Hot on the Coateses’ heels were a handful of other neighbors, most of whom had bucked Mary’s rules and indeed brought food and drinks of their own. Next up the stairs echoed a loud-shoed clomp that Mary would recognize pretty much anywhere. She waited for him in her open doorway, her hands on her hips and a huge smile on her face.

“My man,” she said as soon as Matty Dorner made it to the top of her staircase, a mutinously grouchy look on his blunt face. Mary knew that Sebastian and Matty were practically carbon copies of one another, everyone said so, but Mary couldn’t help but see Cora when she looked at Matty. Sebastian’s face, though just as blunt, was always open and generous, his personality showing through. Matty’s eight-year-old face was usually set in stubborn or humorous lines, just like his mother’s always had been.

In the way of young children who teetered on the cusp between two phases of life, Matty high-fived Mary like a teenager might and then leaned his cheek against her hip, looping an arm around her leg like he used to as a toddler. “They didn’t let me eat anything on the drive over here.”

Mary laughed at the look of affronted injustice on the kid’s face.

“Matty,” a firm voice said from the top of the stairs. “Just because we didn’t let you pick at the chips and dips we brought doesn’t mean we were starving you.” And there Via was, holding a tray of food that Mary should have known she’d bring and giving Matty a stern eye that told him to behave himself at the party.

Via was nothing like Cora in most ways, forgiving where Cora had been unrepentant, thoughtful where Cora had been brash, observant where Cora had been the center of attention. But when it came to handling Matty with a firm hand, Via actually really reminded Mary of how Cora had been. Loving and stern and confident with the kid who’d take a mile every single time an inch was up for grabs.

“Is there snacks inside?” Matty asked, looking up at Mary.

Sebastian sighed as he too came up the stairs, still standing two steps down but drawing level with Via all the same, such was their height difference. “Tell me he at least said hi to you, Mary.”

“He was a perfect gentleman,” Mary lied, winking at Matty as she swatted him on the butt and pushed him inside. “Shoes off and then there are snacks in the kitchen. But put them on a plate. Don’t just eat out of the bowls.”

She kissed Via on the cheek and then Sebastian. “So glad you’re here!”

“Us too, Mare. And I’m so freaking glad this party is inside. It’s brutal out there.” Sebastian had the beads of sweat on his forehead to prove it. “I’m melting.”