Free Wedding Belles by Janice Hanna

material, to be quite honest.”
    “Looks can often be deceiving.” This time it was Prudy who chimed in, though her words were so quiet Lottie had to strain to make them out.
    The women dove into their food—eagerly at first, but then with what appeared to be some trepidation after they’d had a few bites.
    “What did you call this again?” Hannah pushed her bowl back as if it held poison.
    “Venison stew.” Lottie pretended to take another bite.
    “Ah.” Hannah stared at it. “Can’t say as I’ve ever had anything like it.”
    The other ladies agreed, and none of them ate much.
    Thank goodness the chocolate pie that followed dinner proved quite tasty. The women ate it like they might never eat again.
    As soon as dinner ended, several locals—mostly men and children—showed up to audition. Lottie rose and addressed the crowd, ready to get the auditions under way.
    “Folks, thank you all for coming. Please take the time to fill out the audition forms and to prepare yourselves. I’ve got a handful of audition scripts here.” She pointed to the table, her nerves suddenly kicking in.
    The ladies grabbed the forms and went to work, filling them out. Cornelia approached, a concerned expression on her face. “Looking at this form, I can see that signing on the dotted line means I’ll be committing to stay through late November. Six months.”
    “Well, there’s nothing legally binding,” Lottie assured her. “And if for some reason, you feel you simply can’t stay, we’ll certainly understand. I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll understand.”
    “Just one question…” Fanny next took a few steps in Lottie’s direction, her brow wrinkled. “The woman who prepared the meal tonight—Mrs. Parker—is she, well, is she going to be doing all the cooking? This might affect my decision, I’m afraid to say.”
    Lottie lowered her voice. “Gilbert and I have already spoken about this and will come up with a plan. Trust me when I say that you won’t starve. In the meantime…” She glanced Mrs. Parker’s way. “Please spread the word to the women that they can meet in the kitchen at midnight for a snack. I’ll make sure there’s something available every night, starting tomorrow night.” She lowered her voice another notch. “But this has to be between us, all right?”
    “A woman never divulges her food sources, honey.” Fanny slapped herself on the rump and laughed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to warm up my voice before auditioning. It’s something Flossie and I always do, you see.” She gestured at several of the other women. “Looks like we’re not the only ones.”
    Off to the side of the room Grace did some dance warm-ups, stretching and bending in elegant style. A couple of the women sang “ la-la-la ,” in an attempt to warm up their voices, no doubt. Sharla, Patricia, and Cherry did a funny little dance that involved kicking their legs up in the air. Cornelia stood off in the corner rehearsing some sort of speech. Fanny joined her sister and they began to rehearse a fascinating scene about a mother and daughter. Lottie couldn’t make heads or tails out of what they were doing but found it all intriguing.
    “I can’t tell if those two sisters are fighting for real or acting out some sort of a scene,” Mrs. Parker whispered as she dropped into the empty seat next to Lottie.
    “Surely they’re acting. Flossie looks worked up.”
    “That’s what makes me think it might be real.” Jeb took the seat to Lottie’s left. “Bossy Flossie. That’s what I’m calling her. That woman has an attitude, to be sure.”
    Hannah closed her eyes and paced, her lips moving but with no sound coming out.
    “Do you suppose she’s praying?” Mrs. Parker’s brow wrinkled.
    “I haven’t got a clue. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Lottie clapped her hands to get the group’s attention once more. “Time to begin, everyone. Grab your scripts and let’s get going.”
    Mrs. Parker