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about going, but I couldn’t say exactly why, and, no, it wasn’t because nerdy Cousin Brad told me Martin was a lech. The whole day had been strange, and I wanted to talk about it with someone who cared.
    So I drove carefully to TenHuis Chocolade, parked in front of the shop and went in. I waved to Aunt Nettie, inhaled six deep breaths of chocolate aroma, helped myself to a Dutch caramel bonbon (“Soft, creamy, European-style caramel in dark chocolate”), then went to the telephone.
    Naturally, I couldn’t find Joe. He wasn’t at his boat shop. He wasn’t at his apartment. He didn’t answer his cell phone.
    We had a date for seven o’clock, when he was supposed to come out to the house I shared with Aunt Nettie. I really had promised I’d cook dinner for him. But we’d made that plan after Hogan Jones had asked Aunt Nettie to go out to dinner with him that evening. Would the snow change their plans? Would it change ours? Aunt Nettie and I saw enough of each other without double dating.
    I was still wondering when Aunt Nettie came into the office. She looked serious. “How were the roads?”
    “Not too bad.”
    “It’s supposed to stop pretty soon. Hogan and I still plan on going into Holland for dinner.”
    That was one of my questions answered. But before I could react, Aunt Nettie pulled a bright pink envelope out of the pocket of her white, heavy duty food service apron. “I got an unexpected letter,” she said. “I wanted to show it to you.”
    “Who’s it from?”
    “My sister-in-law. My brother’s widow. Read it.”
    She shoved the envelope across the desk. It was not only bright pink, but the flap was scalloped and printed to look like lace. I opened it. The notepaper was scalloped to match, and it also had tiny hearts dancing across the top.
    “ ‘Dear Nettie,’ ” I read. “ ‘I know we haven’t been in touch much since Ed died, but you’ve always been good about remembering Bobby at Christmas and on his birthday. Plus when he graduated from high school. I have appreciated it.
    “ ‘Well, Bobby is now close to graduating from Eastern Michigan. He’s majored in marketing, and he’s done pretty good. He has worked part-time as a waiter, and I’m proud of him. Since he’s my only chick, I guess I ought to be!
    “ ‘Anyway, you said in your Christmas letter that the business is back on track and you and Phil’s niece were thinking of expanding. Will you need to hire someone around June? It would be such a good opportunity for Bobby!
    “ ‘I’m sorry to be so pushy, but I’d never forgive myself if Bobby missed such a good chance to be involved in a successful family business.
    “ ‘I’m doing fine. The plant has had some layoffs, but so far my job seems safe.
    “ ‘Love, Corrine.’ ”
    So help me, as I read those final words, I could hear Mrs. Schrader’s voice echoing in my ear. “I suppose you are your aunt’s heir.”
    It took me a minute to form a reply. And then I blew it.
    “It would have made a better imposition if Bobby had sent a recipe himself,” I said.
    Usually Aunt Nettie can figure out what I was trying to say, but that one confused her completely. She looked at me with an expression of openmouthed incomprehension.
    In fact, my statement had thrown me completely. For a moment I didn’t have the slightest idea myself what I’d been trying to say. Then I began to scramble. “I mean—I mean—Bobby would have made a better impression if he had written and sent his résumé himself.”
    Aunt Nettie’s face smoothed into its usual placid contours. “I agree,” she said. “I haven’t seen Bobby in years. I have no idea whether or not he’d be a good worker.”
    “I wonder if Bobby knows his mom wrote you. He might not even be interested in a clerical job. And that’s what we need. Or what I need. I could use somebody to help with the orders and shipments and to handle the front counter. Or did you have something else in mind?”
    “I didn’t