” Evie shouldn’t be surprised, but she was. Miss Leona was a literal movie star. Of course she had a life.
“While I’m gone, I want you to try to make one dish a day. You don’t need your teacher to practice. Lilah will be here to supervise. And I’m sure Vega knows how to use a fire extinguisher in a pinch,” Miss Leona joked. Sort of. “I’d rather keep my hind parts right here, but I need to show my face at an event and I’m overdue for a visit with some of my people. I’ll be back on Tuesday. Lilah and Vega will be here with you.”
“And Zach and Jesse?” Evie asked before she could stop herself. She’d be more than fine alone with the girls.
“They’ll be around, but the ranch is very busy this weekend with it being New Year’s Eve, and some fancy so-and-so is having a wedding. And I believe Zachariah is filling in at the exhibition today.”
“What’s the exhibition?”
“They do a bit of a sample rodeo. Just a few events for the guests. Roping, riding, barrel racing, things like that. Zach does a bit of trick riding.”
The thought of Zach doing tricks in the saddle made Evie hot all over for some reason she couldn’t explain. She thought it might be best not to fan herself right in front of Miss Leona. “Oh, okay,” she said instead.