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isn’t it?”
    â€œYes, it is, and no,” Mary Bernadette said. “They’ve decided to stay in Annapolis. I’m told the twins are baking a cake.”
    â€œI hate birthday parties, myself,” Bonnie said. “Probably from having catered so many of them.”
    Mary Bernadette nodded. “Familiarity often breeds contempt.”
    â€œNow, that’s a harsh sentiment,” Katie said with a frown. “I’d prefer to think that familiarity breeds, well, fondness.”
    Bonnie grinned. “She’s the Pollyanna of the family.”
    â€œI don’t suppose,” Mary Bernadette said, “that I might bring home a scone for Paddy? Only, of course, if it’s not too much trouble.”
    Katie leaped from her chair. “Of course it’s no trouble,” she said, hurrying off to the kitchen for a piece of plastic wrap. “Anything for you, Mary Bernadette. Anything!”

C HAPTER 6
    T he board’s vote had been unanimous, as Mary Bernadette had believed that it would be. Fitzgibbon Landscaping had been awarded the contract to restore the extensive grounds of the Joseph J. Stoker House. Five companies had competed for the job, one of them a very prestigious firm from D.C., and another a much talked about startup out of Lawrenceville, but in the end Oliver’s Well’s own Fitzgibbon Landscaping had proved once more to be the right company for the job.
    Mary Bernadette took the kettle of steaming water to the kitchen table and poured the contents into her favorite teapot. If she weren’t such a modest woman, she might be tempted to feel a bit smug about the success of her family’s business. But everything they had achieved had been the result of hard work and the grace of God, and there was no good in being smug about either.
    Just then, PJ burst into the kitchen through the back door. His hair looked windblown as if he had been caught in a sudden gust, and he was breathing heavily as if he had run to his grandparents’ house all the way from the office.
    â€œWe got it!” he cried.
    Though she was as excited as her grandson, Mary Bernadette smiled serenely. “Yes,” she said. “I know. And fix your hair.”
    PJ pushed his hair back from his face. “Oh,” he said. “Of course you know! Anyway, Leonard DeWitt called me at the office about an hour ago.”
    â€œThe vote was unanimous.”
    â€œReally?” PJ laughed. “I have to admit that when it came down to just us and that Blue Sound Landscaping Design, I panicked. Talk about bells and whistles! Remember that video walk-through simulation and that whole presentation about some kind of computer project management software they use to make sure it’s all on time and on budget? When Richard asked me how I keep a project on schedule and on budget, all I could say was that I commit to a schedule and a budget and I just make sure it happens ! I was sure we were doomed.”
    â€œWell, I was never in doubt. There’s no need for fuss when you’ve got quality, is what I’ve always said. I’m proud of you, PJ.”
    â€œThanks, Grandmother. I’m going home. I can’t wait to tell Alexis the good news.”
    â€œBut the two of you will come back for dinner,” Mary Bernadette said. “We’ll celebrate.”
    â€œSure. Around six?”
    â€œFive-thirty would be better, but six if you must. And don’t be late.”
    PJ grinned and hurried out through the back door. With pride, Mary Bernadette watched him go. There was no doubt in her mind that the Fitzgibbon family was blessed. The business her husband had worked so hard to establish was flourishing under the leadership of her grandson. Paddy and Mary Bernadette held positions of preeminence in Oliver’s Well. The Oliver’s Well Historical Association was continuing to excel under her own guidance. And of course, her son and his wife were