“Remember,” Hannah repeated, reaching out toward him and encountering nothing but empty air. And then her eyelids closed. And she slept a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

Someone with very rough lips was kissing her cheek. It was not completely unpleasant, but it was a bit disconcerting. Hannah opened her eyes to see Moishe staring down at her with his one good eye and purring.

“Good heavens!” she exclaimed, sitting up quickly. “What time is it?”

Of course Moishe did not answer, but one glance at her bedside alarm clock confirmed that she had, indeed, slept in. It was almost five in the morning and she normally got up at four-thirty. Hannah felt around for her slippers, located them under the side of the bed, and slipped them on her feet. Then she shrugged into her robe and sniffed the air.

“Coffee,” she told Moishe with a smile. “And . . . something with raspberries?”

“Rrrroww!” Moishe concurred.

“Let’s go see what it is.” Hannah hurried down the carpeted hallway with Moishe trailing a bit behind her, swatting at the ties of her robe hanging down either side because she hadn’t bothered to secure them around her waist.

“Great!” Michelle said as Hannah and Moishe entered the kitchen. “Now I won’t have to wake you.”

“Moishe took care of that. He licked my face to wake me up.”

“That’s probably because he was in a hurry for his breakfast. He knows I always give him something special when I stay with you.”

Michelle scooped kitty crunchies into Moishe’s bowl, followed by something from the frying pan.

“Shrimp?” Hannah guessed.

“No. I cut up a little piece of leftover chicken and warmed it on the stove.”

“No wonder he’s always so glad to see you!” Hannah exclaimed. And then she smiled. “Actually, both of us are. I smelled the coffee.”

Michelle gestured toward Hannah’s kitchen table and came over with the mug she’d just filled. “Here you go.”

Hannah took a big sip and gave a grateful sigh. “Thanks. I really needed this. You made something else too, and it smells delicious. Does it have raspberries?”

“Yes. I baked Red Raspberry Muffins. I wanted something with fruit, and you had some frozen raspberries. The muffins should be cool enough if you want to try one now.”

“Yes!” Hannah said emphatically. “You always make really good muffins, Michelle.”

“Thanks. This one’s an experiment. Let me know if you can think of any improvements.”

Hannah accepted a muffin from Michelle, peeled off the double cupcake papers, and took a bite without even bothering to break it apart and butter it.”

“Mmmmmmm!” she said, taking another bite just to be sure. “No improvements are necessary. These are perfect, just the way they are.”

The two sisters ate in silence for several minutes, and then Hannah got up to pour more coffee for both of them. When she came back, she was frowning slightly.