Alice: [when she finally reached the bottom she walked a few feet then stopped]

You look like you’ve been chewed up, spit out, and stepped on. [a voice says greeting her]

Alice: I see you finally had those three sixes removed from your forehead.

[now smiling] Put on your sitting britches look what the cat drugged in, howdy cuzzo!

Alice: Hey, Shelby! [she says before embracing her in a hug]

Shelby: Well, I’ll be damned! I thought it would be a cold day in hell before e’r stepped foot back here in these parts!

Alice: Yeah, well never say never.

Shelby: Damn, it’s good seeing you! I’m happier than a hog in mud! [she says before pulling her into another rough hug]

Alice: [felt like she was being hugged by a caged bear she squeezed her so tight she was sure she had cracked three of her ribs]

Shelby: [suddenly breaks the hug] There’s a buzzing in my pocket. [she says before taking out her cell phone and answering] Ant-ie LaVerne!? Uh huh?

Alice: [cringed because her voice was loud and seemed to echo]

Shelby: I reckon I do, she’s standing right in front of me! Smaller than the last time we saw her. She’s a sickly little thing. If she wore her bra backwards it would still fit but she’s just as pretty as a country bride!

Alice: [offended covers her chest with her hands]

Shelby: Welp, Ant-ie tell everyone company’s a coming so add a cup of water to the soup! [she says before hanging up the phone]

Alice: [confusingly stares at her]

Shelby: Ant-ie LaVerne sends her heart in a bag!

Alice: [sarcastically] Great.

Shelby: Is that all u’r stuff?

Alice: Yeah, I traveled light.

Shelby: [roughly throws her arm around her almost snapping her neck] Now, that we’ve howdied it’s time to shook! Everyone’s gonna shit themselves when they see you! [she says before leading them both out of the airport]

The weather was humid, and the sour smell of farm animals filled the air. In every direction she looked cowboy boots, plaid shirts and skirts, belt buckles, wrangler denim, pick-up trucks, animals, small children, and country music blaring from the radios surrounded her. She smiled to herself, Shelby was right she never thought she would ever come back here. Her smile widened as her cousins’ truck came into view.