WATCH OUT WHERE YOU REACH —

there's copperhead's everywhere! vivian ford & nina gallo.

[eastcfeden]

dining area at the country club; around noon closed to : @vexsins

the second he sees vivian walk through the door, he gets her attention with a wave and a pearly-white smile. austin knows that he won't have to try very hard to get her to sit down at his table—she's one of the country club women who've taken to circling around him ever since the divorce, very interested in how he's holding up. even if it's completely misguided, he loves the attention. does it conjure up an unnecessary rumor mill around his entire situation? sure does, but it's more fun than anything else. worth the couple of curious noses sniffing a bit too close, all successfully dodged so far.

"mornin'. or afternoon—doesn't feel like it yet, though, i've only been up for..." austin pauses, looks at his watch, gleaming and way too big for any sane person to wear on a daily basis, "two hours, give or take. tell me you've had a day more productive than i had, you must have," he says as he looks around to wave his waiter down. "something to drink? it's five pm somewhere, right?"

[pennyhnds]

it’s hard not to immediately notice austin mccarthy in a room, with his chiseled jawline and bright blue eyes, and my god, what vivian wouldn’t give to climb that man like a tree. not that he’s ever been responsive to her very obvious advances, to her great annoyance. it takes a lot to wound vivian’s pride — she can’t be everyone’s cup of tea and she knows that, of course, but when it comes to getting them into bed, she usually is. it isn’t often that a man all but declines a romp in the sack with her, and all austin’s playing hard to get does is make her want it that much more. so she’s happy to take a seat at his table when he waves her over, feeling special just for the invitation — just like he wants, she’s sure. “oh come on, you got here before i did, that’s sayin’ something. we both know time doesn’t matter on a saturday, anyway,” she tsks, waving away the excuse to drink as the server finds their table. “i’ll do a bloody, thank you, and tell the bartender it’s for viv and i’m expectin’ a heavy handed pour.”

the waiter nods and she smiles to send him off. as much as austin is someone she’d love to get in bed, he’s also oddly become one of her closest friends and vivian’s been truly dying to discuss the news with him. “so. i ‘spose you might’ve heard what happened by now.” considering he did get here before she did, she’s almost positive the rumor mill’s been running rampant since the early breakfast crowd got in. it’s only a matter of time before the entire dining room goes up in flame from them all loudly speaking ill of the dead, but for now everyone’s keeping to hushed tones at their own tables, and vivian does the same with austin. “it’s really a shame, isn’t it? makes you think it could happen to any of us, i guess. time is so fleeting.”

[ncbodyssoldier]

Vivian Ford always made Bennett smile. Sometimes wearily, but a smile nonetheless. Right now it wasn’t a weary smile kind of day, Vivan’s energy was exactly the distraction she needed. Bennett immediately clocked the two drinks in the older woman’s hands, idly wondering if she was keeping the woman from a more entertaining event this morning. But then Bennett was being pulled into a very tight hug and she figured that if Viv had to leave she would’ve done so already. The writer felt the stiff spot in the middle of her back crack and relax under the pressure of Vivan’s arms as she hugged her back. 

“Oh!” Clearing her throat as Vivian let go and made herself comfortable at Bennett’s table, she lifted one shoulder in a half hearted shrug. “You know, things have been crazy the past few days.” She arched an eyebrow up, silently telegraphing that she knew that if anyone had intel on the tragic death that hit the news earlier, it was Vivian and her brunch friends. For half a second, the smile on her face fell. Gettin’ married. Well fuck. Plastering the smile back on her face, Bennett made herself busy by stacking the notebooks in front of her in size order. “Uhm,” she opened and closed her mouth a few times, no words coming out, before she finally looked at Vivian.

“Actually, y’know the city life wasn’t really for me…and Andrew and I actually split up.” How did she put this in a way that, when it was circulated around the town gossips, it was the most palatable version of the story? “He uhm,” What was the phrase her mother always used when her dad found himself in the back of the truck with another woman? He was out lookin’ for greener grass in a drought. That didn’t fit this though, Andrew wasn’t sleeping around. He knew what he wanted, it just wasn’t her. “There was someone else, and he didn’t want to go through with the wedding. So I figured now was a good a time as any to come home, right?”

