Sometime after midnight, with her mind still reeling with questions, Joanna crept to the kitchen to fix herself a cup of tea. Grabbing some paper, she sat at the table believing if she could write down the answers to her questions, she would finally get some rest. Looking at the blank page, she realized she had only three questions. What could she lose? What could she gain, and would this give her father a better quality of life? Joanna’s decision was made before a single word was written.

***

Joanna Sheppard hadn’t missed a day of work in nearly twelve years. Colds and the flu had never stopped her, and a root canal had only prevented her from arriving on time. A sprained ankle slowed her down a bit, and two broken fingers taught her to write with her left hand, but she had never missed an entire day...until now.

Sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bed Tuesday morning, she stared at a photograph of her and her father taken before the first stroke took his balance, the next left him weak on the right side, and the last damaged his memory. A few months after the photograph was snapped, they had sat at their kitchen table discussing which courses she wanted to take when she went off to college, and the next day, she sat alone in a hospital praying that he’d be okay. It didn’t matter her plans had changed. It didn’t matter that she wouldn’t continue her education, or visit far and exotic places during spring and winter breaks. The only thing that mattered was she loved him. He had always provided for her, and now she would provide for him. The sound of the doorbell jarred Joanna from her thoughts, and taking a deep breath, she went downstairs.

Grateful for the small overhang keeping her out of the morning drizzle, Francesca Neary stood in front of the bright blue door, trying to decide if it was too soon to ring the bell again. After spending most of Monday morning interrogating Millie, extracting every bit of information the woman knew about Joanna Sheppard, Fran got to work. Deciding until she had all the facts, getting Addison involved would only start another argument, Fran spent the rest of Monday calling in some favors. She found out Joanna Sheppard had never been married, had no criminal record, and had turned twenty-eight earlier that month. After the responses Fran had received from the Internet dating sites, Joanna Sheppard instantly moved to the top of Fran’s very short list of candidates. As far as Fran was concerned, there was only one thing left to know. Could this woman look the part of Addison Kane’s wife? That answer came as soon as the blue door swung open.