“Absolutely,” Hannah said. She would have been amused at the way her oldest niece had picked up on one of her favorite culinary remedies, but this situation sounded serious.

“Do it, Mom.” Tracey nudged her mother. “And then tell Aunt Hannah.”

“Tell me what?” Hannah prompted, once Andrea had taken a big sip of her coffee to chase down a bite of a Lisa’s great-grandmother’s-by-marriage creation.

“Bill’s leaving us!”

“What?”

“What part of leaving us don’t you understand?” Andrea retorted. And then she promptly burst into tears. It was obvious that it wasn’t for the first time that morning, because her eyelids were swollen and the tissue she pulled from her pocket was damp and bedraggled.

Hannah turned to Tracey who, at almost six years of age, seemed to be the most rational person in the small family group. “What’s going on, Tracey?”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds.” Tracey snagged a cookie from the plate and took a quick bite. “Daddy’s going to a conference in Miami, and Mommy’s all upset because she can’t go. It’s not like they’re getting a divorce, or anything like that.”

“Well, that’s a relief!” Lisa said, giving Tracey a little hug as she passed out napkins and placed a box of tissues in front of Andrea. “What kind of conference is it?”

“It’s about fitness in law enforcement,” Andrea answered the question. She still sounded stressed, but at least she’d stopped crying. “The only problem is, she’s going too!”

“She who?” Hannah asked. She was almost certain there was a better and clearer way to ask the question, but she didn’t want to bother with that now.

“They’ll pay for her, but they won’t pay for me!”

“Her who?” Hannah asked again, changing the pronoun, but not the intent.

Andrea turned to look at her oldest daughter. “Tracey? Why don’t you go

”

“Away,” Tracey interrupted, picking up the glass of orange juice Lisa had poured for her and using a napkin to grab two more cookies. “I’ll just go have my breakfast in the coffee shop so you can tell Aunt Lisa and Aunt Hannah what I’m too young to hear. I can always ask Bethany what you said later.”

Hannah burst out laughing and so did Lisa. A moment later, even Andrea ventured a small laugh.

“That’s better,” Tracey said, looking proud. “I’ve been trying to get you to laugh ever since Daddy told you he was going.”

Once the swinging door had closed behind Tracey, both Hannah and Lisa spoke up. “Who?” they both asked, within seconds of each other.

Andrea stared at them for a moment and then she gave a giggle that sounded more than a little hysterical to Hannah. “You two sound like a flock of owls.”