“Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?”

“No.” That should be plain enough. The more she thought about her last encounter with Sarah McDowell, the more she realized how glad she’d be when they’d completed this project. “Being around Sarah has dredged up a whole slew of bad memories,” she informed her husband.

Greg dutifully loaded sixty pounds of potatoes into the cart. As soon as he’d finished, Mary headed down the next aisle.

“My Christmas has been ruined,” she said through gritted teeth.

“How’s that?”

“Greg, don’t be obtuse.” She reached for several cans of evaporated milk and added them to the food piled high in their cart. “I’ve had to deal with her.”

“Yes, but—”

“Never mind,” Mary said, cutting him off. She didn’t expect Greg to understand. Her husband had never really grasped the sense of loss she’d felt when Sarah destroyed their friendship with her deception. The silver tea service was irreplaceable; so was the friendship its disappearance had shattered.

“Hello, Mary.” Jean Cummings, a friend who edited the society page, pulled her cart alongside Mary’s. “Merry Christmas, Greg.”

Her husband had the look of a deer caught in the headlights. He no more knew who Jean was than he would a stranger, although he’d attended numerous social functions with the woman.

“You remember Jean, don’t you?” she said, hoping to prompt his memory.

“Of course,” he lied. “Good to see you again.”

“It looks like you’re feeding a big crowd,” Jean said, surveying the contents of Mary’s cart.

Mary didn’t bother to explain about the Christmas baskets. “Is your family coming for the holidays?” she asked.

“Oh, yes, and yours too, I imagine?”

“Of course.” Mary was eager to get about her business. She didn’t have time to dillydally. As soon as she was finished with the shopping, she could go back to planning her own family’s Christmas dinner. Greg would need to order the fresh Dungeness crabs they always had on Christmas Eve; he could do that while they were here.

“Tell me,” Jean said, leaning close to Mary and talking in a stage whisper. “Am I going to get the scoop on Thom?”

“Thom?” Mary didn’t know what she was talking about.

“I saw him just now in Mendleson’s.”

It was well known that the jeweler specialized in engagement rings.

“Thom’s one of the most eligible bachelors in town. I know plenty of hearts will be broken when he finally chooses a bride.”

Mary was speechless. She’d had lunch with her son on Friday and although he’d hinted, he certainly hadn’t said anything that suggested he was on the verge of proposing. She didn’t even know who he was currently seeing.

“I’m sure Thom would prefer to do his own announcing,” Greg said coolly, answering for Mary.