a moment to reflect before speaking her mind.
Megan sighed and tapped her pen smartly against her desk. The CPEE. The twins and their after-school activities. The law firm. The house. The grandparents. Lord knew she was busy enough, too busy by most peopleâs standards. Still, lately she found herself wanting some new project she could sink her teeth into. Lately, she found herself ever so slightly bored . Maybe she was what Mary Bernadette called âa glutton for punishment.â Except that Megan didnât find work a punishment at all. And she thought that if Mary Bernadette took the trouble to consider the idea, she might realize that she and her daughter-in-law were not so terribly different after all. They were both devoted to their family and to their causes. It was as simple as that.
âMom?â
Megan turned away from her desk. Danica was leaning against the doorframe wearing what amounted to her uniformâa hoodie, a pair of skinny jeans, and UGG brand boots no matter how hot the day.
âWhatâs up, honey?â she asked her daughter.
âGrandma called,â Danica told her.
âAgain? Thatâs twice today.â
âI know. I told her you were working.â
Megan restrained a smile. âAnd what did she say to that?â
Danica shrugged. âWhat she always says. âOh, your mother spends too much time at work.â How come she never says that Dad spends too much time at work?â
âI guess your grandmother is just old-fashioned. She comes from a place where men work out in the big, wide world and women stay at home. Or, at least, a mental state if not an actual place.â
âI donât get it. You work but youâre at home! That should be okay, right?â
Megan laughed. âWell, I guess I canât really explain it after all.â
Danica wrinkled her nose. âI like Grandma, I mean, I love her and all, but she has some weird ideas.â
âDonât let her hear you say that.â
âOh, I wonât,â Danica promised. âThat would be rude.â
âWell, did she say what she wanted?â
Danica shrugged again. âNot really. I think she just wanted to talk.â
âAnd did you? Talk, I mean?â
âShe asked me about school. Thatâs what she always asks me about, never my friends or soccer or debate team.â
âWell, she knows the value of an education.â
âI guess.â
âWhereâs your brother?â Megan asked.
âHeâs in his room.â
âI wonder if heâs doing his homework or fooling around with a video game.â
âIt helps his dexterity, Mom.â
âWhich is all well and good, as long as he doesnât neglect his homework.â Megan sighed. âI guess I should call Mary Bernadette back before itâs time to start dinner.â
Danica grinned. âI bet I know what sheâll say.â
Megan pitched her voice a bit lower than usual in an attempt to mimic her mother-in-lawâs commanding voice. â âSo, youâre finally done with that work of yours for the day?â â
âOr: âOh, you didnât have to call me back. It was nothing.â And then sheâll keep you on the phone for, like, an hour!â
Megan laughed. It was wrong to mock anyoneâSt. Francis would tell you thatâlet alone an older person, and behind her back to boot, but sometimes it just couldnât be helped.
C HAPTER 13
I t was another unseasonably warm day, and Alexis was taking advantage of the weather to stretch out on a chaise lounge behind the cottage. She wasnât sure how the untiringly energetic Mary Bernadette would feel about her putting her feet up in the middle of the dayâthough it was a Saturdayâbut thought she was probably safe here, with only the beech trees as witnesses.
Mary Bernadette! It had been like being with a celebrity the other night at The Angry Squire.
K. Sterling
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