“Please, Gwen, stop. I need this,” Reagan replied, her voice cracking and tears stinging her eyes. Gwen turned down the burner and opened her arms when Reagan held up her hands. “Don’t. If you hug me, I might cry and never stop.”

Gwen stopped mid-step and gripped the edge of the counter. “Okay. I get it.” She held Reagan’s gaze for a beat before taking a deep breath and turning back to the stove. “I have the menu choices written there,” she said, gesturing with her chin to the far end of the workstation. “You know what’s in everything, but if you need a refresher, I can write all that down too.”

Reagan waved her away and then dabbed the corner of her eyes. “No, I remember. Are you going to bring each choice out one by one? Or are you going to bring out all of the choices for each course at the same time?”

“I’ll bring out each course all at once. Then they can go back and forth with each choice if they need to. Sound good?”

“Sure. You’re the boss today.”

Gwen laughed as she added a pinch of salt to another pot. “Okay. They should be here in five minutes. Do you mind waiting out in the dining room? Soups are ready to be poured and then I’ll start getting the salads together.”

“No problem. I’ll give my spiel then come and get them.”

Reagan ran her hand through her hair as she pushed through the doors into the dining room. She double-checked that silverware and water glasses were set on the table and found everything in order. Not that she had any doubts. Gwen was the best.

Two minutes before the scheduled time, Reagan heard a knock on the front door. She pushed it open with a smile and ushered them inside. “Hi. Welcome to Wren.”

Jill stopped short. “Reagan.” She quickly glanced at her mother. “I mean, Ms. Murphy. I…I didn’t expect to see you.” She opened and closed her mouth as if to say something else, but instead cleared her throat. “I don’t believe you’ve met my mother, Maureen.”

With a quick glance, Reagan saw the clear resemblance between them. Their brown hair and eyes were almost the same color, but Reagan figured Mrs. Jacobs’s hair color came from a regularly scheduled color job.

Reagan extended her hand with a wide smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Jacobs. I’m Reagan Murphy.”

Maureen returned the handshake. Delicately.

“May I take your coats?”

Maureen and Jill took off their coats and handed them to Reagan. Maureen continued into the dining room, but Jill reached for Reagan’s hand before she could turn away.

“Are you okay? I didn’t think you’d be here.”

“I’m fine. Now head on in. I’ll hang these up and be right with you.”

Jill hesitated, skepticism in her eyes.