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the others try one. I only made a dozen.”
    Toots laughed. “I’m a pig when it comes to sweets, but okay. I doubt Mavis or Ida will want an entire roll, so maybe I can share what they don’t eat.”
    Both women giggled.
    â€œYou’re lucky all that sugar hasn’t transplanted itself to your hips and thighs,” Jamie teased.
    â€œTrust me, it has. I just hide it well,” Toots said, then gave Jamie a wicked little grin.
    â€œWho’s hiding what?” Sophie said, entering the kitchen.
    Now seated at the table with a second cup of coffee, Toots motioned to the platter of rolls. “I was explaining to Jamie how I have to hide my fat thighs. All those sweets.”
    Sophie removed a mug from the cupboard, filling it with coffee. She reached inside her robe pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Yes, you’re a real fat ass, Toots.”
    Toots rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say that. I said I hide it well. What do you think that young gal in Atlanta invented Spanx for? My God, it’s better than a panty girdle. Remember those? I can’t believe we actually wore the silly things, though they did keep my nylons from falling to my ankles. I suppose there is a blessing to be found in just about anything.”
    â€œA girdle?” Sophie quizzed. “I think that damn Spanx has squished something loose in your brain is what I think.” Sophie sat across from Toots.
    The three women laughed.
    Ida chose that moment to make her grand appearance. “What’s so funny at this godforsaken hour?” Ida asked. As usual, there wasn’t a hair out of place. Her blond chin-length pageboy was styled to perfection. Her makeup, too. Though she was known as a makeup expert for the dearly departed, she used her skills on the living quite well.
    â€œToots thinks she’s a fat ass,” Sophie said.
    Ida smirked, raking her gaze over Toots’s frame. “Well, if she is, then she must hide it very well.”
    â€œI didn’t say I was a fat ass,” Toots stated firmly. “I said I was thankful for my Spanx.”
    She’d poured herself a cup of coffee, no sugar, no cream. “What are Spanx?” Ida asked as she made her way over to the table.
    Jamie, Toots, and Sophie stared at Ida as though she were one slice short of a loaf.
    Sophie laughed. “I can’t believe you, of all women, queen of appearances, don’t know what Spanx is.”
    Ida rolled her eyes, normally something Sophie would do. Ida was picking up her bad habits. “Well, I don’t, so there!” Ida shot back. “What’s the hoopla, anyway?”
    â€œYou ever watch that show What Not to Wear on cable TV? You’ve never heard of NVP?” Toots questioned Ida.
    Showing her impatience with the conversation, Ida took a deep breath. “I might’ve seen it a time or two, but what in the world is NVP?”
    â€œNo visible panty lines,” Toots, Sophie, and Jamie chorused.
    â€œThat sounds rather tacky if you ask me,” Ida replied dryly, sitting down. “However, since we are on the subject of looks, I might as well tell you”—Ida took a deep breath—“I’ve been invited to—”
    â€œWait!” Mavis practically raced down the stairs to the kitchen. “Don’t say anything yet.” Somewhat winded in spite of her excellent physical condition, Mavis poured herself a cup of black coffee before coming to the table.
    â€œNow you can tell us,” Mavis said with a grin.

Chapter 1
    â€œS hould we wake Bernice?” Ida asked. “I’m only going to tell this story once.”
    â€œLeave her alone. She doesn’t give a rat’s ass what you do,” Sophie said. “Hurry it up, Ida. I’m dying to go smoke.”
    Toots nodded. Though she and Sophie had managed to cut down on their habit, big-time, they both still required a puff or two in the morning. Pretty