Free The Most Famous Illegal Goose Creek Parade by Virginia Smith

young. If people don’t accept her immediately, I’m afraid she’ll take it personally.”
    â€œTimid as a field mouse, is she?”
    â€œNo, not timid.” Millie dismembered her sandwich and wiped off the excess cheese. Violet always slathered on too much for her taste.“She’s rather intense. Pays very close attention when people talk, and doesn’t smile much.”
    â€œGets along better with animals than with people,” Violet observed with more insight than usual.
    â€œExactly. At least, I imagine so. The poor girl wasn’t given much chance to interact with the animals. Delores must have called everyone in town the moment she got home.” Millie replaced the top slice of rye and wiped cream cheese from her knife on the side of her hand-painted dessert plate. “I don’t know what we’ll do when Doc and Lizzie move away. I’m afraid everyone will take their pets to a vet in Lexington.”
    Violet cocked her head and examined her half-eaten scone. “Maybe I’ll bite the bullet and get me a cat. I’ve been thinking of it for some time.”
    The idea of a cat sharpening its claws on Violet’s already-worn sofa and leaping from one dusty, cluttered table to the next sent a shiver down Millie’s back. Though Violet was her best friend in the world, she was not an immaculate housekeeper.
    Sometimes friendship required brutal honesty. She set down her sandwich and leaned across the table to catch her friend’s eye. “You don’t vacuum often enough, dear. Think of the cat hair.”
    Violet shrugged, not offended in the slightest. “You’re probably right. Besides, Rufus wouldn’t like living next door to a cat. I’m sure they’d fight”—she grinned—“like cats and dogs.”
    With a moan, Millie retrieved her sandwich. “If you mention rain at this point,” she told her friend, “I will shove the rest of these scones in your mouth.”
    Violet laughed and reached for her teacup. “We’ll have to come up with another way to help your new boss. Perhaps a postcard giving every pet a free checkup?”
    Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. “We’d have to put an expiration date on it. We don’t want the poor girl conducting free exams for the next five years.”
    â€œAnd a limit,” Violet warned. “One pet per household. Otherwise John Wayne will bring all fourteen of his hounds.”
    The more she considered the idea of an introductory special offer, the more Millie liked it. “You know, that might work. I’ll mention it to her and Doc tomorrow.” She sipped fragrant tea, Earl Grey this time, and set her dainty cup in its saucer.
    Violet gathered a handful of nuts from the top serving tier. “Has Al called today?”
    At the mention of her husband’s name, Millie’s appetite fled. She set her unfinished sandwich down again and slid her plate away. “No, and I expected him to call and apologize for being such a grouch all evening.”
    â€œI’m sorry.” Her friend gave her an understanding smile and then lowered her gaze. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, you know. And vicey-versa.”
    True, she could have called Albert at the office with her own apology. After all, she hadn’t been very friendly last night either. Their cold shower in the lake had done nothing to cool her anger, and she’d maintained a rigid posture all the way home, staring out the passenger window with her back turned to her husband as far as the seatbelt would allow. For the first time in decades, they had gone to bed without speaking. Even now, the thought of their disagreement fanned angry embers that had not quite burned themselves out.
    â€œImagine!” she blurted. “Me, roaming around the country in a travel trailer. Cooking on a camp stove and showering in a closet. Where did he