Cosima snorted. “I’m not trying to find anything other than as many crab cakes as I can stomach and several glasses of Prosecco.”

“You are fine, though, right?” Audrey asked after a while, bringing the conversation back to where it started. “You’re sure you want to spend Christmas alone?”

“I’m sure,” Cosima soothed. “I’ll let you know if I suddenly have any regrets. You and everybody else.”

“You better,” Audrey said. “Okay, I’ll call your mother and let her know I’ve assessed the situation, and she can get on that flight tonight.”

Cosima rolled her eyes. Her mother was the most stubborn woman in the world. Audrey shushed her when she expressed her frustration, letting her know that she was just as stubborn as her mother…if not more.

Cosima considered whether she should call Dorothy to try to reassure her once more that she was going to be perfectly fine but decided against it, realizing it was better to let her think her undercover mission went smoothly.

She was ravenous by the time she finally arrived at the small family-owned restaurant she frequented as often as she could. She was happy she made it before the evening hustle and bustle truly began, managing to snag her favorite table next to a window overlooking the street where she could people-watch while she enjoyed her meal. She pulled out her e-reader and got settled into a book she’d been dying to read but had to put off while she finished her last editing gig. She was so engrossed in the love story unfolding on her screen that she barely noticed that the restaurant had started filling up. It wasn’t until her server, a young woman called Jules who she had a decent relationship with, came to her gently tapping the table to get her attention.

“Crap, I startled you,” Jules said with a small smile. “That book must be really good.”

Cosima smiled. “They always are. What’s up?”

“I need a favor,” Jules said, turning so she could point across the restaurant to a family of four standing in the space next to the door where people usually congregated while they waited to be seated during peak times.