Abigail shook her head and made her way to the kitchen—the new kitchen, is how she thought of it, even though the remodel had been during the first term of the second Bush administration. “You came in through the back door!”

“Since when are we allowed to come in through the front door?”

“Guests are allowed in through the front door,” Abigail said, nodding at Penny, who was even more striking than she remembered with her dark hair, olive complexion, and bright eyes. Abigail expected all California girls to be blond and bikini’d. But Penny was wrapped in layers of sophistication, with her floral maxi dress, espadrilles with ankle ties, and the silk scarf in her hair. She didn’t look like the preppy girls from Fair Harbor whom Chase had dated in high school. Nothing like them at all, which Abigail took personally.

“Good to see you again, Penny,” Abigail said, extending a hand. She’d only met the girl a few times; it didn’t seem like a hug-and-kiss situation.

Penny swapped a bag of bagels into her other hand to shake properly. “Thank you for having us.”

Thank you for having us? This is Chase’s house. He’s not the guest, you are, Abigail thought. “You brought my favorite bagels. I look forward to breakfast tomorrow. Though I limit myself to only half a bagel at a time.”

Chase came in for a proper hug and said to his mother, “One day you should really go for it, Mom. Cut loose and have a whole bagel.”

“Your mother looks amazing, Chase. She should keep doing what she’s doing. No carb shaming! Right, Mrs. Blakeman?” You can take the girl out of California, but you can’t take the California out of the girl.

“Thank you,” Abigail said, thinking about whether now was a good time to invite Penny to call her by her first name and then deciding against it. She wanted to remain Mrs. Blakeman until she knew exactly where this relationship was going. “Why don’t we go out on the porch? There are drinks and brownies out there.”

“We just finished lunch,” Chase said. “We grabbed some food at Nutmeg’s and then ate it at the park. I don’t think we’re hungry, are we?”

“We can take a brownie for the train ride back,” Penny suggested.

Abigail tried hard not show her disappointment. They ate in the public park instead of accepting her lunch invitation, albeit a tepid one? And now they were going to take her Mother’s Day brownies to eat on Metro North? Who ate on Metro North? Again, Abigail dug deep. “Wonderful plan.”

*  *  *