Prologue The house was quiet, the light through the windows still bright with afternoon sun. Vickie came in the front door feeling frazzled. She had pulled her hair back in a rubber band as she walked to the door, but glancing in the foyer mirror she saw that stray red-gold curls were already falling out. She wasn’t prepared to see strangers sitting in the living room dressed in their Sunday best, and she felt even more out of place in her T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It was a surreal feeling, walking into her mother’s house with no one she knew in sight. The living room ladies smiled at her. She quickly turned into the shadowed hallway and almost ran towards her grandmother’s room. The door was closed and she paused a moment, saying a silent prayer before pushing it open. The room was filled with light, every single lamp blazing. Two women she had never seen were pulling the blankets up at the bed. Her mother and sister were standing with their heads close together, whispering. Vickie was struck by how similar they looked, with Carina’s dark curls next to her mother’s short dark hair, their warm olive complexion glowing in the lights, despite the stress showing on their faces. Her mother looked up at her with her eyes large in the bright lights. Vickie could see that she was exhausted, and as Carina looked up her matching brown eyes caught Vickie’s with a worried expression. She had been crying, and as they both looked at her she felt tears stinging the back of her eyes. Vickie moved to the bed as the Hospice ladies quietly left the room. She took her grandmothers hand. “I love you G-Mom, I love you so much.” She bent over and kissed her cheek. “Your skin is so soft, so smooth.” The television was on in the corner and the baseball game was on. “The Pirates are going to win the series, just like you wanted!” Virginia DeCarlo would have frowned and fussed if she could have seen herself. “Isabelle!” she would have exclaimed, “Help me fix my hair!” Vickie and Carina both seemed to notice at the same time. They looked at each other across the bed. “I’ll get the brush.” “I’ll get a little lotion.” The girls left the bedroom, leaving their mother alone with her mother. “Oh my god,” Vickie’s voice caught in a hushed whisper. “She is skin and bones. I was just here three days ago and I thought she was fragile then. Her skin looks almost transparent. Or is that translucent? Oh my god she looks dreadful.” “I know, she is as white as those sheets. I helped mom move her earlier and I swear, Vickie, she is as light as a feather. I bet she doesn’t even weigh 80 pounds. She looks like she is shrinking.” “Has she had her eyes open at all?” “Only for a few minutes. She fussed at mom when she turned off the TV, so we put it back on.” “What does the doctor have to say?” “I haven’t heard anything from the doctor and mom hasn’t said. The people from Hospice say that everything is going in a pretty established pattern, and that she is very close.” Vickie grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her close for a moment, gathering strength. Carina sighed and they went back to finding things for their grandmother. She grabbed a brush, a warm damp cloth, and a towel, and Vickie picked up the lotion as they started back to the bedroom, meeting their father in the hallway. Jimmy Anderson looked as tired and worried as his wife. He stood almost a full head taller than both of his daughters, and Carina was taller than Vickie anyway. His black slacks and white golf shirt were perfectly pressed as always, and his grey thinning hair was perfectly brushed. Even his glasses were clean, Vickie thought. She was noticing all the tiny details around her, feeling numb and heavy yet intensely focused all at the same time. “How are things?” her father asked. They spent a few minutes catching him up, and then they all came into the bedroom together. Jimmy walked over and hugged his wife, then leaned over and gave Virginia a kiss on the cheek. Within a few minutes Carina was brushing her grandmother’s white curls softly while Vickie was rubbing lotion on her hands. Isabella had straightened out her mother’s nightgown and without any perceptible movement, Vickie still thought that she looked more comfortable. Suddenly Virginia gave a big sigh. "We are all here, Grammie,” Vickie said. She looked across the bed at her mother as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Oh good heavens.” She heard a little noise and almost jumped. Her grandmother’s lips were moving. She leaned over and said, “What grammie? What?” Her grandmother said, “Love you honey.” “I love you too! We all do! Mommy and Dad are here, and Carina too. Everybody loves you so much! Sophie and Will are on their way to visit with you soon.” Her mother was patting her grandmother’s shoulder, and Carina was holding her hand. “Love you mommy,” Isabella said. Virginia took a deep breath and sighed, then was gone. Vickie looked across the bed at her mother, and said, “Now I’ll never be able to tell hewere coming hot and fast, as Jim and Isabella hugged their two girls.