“After I had to move in with Grandmother Eileen, there wasn’t any magic involved anymore, that’s for sure. I learned quickly that the postman brought Christmas presents and not Santa Claus.”

Sherry gently touched her forearm. “And before that?”

“Before the death of my parents?”

Sherry nodded. “What about your mother? You’ve barely told me anything about her.”

Madison laid her arm on the backrest behind Sherry. It was a silent invitation for Sherry to snuggle up to her, and she immediately did so and leaned her head against Madison’s shoulder.

Their cuddling had become more frequent with every passing day, but Madison refused to think about what it meant.

Not even with Danielle had she talked about her mother. Sometimes she spoke about her father, but never about her mother. It had always felt as if she had to protect the memory of her, or that she would lose something precious if she talked about her.

But she wanted to tell Sherry about her mother. So what had changed? Before she could find an answer or talk herself out of it, she said, “Christmas was always a time just for the three of us. A time of”—Madison swallowed—“love.”

Sherry caressed her arm. “That sounds nice.” After some silence, she asked, “How about the rest of the year?”

“My mother brought me to bed every evening. She always made time for me, no matter how much she had to work.”

“What did she do for a living?”

“She was an architect.” Madison slid down some more and pulled Sherry with her. “She was working at an architect’s office that Fielding Inc. had retained for building a new branch.”

“And that’s when your parents fell in love?”

Madison had to smile when she recalled the story that Mildred, Grandmother Eileen’s cook, had told her once. “No, not right then. My mother couldn’t stand my father. She thought he was arrogant and smug.”

“Sounds familiar.” Sherry grinned at her.

“I’m pretty similar to my father, am I?”

For a while, Sherry was silent as if searching for the right words. “I don’t know. I never net him. But—” Sherry lowered her gaze.

“But what?” Madison took Sherry’s jaw between thumb and forefinger and softly nudged it to make eye contact. What did Sherry see when she looked at her? Madison let her hand fall away from Sherry’s chin.

“Maybe it wasn’t easy with you in the beginning. But I’ve told you before and I meant it: you’ve changed.” Sherry took Madison’s hand and caressed it with her thumb. After a while, she let go abruptly as if just now becoming aware of what she’d been doing. She looked out the window. “And how did they become a couple then? Your parents, I mean.”