“Yes, and swallow some of the pieces. And then there’s chocolate. A lot of people leave a box of chocolates out on a coffee table for guests. That’s perfect dog height, and too much chocolate can kill a dog.”

“That’s a real pity,” Lisa sounded very sympathetic. “At least if we eat too much chocolate, all we get is hyperactive. And that reminds me… we’d better stoke up on the chocolate tonight, because we have to be on our toes.”

“Why is that?”

“Martin Dubinski got married in Vegas, and he’s bringing his new wife to the Christmas party.”

“Uh-oh,” Hannah groaned. “Shirley submitted her Poppy Seed Cake recipe for the cookbook and it’s being tested tonight.”

“That’s what I mean. The ex-wife and the new wife. It’s straight out of a soap, especially since Shirley wants Martin back.”

“She does?” Hannah was surprised.

“I think so. At least that’s what I heard.”

“I wish I’d known that before! Now I feel really guilty about going out with Martin.”

“You went out with Martin?” Lisa looked positively mystified. “Why did you do that?”

“Mother. But it was only once. Tell me what you know about Martin’s new wife.”

“Well … “ Lisa paused to take a fortifying sip of coffee. “She’s a Las Vegas dancer named Brandi Wyen. Get it?”

“I don’t know for sure, but what I heard was he married her just five hours after he flew to Las Vegas for a conference.”

“That doesn’t bode well. What else?”

“Before Martin and Brandi flew back here, he took her to a furrier and bought her a twenty-thousand-dollar coat so she wouldn’t be cold.”

Hannah groaned again, envisioning the old cloth coat Shirley had worn for the past three years because she hadn’t been able to afford a new one. “Do you think there’ll be fireworks at the party tonight?”

“It’s a pretty safe bet, especially since there’s another woman in the picture.”

“Another woman?” Hannah was mystified that even one woman would be attracted to Martin, much less three! He was a nice enough man, but her date with him had been boredom personified. Why he’d thought she’d be interested in discussing the newest tax laws was beyond her!

“I stopped in to see Janice Cox at Kiddie Korner after I dropped Dad off at the Senior Center,” Lisa explained. “She went to school with Martin’s secretary, Laura Jorgensen. Janice said Laura didn’t exactly confide in her, but she was pretty sure that Laura was in love with Martin.”

“Oh, boy!” Hannah breathed, almost wishing that she had gone on for her doctorate and was now teaching in a rarified academic atmosphere that was hundreds of miles from what would probably happen when Laura and Shirley met Martin and Brandi. “I guess it’s a good thing that Laura has an accounting class at the junior college tonight.”

“Not anymore. Janice said Laura’s class was cancelled and she’s going to be at the party to make sure that whoever tested her Smothered Chicken did a good job.”