But Grace needed breakfast and her medication. If she waited too long in the morning, her blood sugar dropped, which resulted in a weak, slightly nauseous feeling. Gone were the days of well-sugared morning tea and coffee cake. Instead, she topped a thin wheat cracker with two slices of Swiss cheese and poured a small glass of skim milk. She carried the cracker and milk into the downstairs guest bedroom, settled into the glider rocker, and flipped on television to the house and garden channel. Whenever she was alone and the room not occupied by a guest, she breakfasted in this lovely room with its large windows and view of the shady hillside behind the house. Somehow it helped compensate for the less than satisfying change in her diet.

The room faced north, which was good, for glare bothered her eyes. It always had, even in childhood, when she’d started to wear glasses. Grace had recently visited an ophthalmologist, who checked her yearly for retinopathy, another possible serious side effect of diabetes. To her great relief, he had assured her that her eyes were fine. No change in her prescription, but he had suggested darker lenses, which she had gotten.

Whatever’s keeping Amelia over there? she wondered. And why is Amelia intruding on Hannah and Max’s Saturday? Then Grace’s attention went to Design on a Dime, a makeover show that never ceased to amaze her—what could be done with so little money—and she did not hear Amelia until her friend entered the room.

“Grace. Didn’t you hear me call you?”

“No. I didn’t. Look at that room.” Grace pointed at the television. “They’re showing the before-and-after pictures. Marvelous what they’ve done, don’t you think?”

“Oh, shut that off. I have really big news for you. Guess who’s come home?”

Grace clicked off the set. “Who has come home?”

Amelia’s carefully plucked eyebrows arched. “Zachary and his very, very pregnant wife, Sarina, that’s who. They arrived about an hour ago. I was sitting out on the porch having a cup of tea, just enjoying this glorious spring day. They came by taxi with lots of luggage. But until we went over there, I hadn’t a clue who they were.”

“Didn’t Zachary declare Covington anathema?”

“Sure he did, until the Muslims and Hindus over in India started shooting at each other and burning homes.”

Grace’s hands covered her mouth and her gasp, then fell to her lap. “That happened in India, where they were living?”

Amelia nodded. Her face was flushed, and she literally quivered with excitement. Rarely did she have the opportunity to be in the know and to break exciting news to her housemates. She told Zachary’s story to a wide-eyed Grace.

“I can hardly believe this.”

“Every word of it’s true,” Amelia said, thinking that if Hannah had imparted this information, Grace would have believed her right off the bat.