The hallway sported a wooden staircase that Hannah knew led up to nowhere, and two doors that were placed opposite each other. Hannah chose the one on the left, opened it, and stepped inside. It was a fairly small room and the first detail that caught her eye made her smile.

“What’s got you so amused?” Ross asked.

“The black panther light on top of the television set. My Grandma Ingrid had one just like it.”

“Maybe it is your Grandma Ingrid’s.”

“That’s not impossible. Mother’s got a lot of her things in storage.”

“She’s got a green lava lamp, too.” Ross pointed to the end table where a lava lamp expurgated its bulbous bubbles.

“The only thing that’s missing is a

granny afghan!” Hannah burst into delighted laughter as she saw the crocheted wonder draped over the back of the green tweed couch. It was a granny afghan extraordinaire, done in shades of green and blue, surrounded by black borders.

“Perfect,” Ross said, gesturing toward the couch that was positioned strategically in front of the television set. “There’s room here for three to watch television.”

“Two. Nobody likes to sit in the middle of a couch. There’s nowhere to rest your elbows.”

“Lime green shag carpeting!” Ross exclaimed with a grin. “Your mother and Carrie did a really good job re-creating the nineteen-fifties. They must have done a lot of research.”

Not necessarily, Hannah thought, but she didn’t say it. If her mother wanted everyone to think she didn’t remember the fifties, Hannah wasn’t about to call her bluff.

“This is nice and homey.” Ross looked around at the ivory wallpaper with little green ivy vines marching down in stripes. “There’s even an overstuffed armchair with a pole lamp for reading. If we take out the glass in the window, we can shoot that scene with Tracey reading to Moishe in here.”

“It all looks good to me. Let’s go see how they decorated the formal living room, since you’ll be using it for the cocktail party.”

Hannah headed for the set of French doors that separated the small informal family room from the formal living room. The moment she stepped inside the larger space, Hannah knew her mother and Carrie had produced something that was about as close to perfection as anyone could come.

“Gorgeous,” Ross pronounced, echoing her emotion.

“Yes,” Hannah said, walking around the room in awe. Her mother and Carrie had perfectly re-created the elegant look that had been so popular in expensive homes at the time. The living room floor had a wine red carpet surrounded by a parquet wood border. The drapes were heavy wine-red silk and the walls were covered with ivory flocked wallpaper. There were gilt-edged mirrors in strategic places and several large landscapes in ornate frames.