[pennyhnds]

once the explanation for bennett’s sudden relocation back to sweetwater is out in the open, vivian can’t stop her face from falling more and more as the details unfold. “oh no! oh honey, i’m so sorry. savvy didn’t tell me any of that.” and she’ll certainly be giving her daughter an earful when she gets home today for letting her put her foot in her mouth to bennett. the girl’s so sweet, though, that she manages to take vivian’s blunder in stride — which is part of the reason viv’s always liked her, because any other bimbo in this town would be blubbering to anyone that’d listen about getting cheated on and having no prospects.

a beat passes, vivian takes a sip of her coffee and lets bennett decide whether or not she wants to expand on her situation. and vivian decides whether she should keep her trap shut or impose a little wisdom on this girl — not because she’s really any wiser, because bennett’s always had a good head on her shoulders and that’s a quality of hers that vivian hopes has rubbed off on savannah at least a little bit, considering she certainly doesn’t do much to help her daughter stay grounded in reality. but if vivian’s got expertise in anything, it’s men, and women, and relationships, and the things people will do to get laid. so she decides she couldn’t possibly keep her thoughts to herself.

“you know, i was engaged three times before i met ken. and two of ‘em were at the same time! not that they know that.” not that ken really knows that either, but a girl’s entitled to a few secrets in her life. vivian doesn’t let herself go down that rabbit hole, though, because there really is a point to this story. “anyway, what i’m tryin’ to say is — men are dogs, sweetheart. a man’ll tell you all these nice, flowery words and give you shiny things, and then you’ll find out he’s out fuckin’ the drive thru lady at taco bell just ‘cause she gave him a few extra hot sauce packets with his order. and that’s life, of course, we’re all primal creatures with needs — but you’re always gonna have to decide if it’s worth dealin’ with or not. and sometimes they make the decision for you, and it’s nothin’ short of a blessing.”

[lcgcndarry]

Memphis awaits the wine and drinks a sip once he has it, although tentatively. He's heard plenty of things about Mrs. Ford and considering those things, he's a little nervous that she'll one day roofie him and he'll end up being her pool boy. And while he'd be a good pick for that, considering he's usually outside all day anyway, he's not exactly sure how to explain all of that to Savannah. A night starts off with sex and ends with a new job title because he got roped into dinner with her stepmom. Interesting.

"I'm Memphis. Memphis Anderson. We've met a time or two before. I work over on the ranch with the horses," he explains, trying to see if something strikes her as rememberable. "I ride in the rodeos...." he tries again. "Anyways, Memphis is fine, ma'am. No need to go with sugar buns. Although I have been hitting the gym, getting in shape for the next season, so I'm gonna take that as a compliment." Memphis nods and tips his hat to her. "Thanks again for this wine. Is this some of that fancy shit from the grocery store in town?" I heard that they got that from Oklahoma."

[pennyhnds]

“right. tennessee,” she nods, still grinning like a cheshire cat, and it takes just about every single ounce of self control she has not to tell him he’s the only ten she sees. it’s all fun and games to toe the line a little bit and ogle him a lotta bit, but savvy would really be pissed off if she said anything too ridiculous to the poor kid. or she’d find it hysterical, but that girl’s mood swings are something vivian tries to avoid if she can — as if savannah doesn’t take directly after her in that department.

even so, she’s got absolutely no interest in doing anything but busting this kid’s balls tonight. so vivian does what she does best and completely ignores his attempt at stopping her from calling him anything other than his given name — it’s just more fun this way.

“sweetheart, if i ever give you a glass of wine from anywhere other than the great state of texas, you better take me out back and put me out of my fuckin’ misery. anything else is just a bottle of barrel-aged piss.” and, as if to prove her point, she takes a long swig of the good stuff before smacking her lips with a satisfied exhale. “you said you’re gettin’ ready for the season, huh? you play football?” unless he’s in the nfl, that’d either put him in college or make him pathetic for still trying to play ball — but hey, if it’s the former, who would she be to judge savannah going for a slightly younger man?

[vitalsgns]

vivian and savannah are nothing short of a tornado when they're together and that has been the case for as long as sav can remember. the blondes personality has clearly been shaoed by her stepmother's influence and sometimes savannah wonders how much of it would be there if circumstances were different. if her mother hadn't died and had raised her, what would she be like? those thoughts, more often than not, are accompanied with a weight of guilt because as much as she loves the ghost of her birth mother, she knows she loves vivian more and she's not supposed to, right? but she does.

so with their synchronized personalities in mind, it's not shocking that they're both chomping at the bit to give the other some information. savannah has to practically bite her tongue to keep from exploding and blurting it out while her mom starts rattling off about the tragedy and having alma send cami what will probably be her nine hundredth casserole. she knows the polite thing to do would be to agree and say how sorry she feels for the woman — and she does agree and she does feel sorry for the widow. but she doesn't, instead staying silent until viv spins the conversation in her direction and savannah can finally let everything boil over.

