“No, just a muffin. That’s what I always have.”

“Marmalade?” Lucy asked hopefully.

“That would be nice.” The older woman took a sip of coffee. “Lucy, last night I was thinking that I really ought to send some Christmas cards. I wasn’t going to, but now I’ve changed my mind.”

Lucy almost dropped the knife she was poking into the marmalade jar. “I think you should. I’m sure you can find some conservative ones.”

“I thought I’d look in that gift shop in town and see what they have.”

Lucy’s heart sank. She wanted to encourage her mother to keep in touch with her friends, but with Sara still sick and a long list of things to do, she felt frantic at the prospect of another trip to town.

“Mom, I’d love to help, but I just can’t drive you today.”

“I could drive myself. I have a license.”

This was news to Lucy. “You do? Dad always drove.”

“He did, but I never let my license expire. I’ve been out a few times and I’ve done quite well.”

“In the city?” Lucy was incredulous.

“Only around the neighborhood, but I’m sure I could manage these roads. There isn’t much traffic.”

“Okay,” Lucy agreed. She certainly wasn’t going to discourage her. In fact, new possibilities were opening before her. “Would you mind picking up a few things for me?”

Lucy watched as her mother drove the Subaru very cautiously down the long driveway. As she turned out onto the road a large egg truck swerved to avoid her, narrowly missing a collision, but she continued on her way. Lucy wasn’t sure if her mother had noticed or not. She sighed. There was nothing she could do now except send up a quick prayer and keep her fingers crossed. She poured herself a second cup of coffee and sat down with the morning paper. She wanted to find a kitten for the kids to replace poor Patches, so she turned to the classifieds.

The first ad she saw read “Kute, Kuddly, Kristmas Kittens.” Lucy chuckled and dialed the number, but the woman who answered told her that the kittens were all gone. She hung up and turned back to the paper to check the next ad. “Free to a good home,” it read. “Pretty Calico Kittens.”

“I’m calling about the kittens,” began Lucy when the woman answered.

“We do have some kittens,” the voice admitted cautiously. “But we want to make sure they’ll be well taken care of.”

“We’ve had lots of cats. We’re very experienced cat owners, and I can promise we’ll take good care of the kitten,” Lucy promised.

“How many cats do you have?” inquired the voice.