Victoria Benton Frank

“If you were to cut me open, you’d find the water of the Atlantic instead of blood, driftwood instead of bones, and seashells in place of everything else.”
― Victoria Benton Frank, My Magnolia Summer

“In the back of my closet, I saw a pink wrap dress that was hopelessly Southern. Pale pink, with little flutter sleeves all in a Swiss-dot fabric that you could see through if you held it up to the light. I would need nude undergarments, which I was sure I had. My mom always told me never to wear wild undies, you never knew who'd see them! What if I got in a car wreck?
I pulled my hair up and allowed a few red curls to fall out of a messy bun at the nape of my neck. I slipped the dress on and gave my lips a quick swipe of gloss. I chose small gold hoop earrings that had belonged to Gran at one time and stepped into a pair of gold flip-flops. I looked at myself in the mirror and reminded myself I was going to a farm.
Jim walked in. "Ready for the big... Oh, my God, Magnolia!"
"What? Too much?" I said, grimacing.
"Good God, no! You look absolutely perfect! You look like a mouthwatering pink confection! A true Southern Magnolia!”
― Victoria Benton Frank, My Magnolia Summer