"now, i don't want this to come across like i'm gossipin' about the dead or anything," she starts off with a disclaimer even though that's exactly what they're doing. "but you know they're sayin' his body was in a kinda compromising position when they found him?" to say the damn least. "well, i was talkin' to abby earlier — you remember her, right? brown hair, blue eyes, a little too short for it to be cute? — anyways. her brother works on coach brown's patch crew and he said the security guard from that night saw him goin' into that trailer with another guy." maybe it's bullshit, maybe it's not — and maybe viv already knows all of this, considering her father's in charge of the whole thing.

she drops her voice down to a whisper as if there's anyone home but them. "hey... you think there was ever somethin' goin' on with him and mr. peterson?" she asks, referencing the seemingly forever bachelor of a chemistry teacher slash assistant football coach. she'd heard rumours about him having a never ending string of controversially young women in and out of his life, but maybe that was all bullshit and this was the truth. "they used to spend a lot of time together."

[pennyhnds]

the very second vivian gives savannah a chance to open her mouth, she knows immediately that they’re both likely going to burst into flame after this conversation. the poor guy is dead, for god’s sake, they should be talking about what a tragedy it is and moving on without so much as a peep about his personal life — but that simply isn’t how sav and viv operate, and it never will be. vivian sometimes has to wonder if she’s really ruined this girl for good with all of the pageants and the shopping trips and the nights giggling with each other over a glass of wine that vivian snuck to her under ken’s nose. she has to wonder if the carbon copy of herself that she’d molded savannah into has become a monster, completely out of her control.

when sav was a teenager, maybe — but for all of the yelling and meltdowns and teenage hormones that were flying, the two of them still managed to stay attached at the hip. and selfishly, vivian’s never truly been able to bring herself to care if the monster she’s created is a version of savannah that was never supposed to exist, because it’s her version and she loves that version. so even if the two of them really are complete assholes, at least neither of them have to be assholes alone.

it’s that thought and that thought alone that keeps vivian from feeling too guilty about the absolutely rancid gossip they’re spewing across the kitchen island to each other, and she simply nods at savannah’s words like this is a very serious matter. “yup, i heard that too. except i heard from missy that they’ve got the other guy on tape, just can’t make out his face yet. but it’ll be soon enough.” and when they do find out who exactly it was, the two of them will almost certainly be right back here to dissect that tidbit of information too. it’s not like vivian wasn’t clued into cami and john’s tendency to have a little fun — but the fact that john had been without her is what has viv’s gossip wheels turning.

her head tilts slightly at the notion that the culprit might be ted peterson, a man she’s very much slept with — not that savannah needs to know that. “don’t think he’s the type. it’s gotta be someone who likes to dip into the sugar bowl, if ya know what i mean, considering the state they found coach in.” and in her experience, that could be just about anyone in their circle of friends at the country club — but again, savannah doesn’t need to know that either. “i’ll bet your dad could get his hands on that security footage if he really wanted to — since ya know, it was on our patch, we’ve got a right to know what’s goin’ on,” she chews her lip for a moment, trying to scheme up a way to get that tape into her hands before anyone else does. “he’ll never let me hear the end of it if i ask him for it, though. you’d have to sweet talk him.”

[devilsayshxwdy]

who: @vexsins

where: football field

of course vinny knew coach brown, there wasn't many in the town who weren't aware of the man in some capacity. he also had nothing real against the man other than a few unfortunate disagreements once and awhile. plus in a community like sweetwater you don't stay home from events. it's a quick way to get ostracized. since a teenager, vinny was always about any gathering with free food.

setting down a tray of special k bars made by his house manager, he found himself staring at the different types of potato salad and jello mixtures. only glancing up to see viv approach. vinny straightened and tipped his sunglasses down. "g'afternoon ms. ford," he grinned. "come to sample the potato salad selection?"

