Annani blinked. "Phoenix's frog?"
"Yes. I want a frog!" Allegra declared.
"No frogs," Syssi and Kian said simultaneously.
"Phoenix has a frog!" Allegra's lower lip jutted out in a pout that she had inherited directly from Amanda, which was concerning because when Amanda deployed that look, the battle was already lost.
But Kian wasn't going to be defeated by his toddler daughter. "We're not getting a frog, and that's final."
Annani carried Allegra to the table, sat on her chair, and arranged her granddaughter on her lap. "What is wrong with a frog? They are harmless creatures."
"Don't encourage her," Kian muttered.
"I would never." Annani's eyes sparkled with her signature brand of mischief.
"May I offer you tea, Clan Mother?" Okidu asked.
"Actually, I prefer coffee this morning."
"Of course." He raised the coffee carafe and leaned across to fill her cup.
She covered it with her hand. "Not before Allegra sits in her highchair. We do not want any unfortunate accidents eventhough we heal so quickly." She looked down at Allegra. "Right, precious? No ouchies."
"No ouchies," Allegra repeated solemnly.
Okidu placed the carafe on the table a safe distance away from Allegra's reach and then extended his arms. "May I?"
She went willingly to him and didn't fuss when he secured her in her highchair.
"Nana drinks coffee," she said in a magnanimous tone, as if Nana had been waiting for her permission.
"Thank you," Annani answered in the same tone. "Nana likes drinking coffee with Mommy and Daddy."
Okidu poured her a cup and then returned to the kitchen to bring the first course, which consisted of pastries and a selection of fruits arranged with the care afforded to a still-life painting. He set it down on the table with a bow and began serving Annani first.
"Thank you, Okidu. Everything looks beautiful and appetizing as always."
"There is more to come, Clan Mother."
She smiled. "Of course."
After he returned with pancakes, eggs, and wonderfully seasoned home fries, they all got busy pouring syrup, cutting fruit, and redirecting Allegra's attempts to eat exclusively pancakes and nothing else.
It was nice. Normal. A Sunday morning that felt like what Sunday mornings were supposed to feel like.
Kian watched his mother over the rim of his coffee cup, wondering if she was about to share with them what was bothering her.
Annani waited until Allegra demanded to be let out of the highchair, dragging Okidu with her to the family room to watch her favorite Sunday morning kids' show.
Funny how she never needed to ask what time it was to know exactly when her show was about to start.
Another coincidence? Or maybe an internal clock?
His mother set her coffee cup down, and the shift in her expression was subtle enough that only someone who had been watching for it would have noticed.
"How are things progressing with the excavation?" she asked. "Any changes since the last time we talked?"
At the beginning, they had been getting twice-daily updates from Losham, but since the answers continued to be the same and nothing changed, Kian had reduced the calls to once a day. He also hadn't felt the need to update Annani when there was no news to report, but perhaps he should have, to save her from imagining what he wasn't telling her.
