Andee said, “Wasn’t that Maria Colbrook?” She watched the diminutive woman’s awkward gait as she marched off through the rain, trying to remember the last time she’d seen her, and decided it must have been years rather than months ago.

“No idea,” Leanne replied. “I’ve never seen her before, but it’s looking like she’s just lost her job.” She checked her phone as a text arrived. “Great, it’s from Abby with Jasmine’s mother’s number. I’ll forward it to you.” After doing so, she said, “They’re a sweet family, grandmother, mother, and daughter, much like we were at Ash Morley before Tom changed our dynamic. To fill you in a bit, they haven’t been in the area for long, only a few months, and according to Jasmine her mother hasn’t made many friends yet.”

Picking up on that, Andee said, “So we need to come to the rescue?”

“Maybe, if she wants it. Although she almost never comes in when she drops Jasmine at ours, so it could be she’d rather keep herself to herself.”

“What about the grandmother?”

“A different story. My mother’s got to know her a little through the community center, and apparently she’s just become a trustee of the theater. And wait for this, she’s offered to sponsor a concert next spring.”

Andee was impressed. “That’s very generous of her.”

“Isn’t it, but I suspect she’s doing it mainly so Jasmine can show off what a brilliant violinist she is. She’s incredibly talented, can play just about anything you throw at her, and not just classical. Abby, who has no such skills, is planning to be her manager or producer, maybe agent, I forget which.” With a maternal sigh, she added, “Actually, it’s wonderful to see the two of them together. Abby was quite lost after her best friend Tanya moved away, but she and Jasmine have been inseparable over the school holidays.”

Andee said, “Aha, here comes our soup. I don’t remember ordering it, do you?”

“You didn’t,” Fliss informed her. “This is just to keep you going while we sort things out in the kitchen. It’s on the house.”

As she set the bowls down, Andee said, “Was that Maria Colbrook who stormed out just now?”