Chapter 16

“I was twenty years old when the movie came out.”

I stared at her.

“No way,” Goose said.

“Mae Whittenburg. I turn one hundred in September.”

“Wow.” I shook her hand when offered. What else could I say?

“My sisters and brothers and I saw it in a theater in Pennsylvania. It’s still one of my favorites. I heard the music. The door was open. I had to come in.”

“Do you live around here, now?” I asked Mae.

“No. Maine, officially. I live in a Winnebago most days, though. When I turned fifty, I decided I wanted to see every state. I’m on my third time across the country, now. I drive around performing gay weddings. MaeIMarryYou.com. I spell the may M-a-e. Get it?”

“I do.”

Goose and I smiled whenever one of us said those two words. This time, Mae, who didn’t appear to be a day over fifty, was in on the joke and joined us.

“I headed down this way looking for tag sales,” she continued. “Came across the voices, instead.”