[pennyhnds]

lord help her — vivian swears she’s already experienced almost every single one of those deadly sins on this day that’s not only holy, but the day they’re commemorating laying poor john brown to rest at the closest thing sweetwater has to holy ground, the mustangs’ football field. she’s vain every day of her life and, god forgive her, that’s never going to change — but she swears she’s gone from unleashing her wrath on the poor kids fixing up her landscaping this morning, to gorging on snacks at this goddamn service, to then gossiping with everyone who’ll listen to her (which is maybe not one the big bad sins, but the big guy upstairs certainly wouldn’t be very happy with her about the amount of ill she’s been speaking of the dead).

and now vinny monroe’s standing in front of her and she’s got herself flustered straight to hell, she’s sure. and on the lord’s day of all days.

the man is just the embodiment of her favorite type of fun, and it’s hard not to bat her eyelashes and instinctively pull her shirt down a little bit. but she’s here with her husband, so she’s got to be at least somewhat respectful. “i’m a little more interested what my options are for dessert,” she says it innocently, not a hint of innuendo in sight — at least not really. she’s trying! “you make those yourself? i had no idea you knew your way around a kitchen.”

[saddleoiled]

Truth be told, sometimes he just kind of tunes Viv out while she talks on and on. Maybe that's the secret to a long marriage. A few responses here and there, hitting her with a "That's nuts," and "Wow," while she spoke, and he was golden. Sometimes he'd just mute himself and go to the bathroom. Today was one of those times. He didn't usually flinch when she her tone changed, but this time it was a bit different, and he almost hit his head on the damn toilet paper rack. "What the fuck are you talkin' about? Where are you?" Though it was more of a rhetorical question, and Ken was almost out the door, without a question. "Stay in the car." If it really was a person, which he wouldn't be shocked about since Viv did not have the best driving tract record, he didn't want her to be dealing with this on her own. Though he figured his wife wouldn't listen to him anyways.

He was probably going a bit too fast, but there was shit that needed to be handled. At the end of the day, despite their marriage just looking picture perfect, they were a united front, and he'd do anything to keep it that way. Thankfully he had tools in the back of his truck, including his old handy dandy shovel. "What are we dealin' with here?" He asked as he headed towards her Volvo, looking for at least blood on the rims. "My gut's sayin' that this person was already dead if they're in the middle of the road."

[pennyhnds]

vivian can’t keep her loud huff of frustration to herself, still too much in a panic to do anything but bitch at her husband that’s just agreed to drive out to down and potentially dispose of a dead body for her. “well, i’m obviously not getting out of the god damn car, ken. just hurry up, would you? i’m out on route 20 goin’ into town.” she barely lets him get another word out before she hangs up, clearly irritated, and immediately calls alma to let her know there’s been an incident.

almost ten minutes later vivian has, obviously, hopped out of the car to check the front bumper when ken pulls up. there isn’t any blood that she can see but she’s still too wary to check out anywhere behind the parked vehicle where the true damage lies. at least no one’s honked at her while going by, which either means nothing’s back there or they were too busy calling the cops.

“baby, i can’t look — you’ve gotta go see. what if he’s back there twitchin’ still.” by he, she of course means the man she’s just tried to run over. “he could’ve just been walkin' by, i don’t know. i wasn’t exactly paying attention since you were distracting me.”

[lcgcndarry]

Evenings in Sweetwater have been a different kind of nice since he's been with Savannah most nights. Although he'd like to attribute it to the warmer nights which make the trek over to her trailer easier, he knows it's because of Savannah. He can't stop himself from feeling a little embarrassed though. The sneaking around thing was supposed to be working out. Clearly, he's been caught-- again. "Oh, I wasn't planning on stayin' for dinner..." he fades off, rubbing his chin. Looking back at the trailer and back to Vivian, he smiles. "Not sure if Sav wants me doing that... but sure, I guess I'll stay, I'll take wine." She said she wasn't taking no for an answer anyway.

Memphis steps over to the patio, fixing his shirt like he wasn't just fucking her stepdaughter a bit ago. "How's your night goin', ma'am?" he asks, grabbing the glass from her once it's ready.

[pennyhnds]

He's a little uncomfortable, obviously Vivian can sense that — but it's in that sweet, charming way that puts the grin back on her face. "Savvy'll be thrilled. Trust me." That may be untrue, but he's so damn cute that Vivian's happy to nudge her daughter here and there if she must. Having eye candy around the house is top priority here. Savannah will just have to find a way to forgive her and get over it if she doesn't like that. "I'll be right back."

It takes Vivian all of two seconds to practically leap back into the house to grab another wine glass, and when she comes back out she uncorks the bottle and pours him a glass slowly, all the while keeping direct eye contact while she does. "It's goin' a whole lot better now," she grins, pushing the glass in his direction. And of course, she has yet to stop staring.

