“Hi, Stewart,” I said brightly. “Lily, is Diesel still here with you?” Diesel answered that question himself by warbling loudly as he walked around the table to greet me.

“Evening, Charlie,” Stewart said with an odd expression. Was he wondering whether I had overheard his conversation with Lily? “How are you?”

“Fine,” I said. “Are you going to be in for dinner?”

“Now that I know Lily cooked the dinner, I am,” Stewart said. “Lily is a fabulous cook, even better than Azalea. But don’t either of you dare tell Azalea that or she’ll never let me touch her food again.” He wagged a finger at Lily and me in turn.

Lily laughed. “No way I’m go’n’ tell ’Zalea that, Mr.Stewart. She like to think she the best at everything, and I ain’t about to argue with her.”

“Good,” Stewart said. “Now, if y’all will excuse me, I’m going to run upstairs and get Dante and take him for his walk.”

As he left the kitchen I turned to Lily and said, “I hope Diesel hasn’t pestered you. He always acts like he’s on the point of starvation and likes to beg food.”

“No, he been real good,” Lily said, her attention once again focused on the stove. “Friendly, but he ain’t been begging.”

“That’s good,” I said, “because there are some things that are bad for cats.”

“I know they ain’t supposed to have chocolate, but what else can’t they have?”

I gave her the quick list: raisins, grapes, onions, cheese, milk, green tomatoes, and raw potatoes.

“I be sure and remember all that,” Lily said. “Don’t want to go making no cat sick.”

“Thank you,” I said, “and Diesel thanks you, too.” Diesel meowed right on cue, and Lily laughed.

My cell phone rang, and I excused myself and walked into the hall to answer it. Kanesha was calling, strain evident in her voice when she spoke.

“I’m at the hospital with Mama, and she’s asking for you. Can you come?”

THIRTY-TWO

“What happened?” I asked, so startled I almost dropped the phone.

“They think she had a mild heart attack,” Kanesha said. “She’s going to be okay, but she wants to talk to you.”

“Of course. I’m on my way.” I ended the call, then speed-dialed Stewart. He answered right away. I asked him to come downstairs immediately.

I turned to Lily to tell her about her sister. “Would you like to come to the hospital with me?”

She nodded, her lips already working on a silent prayer, and went to fetch her coat.

When Stewart ran into the kitchen I told him quickly what had happened. He said he would keep an eye on the stove and on Diesel.

Lily and I made it to the hospital in about ten minutes. I’m sure Lily prayed the entire way, and I silently added my prayers to hers. Kanesha said it was a mild heart attack, but that didn’t make it less worrisome.

Dr. Sharp stood waiting at the emergency room reception desk when we arrived, and he escorted us to the small room where Azalea lay in bed. She had various monitors hooked up to her, and Kanesha sat in a chair near the bed, her whole body taut with tension. Azalea appeared to be asleep, but her eyes popped open as we approached her.