"Shock isn't great for conversational skills," she agrees quietly while slathering butter on a piece of cornbread. She's got a whole skillet of it, and motions that Amelia can have a piece of she'd like.

"I know I have a tendency to hide from things, so I asked people to come around and make sure I didn't turn into a shut-in again." She thinks she's due a little credit for the plan, but her friends get the lion's share for putting up with her. "We need to talk about what happened. I can handle being yelled at, but I don't appreciate the violence."