The sweet aroma of warm cinnamon coffee cake circled the kitchen, enveloping the cousins as they sat in their usual spots around the table.  Randy was pouring coffee into plain white stoneware mugs.  Mary had conceded to using the mugs instead of the usual delicate teacups she preferred.  Randy wasn’t clumsy by nature but he seemed to channel Elizabeth from the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances whenever he handled fine bone china.

Mary was passing around slices of the coffee cake.  Maggie was knitting, and Melissa was leafing through the book they would discuss that morning.  She handed the paperback to Randy, and he grinned as he placed it beside his mug. (more…)