Alex had arrived at the jewelry store a little ahead of his grandmother, so he could look around some on his own first. He wanted to get a special gift for his girlfriend, Amy, but he wasn’t sure what to get. That was where his grandmother came in. It had taken a lot for Amy to leave her family and her job in Boston, to come here to Baton Rouge, just to be near him. Alex wanted her to know how much he appreciated it; hence the gift. Just then, Alex heard the distinctive, commanding yet charming voice of his grandmother, Olivia Redwine Gentry. “There you are, Alex! “, she said, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for coming, grandmother. I really need your help. I want to get something for Amy, but I’m not sure what.” “Well now don’t you worry, Alex, we’ll find something that I know she’ll just love.”, Olivia assured him. “Let’s see……what about a strand of pearls? All Southern ladies wear pearls.” Alex withered inside. The conversation he had been dreading with his family was finally happening. “Well, that’s just it, Grandmother. Amy isn’t Southern. She recently moved here from Boston.” “Boston?!”, Olivia echoed after him, in a shocked voice. “Alex, that means that she’s a Yankee!!!”, she finished, stunned. “Yes, I know……but she’s a wonderful girl, grandmother. She moved away from her family and quit her job, just to be closer to me. “, Alex told her. “Of course she’d move South……after all, what Southerner would move North?”, Olivia sniffed. But she quickly regained her composure. “Well, this changes things. Now it won’t matter nearly as much what we pick out. A Yankee will like anything.” Alex rolled his eyes. But he followed his grandmother as she walked around the store, looking in the jewelry cases. Between the two of them, they finally selected a beautiful solitary aquamarine stone that was the color of the sea, suspended on a delicate gossamer chain of gold. Alex had it gift-wrapped. Once they were finished, Alex led his grandmother across the street to Street Southern, a new restaurant which had recently opened. They were meeting Amy there for lunch. Amy wasn’t there yet, but Alex went ahead and got a table for them, and ordered sweet iced tea with a slice of lemon for all three of them. Just then, Amy walked in. Alex’s girlfriend had beautiful auburn hair that hung in waves, framing her face. Her eyes were those of a cat: stunning emerald green. “Hello, Amy.”, Alex said, and kissed her cheek. “This is my grandmother, Olivia Redwine Gentry.” “Hello, Mrs. Gentry. I am very happy to meet you. Alex has told me a lot about you.”, Amy said, as she took a seat next to Alex at the table. “Yes, my dear…..Amy…..it is lovely to meet you as well.”, Olivia replied. Amy smiled, as the waitress brought three glasses of sweet iced tea, each with a thick slice of lemon, to their table. She squeezed her lemon into her tea, then sipped it appreciatively. “You know, one of the best things about the South is sweet iced tea. Up North, we aren’t served very much ice in anything. I didn’t know what I was missing!” “If you make it yourself at home, be sure to use Luzianne iced tea bags, and Dixie Crystals sugar, my dear. Southern ingredients make the best sweet tea.”, Olivia offered. Alex knew they were going to be alright…… Alex ordered fried green tomatoes as an appetizer for them to share, and they all had fried chicken for their entrée, served with mashed potatoes and green peas. For dessert, it was Georgia pecan pie. When they finished eating, Alex put his hand inside his jacket to get the box with the aquamarine necklace in it, when Olivia stopped him. “We need to make an exchange first, Alex. We need to get this girl a strand of pearls! She may not have been born in the South, but she is most definitely Southern by choice!”, she told him. Then the three of them headed back to the jewelry store to check out the pearls that they had in stock…….. Once they had selected the perfect, creamy strand, Alex fastened them around Amy’s neck, then kissed her cheek, as he whispered teasingly in her ear, “You aced the most important test, Sweet Girl. Not all girls can impress Olivia Redwine Gentry.” “Especially not Yankee girls, huh?”, Amy whispered back.
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