“It should work, Mike,” Hannah said, although, if she were a betting person, she’d lay odds on her cat. Moishe had been a found cat, abandoned on the winter streets of Lake Eden. There might not be food tomorrow, so if there was food today, you’d better eat it all. Immediately. If there were a way to empty both the bowl and the feeder tube, Moishe would do it.

“So do you want to go out to dinner tonight? I’m off at five. We could go eat something that’s on your diet. Whatever that is.” Mike was silent for a moment. “What’s on your diet?”

“A six-ounce portion of fish or lean meat, a small garden salad with two tablespoons of dressing, and a smidgeon of carbohydrate that translates to half a dinner roll without butter, a minuscule baked potato with nothing but salt, or one four-inch celery stick dipped in a teaspoon of mustard.”

“What was that last thing?” Mike asked in disbelief.

“One four-inch celery stick dipped in mustard, but I was just kidding.” Hannah shook her head in disgust. “It’s really hard to go out to dinner when I’m trying to get in shape for Mother’s launch party. Why don’t you come over at six, and I’ll cook something that both of us can eat.”

“That sounds great,” he said with a smile, but then his smile faded. “Will dinner have calories?”

“Yours will, mine won’t.”

Mike took a moment to digest that before answering. “Okay then. See you at six at your condo.”

Hannah was sadly out of breath by the time she arrived at the Lake Eden Community Center. She’d obeyed her fitness guru’s maxim and walked instead of driving her cookie truck. She pushed open the outer door, crossed the small enclosure that accommodated double doors and kept the temperature of the lobby constant in both summer and winter, and entered the lobby. As she walked down the hallway toward Janice’s classroom, she caught sight of herself in one of the mirrors that dotted the walls. Her cheeks were rosy red, but that wasn’t from exertion. A cold north wind was blowing. It had picked up snowflakes from the light, loosely packed blanket that had fallen during the morning and showered them against her face. That really hadn’t bothered Hannah at all. It was quite refreshing. But during the last five minutes of her walk, the wind had picked up in velocity to bombard her with what had felt like icy needles.

“Hi, Hannah.” Janice Cox stepped out into the hall as Hannah approached. “Does that box contain what I think it does?”

“Of course it does. I couldn’t come into a classroom of kids without cookies, could I?”

“No, I don’t think you could. But you didn’t come over just to bring us cookies. What’s up?”