Venus

The woman tilted her head.

“Lewis?” she asked. The farmer and her friends looked stunned. Did their eyes deceive them? Nah! That can’t be.

“I haven’t seen you in a long time,” she said. “How have you been?” The old biddies couldn’t say a word. Muriel narrowed her eyes behind her glasses.

“What are you doing here, Polly?” she asked. The woman at the table fluffed up her hair.

“I came back home,” she said. “I’m retired now.” Her old friends’ jaws dropped.

“What?!” they shouted.

“Why?” Clyde asked. Lily frowned.

“They made me,” she said. “They said I was getting too old. They wanted to push me out for younger teachers.” She started to look disappointed.

“Me? Too old for teaching? Have you ever heard such a thing?” Lily complained. The other three old biddies looked at each other.

“But why are you here?” Lewis asked. By now, Annie and Crusher were listening in too. Memories about Lily started to come back in the café owner’s head. She had seen this woman before.

Lily tossed back her hair.

“I just figured that my family and I could come back home,” she said.

“Family?!” Muriel asked.

“That’s right,” the former teacher said. “My brother, my nephew, his wife, and their daughter. They all moved down here with me.”

“Oh my!” Muriel said, covering her mouth. The former teacher shrugged.

“I just wanted to come home,” she said.

---------

The four biddies sat at the table. Lily sat with a polite smile on her face. Her old friends didn’t know how to handle this. They seemed to dare each other to speak.

“So how was New London?” Lewis asked at last.

“Fine,” the former teacher said. “It was fine. But I got tired of city life, you know? I miss the country.” Her eyes looked like they were twinkling. The old biddies looked at each other. How did this keep happening? So much for a relaxing day. They knew what was coming next.

Suddenly, the bell above the door rang.

Everyone looked up. William stood in the doorway with Liz and Clover. The color drained from the man’s face when he caught sight of Lily staring at him.

“Oh…” he said.

“Hello, William,” the former teacher said. Lewis, Clyde, and Muriel all looked at each other. Things just got more interesting. Who else would be coming by today?

Annie cleared her throat. William jerked his head upward.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked.