After a time there came the sound of chairs scraping back beneath the table and footsteps in the hall, and Laurel could imagine the men shaking hands, and the women kissing one another’s cheeks as they said, “Good-bye,” and, “Oh! What a lovely night,” and made promises to do it all again. Car doors clunked, engines purred down the moonlit driveway, and finally, silence and stillness returned to Greenacres. Laurel
