It keeps a household in order.”

I sat silently in my chair while the caterers cleared away the salad plates.

For the rest of the meal neither Cole nor Judith said a word to me, sending every question about the coming party to Brooke instead.

By three in the afternoon, the bright sun had moved across the glass panes of the sunroom.

The potted ferns along the brick wall smelled of wet soil and plant food.

I stood at the wicker table smoothing a pile of white linen napkins.