Jorden carried the dishes to the pantry, but she wasn’t sure which cabinet Carrie meant. Jorden opened the one closest to her. There she found an assortment of wrapped gifts. Her eyes stopped when she saw familiar wrapping paper. She drew closer, thinking it must be an optical illusion. It wasn’t. A distinctive blue and white wrapped box topped with a violet bow was on the shelf. Directly under the box lay a note. Unable to resist, she bent down and read the card. “A pale blue vase—nice for a wedding gift.”

“Oh! You have the wrong cabinet. It’s the one on the left.”

Startled by Carrie’s voice, Jorden jerked up and dropped one of the platters. The antique dish cracked right down the center, reverberating loudly on impact. Jorden panicked. Now what would Margo Whelan think?

“What happened? Did something break?” Margo called out from the kitchen.

“It’s nothing, Mom. All’s under control,” Carrie called back. At the same time, she lifted her index finger to her lips to warn Jorden to be quiet. Then, Jorden watched Carrie pick up the cracked platter and stash it in the furthest corner of the cabinet. Jorden stared at Carrie in amazement.

“Hand me the other platters.” Carrie placed them in front of the cracked one. “This was Mom’s favorite—came from her Aunt Eleanor. Don’t worry! I’ll have it repaired, and she’ll never know. For now we’ll keep it out of sight. Next week, when Mom’s busy in the garden, I’ll sneak it out. I know the right person to make it look like new.”

“Thank you! But . . . why are you doing this?” Jorden looked at Carrie in disbelief.

“I like you, and Margo Whelan has quite a temper. Of course she won’t show it in front of you, but believe me, we’d hear about it. It’s hard to fit into this family. Only since I’ve become pregnant has Margo finally come around to accepting me. Alex’s father still holds me at arm’s length. I was raised in the Catholic faith but my family’s wealth is considered nouveau—you know beneath Alex’s father’s upbringing and status.”

Slowly Carrie rose up, hindered with the added weight of the baby. “The cabinet you opened contains Margo’s stash of presents. She’s always buying items she thinks would make nice gifts. Speaking of Margo, I’d better get back to the kitchen.” She touched Jorden’s shoulder with obvious affection as she spoke, “Don’t worry about the platter. No one has to know but us.” Carrie winked and returned to the kitchen.