A perfect morning like this, she and Fred would have done this same thing. But while he was doing chores, she would fix them some breakfast and they’d eat out here at the table with the umbrella up. It was bungeed closed. Amalia sat out here and must have closed up the umbrella. Fred had brought it out from the storage in the garage and inserted it in the hole. Usually she would have washed it first. Whatever good that usually did.

She could hear her cell phone ringing in the bedroom. Get up? No. Ignore for now. She could always call back. It quieted. But after a brief pause, long enough to leave a message, it rang again and repeated the process. “All right, all right, I’m coming.”

“Grandma!” Addy came barreling up the stairs. “Grandma!”

“I am right here. What’s the matter?”

“Dad called me. He said he called and called and you didn’t answer. I have to call him back if you’re all right.”

“Yes, I’m fine. My phone is in the bedroom and I was out on the deck and too lazy to get up to answer.”

Addy punched a number and held the phone to her ear. “Easy, Dad, she’s fine, she’s right here.” She inhaled deeply to catch her breath again, and handed the phone to her grandmother. “You talk to him.”

“Sam, Sam, I’m all right. I was out on the deck and left my phone in the bedroom. I just figured I’d call back.”

“For crying out loud, Mom, after all we’ve been through, how could I not hit the panic button? You promised to keep your phone with you all the time. And you are supposed to call when you get up.”

“Did I agree to that?” Ginny tried to think when she would have said she’d call.

“Amalia has been doing so, but since she’s not there, I guess I assumed you would do the same. And Addy…”

“Was still sound asleep.” She glanced at the clock as Addy went back inside, disappearing downstairs. “After all, it’s barely eight o’clock. Give us a break.” She heard him suck in a deep breath. “If she hadn’t answered when she did, I was heading for the truck. If you had one of the alarm buttons you wear around your neck, I’d have known if you were in trouble.”

She started to tell him all she’d already done but none of it sounded significant enough. After all, the chores were part of the ordinary. Well, not anymore. Fred did all those things before…Would her life always be defined that way? BFD. Before Fred died. And AFD.

“I do not want one of those alarms.”

“Yeah, well, Dad refused to have one too. He and I talked about it, or rather I talked about it and he shook his head.” The silence screamed at her.

“Look, can we talk about this later? I would like to go get dressed and—”

“If Addy just got up…I’ll be right over to do the chores. Or put her back on; she can go do the chores.”