Lila was in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal with sliced banana and reading the paper when Emily came down. Lila had on a dark blazer and skirt, her red hair de-spiked. A black coat was draped across the back of her chair, though Emily couldn’t imagine Lila needing it.

“Good morning, dear. There’s a pot of coffee,” Lila said. “Frank said to tell you he had to leave early.”

“Good morning,” Emily said, eyeing her mother. That outfit she had on looked all too familiar. “You look—”

“I know. Boring.”

“Stand up so I can see.”

Lila stood. Twirled. Then held a pose with her head to one side, chin up, as she tugged on the cuffs of the blazer. The sleeves were a tad too short. Despite that, Lila looked surprisingly chic, given that Emily’s skirt was also too short and that boxy blazer was at least ten years old. Emily’s silk scarf, which Lila had artfully draped around her neck, did wonders pulling the look together.

“I didn’t think you’d mind,” Lila said. “You were getting rid of them, weren’t you? I needed something that looked professional and conservative. And, yes, boring. What do you think?”

“I think you nailed it on all counts.” Emily poured herself a cup of coffee and added an inch of milk.

“We’re launching our first trial balloon,” Lila said. “I’m going to South Hadley with Ruth and Becca to return some books and lithographs to their District Collection. Folio prints from Gould’s hummingbirds. Not as valuable as any of Audubon’s birds, thank goodness. Any library would have noticed the instant an Audubon bird print disappeared. That’s how her husband was able to fly under the radar, lo these many years. He didn’t overreach.”

“It’s a long way to South Hadley.”

“Not too bad. Under two hours. We’ll be back early afternoon.” Lila sat down.

“Unless you get arrested.”

“And if that happens”—Lila spooned some cereal with a slice of banana, ate it, and shook the empty spoon in Emily’s direction—“I’ll be counting on you to bail us out.”

“You don’t seem overly concerned.” Emily sipped her coffee.