Then she realizes she should probably figure out who the fuck this kid is before she keeps terrorizing him. "You're gonna have to remind me of your name again, sweetheart, or I'll just have to start referring to you as sugar buns."

[vitalsgns]

savannah's morning has been a whirlwind. she'd woken up to a string of text messages from her group chat, all blowing up about the death of coach brown. there had been the usual messages about how sad it was that he was gone and what a good guy he had been, until one of her friends — who's brother had worked the same patch shift as coach brown — had gathered them all in a group facetime to drop the nitty, gritty details on them.

naturally, savannah had immediately run up to her parent's house and into her old bedroom, hauling out her senior year yearbook and trying to figure out which, if any, of her old classmates coach brown had been fucking on the side behind his wife's back. she'd been in the middle of scrutinizing a behind the scenes picture of the homecoming game that year, looking for any clues. but everything is innocent because, of course it is. coach brown hadn't been that kind of guy.

she rolls her eyes at the sound of vivian's voice, flopping the book closed and chucking it onto a pile of sweatshirts on her floor. half of her wardrobe still resides in this room, the trailer being way too small to hold it on. "i don't have anyone up here," she calls down, taking the stairs two at a time and practically vibrating with excitement about her gossip. "but forget about that — you're never gonna believe what i heard this morning."

[pennyhnds]

Viv can't help roll her eyes — because of course, Savannah probably wasn't listening to a word she said once she came in the door. To be fair, neither of them are particularly gifted in the art of listening.

"Baby, that's what I was comin' to tell you," she stresses, drawing the whole thing out for dramatic effect while she busies herself pouring them two glasses of wine. "I was just at the club with the girls and — well seems like you know already, of course, and we're all mournin' Coach Brown's death. Such a nice guy, and we'll have to have Alma make some casseroles or something to send Cami's way, 'cause I'm sure she's just a wreck. I should give her a call. Well, anyway, Missy Halpin was there too — you know, the Sheriff's wife — and she started fillin' everyone in on the gory details, because that article didn't have all the information the authorities know, apparently."

She could keep going (hell, Vivian could talk for hours about this if no one took the liberty to stop her), but Savannah looks too excited — like she knows more than just what's been broken in the papers. So she pauses, trying not to look too skeptical when she finally decides she'll shut up and let Sav get a word in. "Well, hold on now, what'd you hear?"

[ncbodyssoldier]

@vexsins

“Look, I’ll send you what I have so far. No it’s not more than that…you’re the one that called!” She really didn’t mean to sound frustrated, it wasn’t her agent’s fault that this place made her the worst version of herself and now she found out one of her childhood heroes was dead. It was a weird day, so her agent calling for an update for a book that wasn’t actually due for nearly a year wasn’t exactly welcome. “Yes, love you too.” It was a good thing she was so close with her agent, or else Bennett would be in some deep shit. 

Regardless, she hung up and went back into the coffee shop, where her stuff still lay, spread out across a table in the corner. She wasn’t worried about theft, she used to babysit the barista making lattes right now, but she was a bit surprised to walk back in and see someone hovering. “Miss Viv,” she said, plastering on a smile and smoothing down her hair. 

If Vivian was here, Bennett wondered idly if her mother was lurking around somewhere. She had managed to avoid running into the woman for the first few months she’s been in town, but the first time she ran into her grocery shopping, Bennett pretended to take a call from Memphis and made up a fake problem that she had to take care of right then. She refused to go back to the store for a week after that. 

But she couldn’t let her relationship with her family control her anymore, according to her therapist, so she shoved some of her notebooks away to clear a space at her table. “Would you like to join me? How are you?”

[pennyhnds]

These goddamn phones — Vivian has a hell of a time figuring hers out on a daily basis, especially today when she's juggling two coffees and a fucking croissant for her lazy, piece of shit husband who couldn't possibly get one for himself. It doesn't matter if he didn't ask for it — she knows the second she showed up to the KF offices without a little treat for him, he'd be pouting and looking at her with the widest puppy dog eyes on the planet. Men.

She nearly drops the damn thing when she hears her name — Miss Viv, particularly, so it's gotta be one of her kids' friends — and then she nearly drops it again in excitement when she realizes it's Bennett.

"I thought that was you out there!" Without even a second thought and certainly without invitation, Vivian drops her shit on the table Bennett had previously been occupying before going in to give her a tight squeeze. "Oh, Savvy told me you were back in town, but I haven't seen you girls come by the house in a while so I didn't believe it."

