Instead of recipes, its pages were filled with drawings of buildings, arches, bridges, and carefully balanced structures. Emily had once studied architecture before her former fiancé convinced her it was an unrealistic dream. Even so, her pencil never stopped searching for balance—the balance missing from her life.
She was about to close the notebook when the bell above the café door rang sharply.
The sound was louder than usual.
Several customers looked up.
Emily lifted her eyes—and froze.
Standing in the doorway were two identical little girls wearing bright pink coats. Their brown braids bounced as they hurried inside, cheeks flushed from running. Their eyes scanned the café until they landed directly on her.
“Are you Miss Emily?” one asked, still catching her breath.
Before Emily could answer, the other stepped forward with surprising seriousness.
“We’re Lily and Chloe Parker,” she announced proudly. “And we came to tell you our dad is really sorry he’s late. His whole day kind of fell apart.”
Emily blinked in confusion as the girls stood beside her table like tiny diplomats on a mission.
“Your dad?” she asked gently.
“Yes, Michael Parker,” Lily said while climbing onto the empty chair across from Emily. “He’s your date. But he doesn’t know we’re here.”
“We snuck out,” Chloe added, nervously folding a napkin. “He thinks we’re playing in the waiting room at his office. But we had to come. Dad would never forget someone like you on purpose. It’s just that… since Mom went to heaven, he forgets everything except work.”
The words made the café fall unusually quiet.
Mrs. Margaret approached and placed two mugs of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies in front of the girls.
“Your mother…?” Emily asked gently.
“It was two years ago,” Chloe explained with heartbreaking calm. “A truck accident. It was raining. Dad was on the phone with her when it happened. Since then he doesn’t like phones. And he doesn’t smile much anymore. He just keeps designing buildings so they won’t fall down… but I think he’s the one falling apart.”
Emily felt a tight ache in her chest.
She knew that feeling well—building perfect facades while the foundation inside crumbles.
Lily suddenly grinned mischievously.
“We actually have a plan.”
Emily raised an eyebrow. “A plan?”
“Dad hasn’t eaten dinner,” Lily explained. “And when he doesn’t eat, he gets really grumpy.”