“Not at all, dear. Take some coffee and toast with you, or Anthony can bring it in. You need something in your stomach.”

“Not this morning, I don’t. This tomato juice with a splash of Tabasco is about all I can handle. I’ll see you before I leave. Do you have plans today?”

“A little of this and a little of that,” Lola said vaguely as she looked everywhere but at her granddaughter.

“I’ll see you in a bit then.”

Cady ran down the hall to the study, where she motioned Atlas to sit and stay. She made no sound in her bare feet as she backtracked to the kitchen, where she stood and listened unashamedly. The voices were slightly muffled, but she could still follow the conversation.

“We need to discourage her from going to Vermont,” Lola said. “Just toast for me, Anthony. Those pancakes are too rich this early in the morning. Like Cady says, we all need to get on the same page. Her father might…he’s such a hateful man even if he is my son. He might blurt out something. It will be so devastating to that child. If she gets her full memory back, then it will be time to go to Vermont.”

“You should have told her when she first came here, Lola,” Mandy said.

“It’s not my place, Mandy. Look how far she’s come. She could go back into that safe little shell she lived in for so long. She’s part of the real world now, her own person. She’s beautiful, she’s confident, she’s articulate, not to mention independent. It’s the self-confidence that’s really important. She isn’t afraid anymore. She has Atlas, and she has us. There’s time. What do you think, Anthony?”

“I’m thinking my tongue was hanging out for those pancakes. As for Cady, one step at a time. This is not the time to push her to the edge even though I think she could handle it. Does that answer your question? Are you sure you don’t want the pancakes?”

“All right, all right, make the damn pancakes,” Lola snapped. “I only want one. They sit in your stomach like rocks. An omelet would be nice.”

“All right, all right,” Anthony snapped back, mimicking Lola. “You get the omelet, and Mandy and I get the pancakes.”

“Mandy, did you tell Anthony about our phone call from Mr. Denville?”

“Good Lord, no. I was just about to tell him when Cady came running out of the bathroom.” She focused her gaze on Anthony, and said, “That reporter is on his way to Vermont to see Cady’s parents. He said in order to get everything straight, he had to start at the beginning. Agnes and Asa are the beginning. Now, make whatever you want out of that.”

“Why don’t we just have toast and jam this morning,” Anthony said, suddenly sounding dejected as he sat back down at the table. “Is this going where I think it’s going?”

“That would be my guess,” Lola said.