Eve tapped lightly on the door before entering her mother's office. Although she knew her parents weren't home, Eve still felt the need to knock on the door. She loved her mother's office. It was warm and secure, like being in her mother's arms.

She smiled, remembering the secret meetings between her father and Niles as they planned the surprise for her mother. Picking up the notepad, her eyes drifted over the familiar handwriting.

The page had doodles of hearts, flowers, and the interlocking first names of their family. Eve thought about her parents open display of love for each other.

At times it embarrassed her by the way they carried on. Why couldn't her parents ever act normal? She turned the page, mesmerized by the words left by her mother.

The poem spoke of love, heartache, promise, and sorrow. Completely captivated by the poem, Eve failed to hear the click of high-heels striking the floor.

"What are you doing in here?"

Eve gasped, clutching her hand to her chest. She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her sister.

"Gracie! You scared me. What are you doing in here?"

"I asked you the same thing. Where are mom and dad?"

"I don't know. Daddy left a note that said he and ma would be back before dinner."

"Eve, you know how mom feels about people being in her office without her permission. Now why did you come up here?"

Eve flopped on the couch. "You're going to think it's stupid."

"Come on squirt, you can tell me."

"Is the doctor in?"

Grace slapped her sister lightly on the arm. "Come on, what's the matter?"

"David and I had a fight."

"About?"

"He wants me to be his girlfriend"

"So?"

"I do like him. It's just that I'm not sure I like him that way."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here in mom's office."

"I don't know. I guess – I guess I wanted to feel ma."

Grace slid her arms around her sister. Looking around the room, it did feel a lot like their mother. It wasn't tangible, just the warmth of her presence. As she held Eve, Grace mentally reviewed her sister's words. Before she knew it, an uncontrollable laughter possessed her.

Eve broke away from Grace. "What's so funny? Why are you laughing at me?"

"Oh Eve," Grace replied, "I'm not laughing at you. Truly, I'm not. It's just that if mom were here, she'd blame your lack of wanting a relationship on daddy."

Eve stared at her sister and began to laugh. She could almost hear her mother blame the British half of her DNA on her inability to commit.

"Feel better?" Grace asked smiling at her sister.

Eve nodded. "Yeah."

"Good."

"You know, I could go for some cookies right about now."

"And ma's half just kicked in!" Grace laughed.

As they moved toward the door, Eve remembered the poem. "Hey Gracie, take a look at this."

Grace took the notepad from Eve. She read the poem, taking in the words, imagery, and meaning. After all these years, her mother still amazed her.

"It's beautiful. I never knew mom could be so profound."

"I think she should submit it."

"So do I."

"You do?"

"Of course. I think she should showcase her talent."

They heard the front door open and close. At the sound of their mother's voice, Grace and Eve looked at each other. A rush of fear flashed through them.

"What are we going to do?" Eve whispered.

"Put everything back the way you found it."

"How are we going to convince ma to submit her poem?"

"I'll think of something," Grace replied shutting the door behind them.

When Fran and Maxwell entered the kitchen, they were surprised to see Grace and Eve at the table.

"Gracie, what are you doing here?" Fran asked wrapping her arms around her.

"I took a little break from my studies. I wanted to see what trouble my pesky siblings were into."

"Is everything all right Grace?" Maxwell asked.

"Yes daddy. I'm on a legitimate break."

Eve smacked Grace's arm. "I resent being called pesky. That term only applies to brothers."

"Speaking of which, where's Jonah?" Fran asked.

"He'll be home soon. He stopped by Eddie's after school."

Maxwell scowled, trying to remember his son's friends. "Who the devil is Eddie?"

"The tall skinny kid whose vocabulary consists of one syllable answers," Fran replied. "Gracie, are you staying for the weekend?"

"I'm all yours."

"Don't eat too many sweets. We're having dinner in a couple of hours." Maxwell grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Kissing Fran on the cheek he whispered, "That goes for you too," and left the room.

With a loud bang, the back door swung open and hit the wall.

"Jonah!"

"Hey mom."

"Have you lost your mind as well as your manners?"

"What?"

"The way you came barreling in the backdoor."

His face grew flush with embarrassment. "Sorry mom," Jonah said as he shut the door. Dropping his bag on the floor, he looked at Grace. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here."

"Well not really but it's an acceptable answer." He grabbed a handful of cookies and picked up his bag again. "Is dad home?"

"Yes. How was school today?"

"It was okay. I've got some stuff to do. When's dinner?"

"In a couple of hours."

They watched Jonah bound out of the room stuffing cookies in his mouth. Shaking her head, Eve asked, "Ma, are you sure we're related?"

"Trust me. With the pain I had delivering you two, there's no doubt in my mind. Have you finished your homework?"

"I haven't started it."

"Eve Katherine Sheffield, get upstairs this instant and do your homework!"

"But ma!"

"You'd better do it," Grace said winking at her sister. "You know how mom gets."

"You're starting to become a little too sassy around your brother and sister missy," Fran said when Eve left the room. "I don't know where you picked up that kind of behavior."

Grace twisted the chocolate cookie apart and licked its cream center.

"I could always blame my behavior on Brighton. Think of it as blood related transference in personality."

"Don't blame B for your behavior. He gets into enough trouble on his own." Fran studied her daughter for a while. "Are you sure everything's okay Gracie?"

"I'm fine mom, really. I guess I 'd better get out of your way before dinner. By the way, what's on the menu tonight?"

"Robert's not feeling well so we'll be on our own tonight. How about Chinese?"

"That's fine with me," Grace replied. Kissing Fran on the cheek, she said, "Dinner will be just like it used to be in New York."