“—and having them broken, like with the baby?" Jane asked.

“I guess so. Not that Sarah would say so. Sarah wouldn't say anything personal. We became cordial acquaintances. She always let me know how to reach them if I needed to. Our parents had died before this all happened, but our grandmother was still living and Sarah was concerned about her. It was the one thing we still shared, our love of Gramma."

“My mother thought the world of your grandmother," Shelley said, taking back the tissues and dabbing at her own eyes.

“She was a lovely person. I moved in with her and took care of her for the last year, and she was never once pathetic or self-pitying. Better than I can claim."

“But she left the house to both you and Sarah?" Jane asked.

“Oh, yes. I insisted. She wanted to leave it to me, but once I made her understand that I wanted her to leave it to both of us, she went along with that. She and I both thought that if we could just get Sarah back home, she'd be helped by some kind of hometown magic."

“It still might be true," Jane said. "This is a setback, but the doctor could be right that it was mostly the strain of opening the deli that got her down."

“Maybe," Grace said. But she didn't sound much as if she meant it.

“Had she changed any?" Shelley asked. "Since they've been back here, I mean? I'd think the very fact that she and Conrad were willing to stay here and set up the deli instead of selling the house was a good sign.”

Grace considered this. "I think it was mainly Conrad's idea. And she feels that after all he's been through with her, she owes it to him to do what he wants for a while. Of course, that's the silliest sort of speculation. She's never said a word to me about what she wants or thinks or feels."