Vanita pointed up with her free hand. "Ever notice how Perkins has the biggest flag on the planet?"

"No joke," her sister said. "That thing’d cover a football field, don’t you think?"

Dez looked up at the red, white, and blue cloth whipping overhead. It made a snapping noise in the wind, and it occurred to her they were right. She didn’t think she had ever seen such a big flag.

"It looks ridiculous," Vanita said. "I’m going to tell the manager that."

Dez squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that Vanita would forget all about that lame-brained idea. They made if safely to the door, and she held it open for both of them. The after-church rush had begun, but they arrived in time to get a table in the back. Dez took charge of hanging up the coats and jackets, and when she returned to the table, the two sisters sat on one side of the booth, viewing the giant menus and licking their lips. The dark-haired woman slid in across from them and folded her menu out onto the table.

Her landlady lowered the big plastic menu. "Long as we got you as a captive audience, we need to chat, Desiree. About little Miss Jaylynn and you."

Before Dez could recoil in shock, a harried looking waitress in a cotton candy colored uniform appeared at the tall woman’s left. "Mornin’. What’ll you have to drink?"

In unison from behind their menus, the sisters said, "Coffee. Black. And lots of it."

"And for you?" the waitress said to Dez. "Something hot? Something cold?"

Her mind went blank. She looked up and tried to focus on the pink-clad brunette who stood on her left with pencil and pad ready, but her mind was still on Luella’s proclamation.

Luella lowered her menu. "Hey there, Miss Water Buffalo. Surely you’re going to get something to wet your whistle?"

Water buffalo. Water. That would do. "Yes. Water," she croaked out. "A tall glass of ice water."

The waitress nodded and whirled off, and Dez turned back to her two friends.

"What are you two getting?" Vanita said from behind her plastic menu. "I suppose you’ll get eggs and bacon and sausage and taties and the works, huh?"

She said it with such longing in her voice that Dez almost felt bad. "You know what, Van? I think I’ll get whatever you get. How’s that for camaraderie?"

"Hmph," the old lady said. "Might maybe just get dry toast." Her eyes twinkled and she held back a smile.

Dez shrugged. "Guess I could get seven or eight pieces then. And I’m sure we can have jelly, right?"

"That’s right," Luella said as she folded her menu shut and put it on the table. "Jelly’s fine. But she’s jerking your chain, Dez." She elbowed Vanita gently. "You’re going for something more substantial than that, big sister. I know you far too well."

"Plain waffles, then. That’s what I’ll have. With jam. Sound okay to you, Desiree?"

Dez nodded and gave that order when the waitress came back. They all handed in their absurdly enormous menus, and she took a big drink of her ice water. When she looked up, she found two observant pairs of eyes across the table waiting patiently.

Her landlady smiled sweetly, and the younger woman knew she was in for it. There was some sort of plot going on here, and she felt like a fool for not picking up on it sooner. Luella started out. "Ordinarily, Dez, you know I don’t like to nose into your business."

Vanita gestured toward her sister with her thumb. "Maybe she doesn’t like to get in your business, but ever since my brush with death, it doesn’t bother me so much." Irritated, Luella elbowed her. "You keep your elbows to yourself, young lady!"

"I want to go about this my own way."

"I got some say in it, too, you know."

"At least let me give her some background, Vanita!"

"All right. Go ahead and hog the stage."

Dez settled back in her seat on her side of the booth and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t know why it was so funny when the two of them got indignant with one another, but it never failed to crack her up. She was pretty sure they didn’t have a very good plan for whatever they were going to discuss, so if she could just relax, it would likely turn out to be amusing.

"Vanita and I are trying to make a decision. We have two houses, but we don’t need two houses anymore. Since she’s so old and decrepit, now, we need to consolidate." She jerked in her seat. "Ouch! You with the sharp elbows! Cut it out." She scooted over in the booth a little and directed a fake angry look at her sister.