Maddie had put a thick vegetable beef soup on to simmer that morning. They had it for dinner along with a salad. Liza opened a bottle of wine she'd brought and they talked about everything except the elephant in the room. They had just gone to bed, settling in for the night, when headlights swept up the driveway. In less than a minute Liza was rapping on her door.

"Wake up, kiddo." Her voice was filled with excitement. "I think we have unexpected company."

Pulling on ...