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Mona. “Where am I suppose to sit?”
    A look of uneasiness crossed her face. She popped up from her seat and hurried to the dining room, returning with another chair that she wedged next to hers. Neal sat, his bright red hair a contrast to all the blonds and brunettes gathered at the table.
    Vince remained standing. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.
    They were all silent, listening to May say into the phone, “Okay, okay, don’t cry. I still don’t understand why you went down there alone.” She started to sob. “Yes, I would too have taken off work to go with you or one of the twins could have found a baby-sitter.” She paused. “Well, Mona doesn’t even have a job or kids.”
    All eyes turned to Mona, whose frozen expression did not change.
    May continued to weep. “I’ve got to go, Mona just got here. What time will you be back tomorrow? Okay, see you then. Bye.”
    Looking around the table, May explained, “Minnie felt guilty that she didn’t stop over to see Mom today before leaving for Urbana.” May blew her nose on the tissue Skye handed her, and continued almost to herself, “Minnie checked in every morning. She must have really been upset not to stop today.”
    Mona dabbed at her eyes and stole a peek at Neal. “I missed coming over today, too.”
    Shaking her head, May made her way back to her chair. “I’m sure Mom understood.” After she was seated, she asked, “Where were you this afternoon? I thought for a minute you had gone back to Maui.”
    “I had a dentist appointment in Joliet, so I decided to go early and do some shopping. When Neal finished in the field, a friend dropped him at the Knights of Columbus hall.” Mona inspected a perfectly manicured nail. “You know, not to criticize, but a note on your front door saying your mother died is not the best way to hear the news.”
    “They stopped poor Daddy in the field and told him by the side of the road,” Gillian said.
    “I guess it’s a good thing it wasn’t his mother then,” Mona replied.
    Skye felt a guilty pleasure in her aunt’s response to her cousin, although she experienced a twinge of unease, reminding her that she had been on the wrong side of Mona’s tongue many times herself.
    Ginger whispered into Gillian’s ear but neither twin spoke to the group.
    Folding her hands on the table, Mona looked toward May. “So, tell me all about it.”
    May started, “Well, Skye has been stopping by every day after school. Mom’s been telling her the family history, but today . . .”
    As May finished retelling the events of the day, Mona wiped away a teardrop, sat back, and stared at Skye. “We really can’t trust you to do anything right, can we?”
    “What?” Skye frowned.
    “Most people find their eighty-year-old grandmother dead, say a prayer of thanks that she’s out of her misery, and call the family doctor. But not Miss Big Shot. Like Neal says, it’s not healthy the way you always have your nose in a book. You want to live like they do inside the pages of your latest novel. So you involve the police and the coroner and God knows who else. Now instead of a quiet funeral, we’ve got a situation. You’re just never happy unless it’s your way. And look what you’ve gotten us into.” Mona finished without raising her voice. “I’ll bet you didn’t even call Father Burns. It’s a good thing I had him out here Sunday to give Mom and the housekeeper confession and communion.”
    The silence around the table was broken only by the scraping back of Skye’s chair as she stood. She walked to the sink and ran cold water as she took a glass from the cabinet. Bingo wandered in and sat at her feet.
    After her drink, she turned to the room full of staring faces. “Well, it sure is enlightening to hear what you truly think of me, Mona. I’d share my insights about you, but it would upset my mother and she’s already been through enough today. But, be warned, if you ever speak to me like that again