Chapter 25

The first words out of Mrs. Webster’s mouth were, “Oh my, I didn’t expect things to be so clean and neat.”

He chuckled at that and said, “The first thing Noah said when he walked through that door was, ‘It looks like my mother lives here.’”

“Did you ever see that pigsty he used to live in?” she said.

“Yes, Ma’am, I helped him move out of that pigsty.”

“Then you know what I’m talking about. This is wonderful. A mother is always glad to know that her child lives in nice surroundings.”

Tom stayed put in his chair while Noah walked his family through the house, which didn’t take very long. Finally, they all settled in the living room and visited for a while.

“You don’t have any dining room furniture,” Mrs. Walker said.

“No, Ma’am,” he said. “That room is reserved.”

“Excuse me?” she said.

“My great-grandmother has a piano she’s going to give me,” he said. “It’s a hundred-year-old Steinway concert grand, and the dining room is the only room in which it will fit.”