I introduced myself, and Mrs. English nodded pleasantly. “My daughter-in-law said she met you this morning.” The mystery of the identical names was solved.

“Noelle seemed...” I couldn’t think of the right word.

“Involved,” she supplied. “Yes, she’s such a bright little girl, and her artwork is unusually advanced. Plus she’s so much fun to talk to, I sometimes forget the other children need attention, too. I have no doubt that tomorrow she’ll sit at her table and tell a story with drawings. And it will be wonderful.”

“I don’t know this little girl. She’s nothing like this at home.”

“Have you spent much time with her?”

I had to say no.

“Well, you’ll get to know her now, as well as her sister. My daughter-in-law tells me Holly is smart as a whip, too.” Her smile faltered, as if she was trying to think of a way to broach the bad news I’d already heard.

“But tired too often,” I supplied. “There’s been a lot going on in their lives, but I’ll be sure they get to bed early.”

“Good, because Noelle seems tired in the mornings, too.”

“I guess I have a lot to learn about children.”

She clapped a hand on my arm. “I wouldn’t worry. They’ll make sure you learn whatever you need to. You can always count on that.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

At the grocery store I’d stocked up on after-school snacks my nieces might like. String cheese. Whole grain crackers. Fruit. Yogurt.

Now, with their backpacks stowed and hands washed, I set an assortment on the counter. “I bet you’re hungry.” I got apple juice out of the refrigerator, and when I turned around to show them, they were gone. The snacks lay exactly where I’d left them.

I found both girls in front of the television set in the great room, watching something that passed for a cartoon, but only because it was animated. This definitely wasn’t Looney Tunes. The little debutantes, in sherbet colored party dresses, were prancing back and forth reciting insipid moral lectures. Was I lucky my nieces hardly spoke? Would I be forced to listen to constant discourse on the importance of being a good friend, or not copying homework if they did?

I stood in front of the screen and waved my hands. “Nobody’s hungry?”

Holly was galvanized enough to speak. “We always watch this show.”

“Not today.” I flipped off the set and folded my arms. “Come in the kitchen and tell me about school. There’s apple juice if you’re thirsty.”

I went in the kitchen and poured juice, whether they wanted it or not.

When I turned around they were in the doorway, staring at me as if I were a chimpanzee at the zoo. “Mommy lets us watch TV,” Noelle said.

Since Wendy wasn’t there to defend herself, I held out the juice. “What else do you do when you come home?”

They took the glasses, but not with enthusiasm.

When they didn’t answer, I supplied possibilities. “Stand on your heads? Cut the grass? Make long-distance phone calls to Australia?”