She's happy to wordlessly accept the invite and forget all about her plan to bring her husband coffee and yap to him now that she's found a new victim, waving her hand and sitting down at the formerly occupied table like she owns the damn place. No one can accuse Vivian Ford of being self aware, that's for certain. "I'm good, sweetheart, I'm good. I wanna hear all about you! Last I heard you were gettin' married — that's exciting! Y'all decided to come back here to settle down? It's a good choice, of course. Excellent school district here and all."

[pennyhnds]

where / along the side of the road somewhere with / @saddleoiled

As irritating as Ken may sometimes be, Vivian knows very well the many sacrifices he makes for their family, and more specifically the sacrifices he makes for her — the most important being listening to her go on and on with her stories while she's driving, and rarely ever saying a word of complaint. She's been yammering on for about ten minutes now, and she's got no intent to slow down. "Well, I already went by the house and told Savvy what I heard. And she knew more than I did, you know that? I swear, social media these days doesn't let anything stay private. And Alma needed some stuff to make a couple things for Car, 'cause you know him, he's probably in mournin' since — Holy shit."

Initially, Vivian's instinct is to just keep driving, keep going about her day and ignoring whatever the fuck she hit that made such a loud thud — and then a moment later she realizes that's fucking insane, and the panic sets in. "Ken!" It's not exactly a wail, but it's pretty damn close, and Vivian barely manages to pull over before she starts freaking out the way she should've been to begin with.

"Ken, you've gotta get over here right fucking now. I think I just killed someone. Jesus Christ, is it the fuckin' reckoning today? Fuck."

[lcgcndarry]

@vexsins

It's early evening when Memphis finally pulls himself away, knowing it's time to head back to feed the horses for the evening and wrap some other shit that he should've been doing instead of finding himself in Savannah's trailer-- again. He couldn't resist following behind her, his favorite trap to fall into. And while he snuck in during the daylight, now the sun is setting and it's maybe a bit easier to sneak out without being seen. He's pulling his shirt on as the screen door slaps shut against its hinge. Hissing through his teeth, he heads to his truck, hoping no one heard that. That is until he comes face to face with Mrs. Ford. Fuck.

"Good evenin', Mrs. Ford," he nods, tipping his hat to her.

[pennyhnds]

It's a nice night out, one of the nicest in a while, so Vivian's decided to sit her ass on the back patio with a crisp glass of chilled chardonnay and a lovely view of the sunset; small pleasures in life that she's irate to have interrupted by the slam of a screen door. She's about to rip Savannah a new one for it — she's only told her a million times to stop fucking doing that — until she sees the true perpetrator come to a stop in front of her. "Oh, hey sweetheart." The grin that spreads across Vivian's lips is slow, almost predatory as she looks the kid up and down like it's a treat and a privilege to do so.

But that grin soon turns downward as she eyes his keys in hand. "You're not stayin' for supper? I know Sav'll be over here in about seventeen seconds asking what Alma's got on the stove if you wanna stick around. I'm sure she won't mind extending your little... date," she purses her lips as the word slips out, knowing full well that he wasn't in the trailer for a fucking date — but Vivian's got at least some class in her.

"I can pour you a glass of wine while you wait? I'm not takin' no for an answer, so you might as well get a little drunk in the meantime."

[pennyhnds]

where / the kitchen of the ford residence with / @miidnightsrain 

"Savvy? Baby, you in here?"

It's been a hell of a fucking morning — after the news broke, Vivian obviously sped right down to the club and lo and behold, every other housewife in Sweetwater thought to do the same. They all sat at their separate brunch tables, started out with their niceties and their catch ups, but by minute fifteen the entire room was practically engulfed in debate discussing what the fuck happened last night. "Sweetheart, you've gotta come here and listen to what the girls just told me at the club. You are not gonna fuckin' believe me, but I swear to the good Lord, Missy knows her shit. D'you know Coach Brown died?"

Vivian only then realizes she's still got no answer, but she hears rustling coming from upstairs and Sav's car is the only one in the driveway right now, so unless they've got an intruder she's got a pretty good guess as to who's up there and actively ignoring her.

"Savannah, I know you're home, get your ass down here. Don't be raiding my closet without askin' me. Actually, you better not be up in your room with that boy — you've got the trailer for that, for God's sakes, I'm beggin' you to use it." As if Vivian's ever really given a shit when Savannah used to bring back boys to her old room, but now it just feels wrong.