“Apparently Mamie,” Patty said.

“Well, I agree with Theodora, here. I love chocolate, but this girl goes one step further.” She looked at Theo. “You know how therapeutic food can be. This shake is just like you. Classic with just a little bit extra.”

“Extra,” Cleopatra said. “That’s our Theo alright.”

Theo ignored her sister and gave Birdie a smile, unwrapping her straw.

“And then there’s this gorgeous little thing.” Birdie turned and looked at Indigo who had put her backpack on the small table that sat in the corner of the room. The little girl had climbed into a chair and her feet swung above the floor. “Strawberry with whipped cream, and let’s see,” she looked down into the plastic dome lid and tried to count. “There must be at least six cherries in here.”

“I love cherries.”

“As you should,” Birdie told her. “All sweetness and light—”

“Or,” Patty interrupted, “if you think like Mamie, rotten to the core.”

“Shut up, Cleopatra.”

“No,” Birdie said, shaking her head. “These two are a match made in heaven.” Birdie put the cup down on the table in front of Indigo. “And then there’s Cleopatra.” She pulled the last cup from the holder. “Peanut butter. Whipped cream and a cherry.”

“Well, that one’s not difficult.” Mamie was fanning herself with a bedraggled copy of US Weekly, and while everyone else in the room was wearing winter apparel, she was dressed in a short-sleeved T-shirt. “This is also a match. They’re both completely nuts.”

Theo took a pull from her straw and watched the therapist.

“That’s one theory,” she agreed.

“I like it,” Theo said. “Let’s go with that one.”

“And you would take a banana shake,” Patty said, throwing a sharp look at Birdie.

“Well, I’ll admit, there are a lot of people who say I’m plum crazy, that’s for sure,” she said, flashing a bright, white smile. “I’d almost have to be bananas to do what I do.”

“That’s right,” Patty encouraged, “just keep ‘em coming. I’m keeping track. There will be hell to pay when I’m well enough to deliver it.”

“We’re all waiting with bated breath,” Mamie informed her eldest.

“I’ll make sure I bring you a shake next week,” Theo told Birdie.

Birdie gave Theo a wink. “I’m like Goldilocks, here. I like a lot of cherries.”

“Noted.”

“I’m wondering, Antee Bear, if you’ve brought anything to keep Goldilocks entertained for a short time?” Mamie asked looking over at Theo. “We’ve had a talk with the doctor this morning, and the four of us need to have a meeting.”

Ten minutes later, Indigo was watching Tangled, her favorite movie, on a tablet while she continued to sip on her strawberry shake.

“Cleopatra still has at least two more surgeries ahead of her,” Mamie said.

“It might be more than that,” Birdie added. “That right wrist is troublesome, and then there’s that hip.” She shook her head. “I’m going to do everything I can to help rehabilitate her with physical therapy.”

“Honestly, I’d rather have surgery,” Patty said, and Theo watched her, realizing her sister spoke what she believed to be the truth.

“If you didn’t hate me just a little, I wouldn’t be doing my job,” Birdie told her.

“I hate you more than a little.”

“Then I’m even better at my job than I thought.”

“The reason for this meeting,” Mamie said, steering the conversation back with a stern tone in her voice, “is that Doctor Garrett thinks Patty might be able to leave the hospital in a couple of weeks. We need to figure out what that’s going to look like.”

“That’s great, Patty,” Theo told her sister, a smile lighting her face. “I’m so happy that you won’t be here much longer.”

“Even if that means I need to move in with you?”

Theo blinked. “Well, if that’s what works best then yes,” she said without hesitation.

“We thought about moving her into Murphy House,” Mamie said, “but because there’s no real bedroom on the main floor—”

“I mean, I guess it doesn’t really matter,” Patty said. “It’s not like I have a whole lot of privacy right now, anyway, but it would be nice to at least have a door to my room.”

“And stairs are out of the question,” Mamie added.

“Of course. Glory’s room works perfectly,” Theo agreed. “You wouldn’t have to navigate any stairs, and there’s a master bath with a big tub.”

“Not to mention the personal chef that comes with the residence.”

Theo looked up at her mother, then moved her eyes back to Patty. “You know I’m more than happy to cook for you. And Indie’s at the barn,” she said. “If anything might accelerate your healing, it would be your daughter.”

“Am I supposed to be grateful that you’re willing to share her?” Patty asked snidely.

“Cleopatra.” The sharpness of Mamie’s tone brought Theo back to her childhood for a moment and made her sit up a bit straighter.

“I’m aware of the fact that I haven’t known you all that long, but it seems to me that your sister has been doing everything she can to help you with your recovery,” Birdie told Patty.

“I’m not all that surprised you’ve taken a liking to Theodora,” Patty shot back snidely. “If you can’t remember that it’s me you’re working for, we can end this by terminating your employment right this very second.”

“That won’t be happening,” Mamie stated. “You’ve been through four physical therapists. You sent three of them running the other direction, two of them crying I might add. You will not be doing anything that might encourage Birdie to jump ship. Besides, you know living with Theodora was never an option.”

“I’ll be moving in with this breath of fresh air, and I don’t sleep on cots or in sleeping bags or on couches,” Birdie informed Theo. “You may have a beautiful room for Patty in your home, but I hear there’s not another bedroom in your house for me.”

“No,” Mamie said, “there’s not. But the bungalow has two bedrooms in it.”

Theo threw a backwards glance at Indigo. The child was watching her movie and pulling the dregs of her milkshake from the bottom of the cup.

“It’s only got one bathroom,” Patty said.

“That’s not a problem for me.”

“It is for me.”