“We also took her to the old Hayden Planetarium,” Sammy said.

“Sounds like a busy day,” Decker said.

“Yeah, my feet are tired,” Sammy complained. “Can we sit down?”

“Let’s give Eema a few more minutes, okay?” Decker suggested.

The kids weren’t happy with the suggestion, but, for a change, no one argued. The boys were dressed similarly—dark sweaters and jeans. Jacob had on a thick denim jacket; Sammy wore a nappy, flannel plaid shirt that subbed as an overcoat.

“How’s it going?” Sammy asked his father.

“Well, this is certainly the highlight of the trip,” Decker said.

“That good, huh?”

“It’s good to see you guys.”

“There’s Eema,” Jacob announced. “At least, I think that’s her. She’s sort of buried underneath all that cargo.”

“What’d she do?” Sammy asked. “Buy out the store?”

“Lord only knows.” Decker sighed. “Why don’t you two go help her?”

“I don’t know, Dad,” Sammy said. “I think she has a certain balance. Far be it from me to disrupt what might have taken five hours to build.”

Decker glared at him. The boys hurried over to their mother and relieved her of the packages. She gave half to Jacob, half to Sammy. “You’ll take these back for me?”

“I’m not going back to Brooklyn,” Jacob said. “I’ve got a train to catch, Eema.”

“I’ll take them back,” Sammy said.

“The good son,” Jacob countered.

They stopped at the entrance to the restaurant. Jacob smiled at his mother. “Buy anything for me?”

“A couple of shirts,” Rina said. “Most of it is for Hannah.”

“Great.” Jacob pouted. “First you send me to a school that locks me up in a cell and scalps me. Then all I get is a couple of shirts.”

“Such neglect.” Rina threw her arm around her younger son and kissed him ten times on the cheek.

“How about me?” Sammy asked.

Rina kissed him as well. When she reached over for Hannah, the girl pulled away. “Not in public.”

Both she and Decker laughed. It was hard to tell the babies from the adults without a scorecard. Rina said, “I think you both grew.”

“You just saw me yesterday,” Jacob said.

“You grew from yesterday,” Rina said. “Shall we go inside and eat?”

“Yeah, it’s better than being dysfunctional out here for the whole world to see,” Sammy said.

Jacob added, “Besides, this is the best food we’re going to have in the next six months.”

Sammy said, “Ain’t that the truth.”

“Go in and get our table, boys,” Decker said. “Take Hannah with you. I need to talk to your mother for a moment.”

“Do I really have to carry all this stuff?” Sammy held the bags aloft. “Can’t we just check it in at a bank vault or something?”

“Go now, please!” Decker toughened his voice.

“Uh-oh…” Jacob took his sister’s hand. “We don’t want to hear this.”

Decker waited until the two of them were alone. He said, “You’re going to make fun of me, but I’d like to stay another day. They’re releasing the body tomorrow, which means the funeral will be on Tuesday. I think we should go.”