He ran up the steps and wrapped his arms around her waist.
She hugged him.
"Careful, baby. These old bones don't bounce like they used to."
His daughter approached more slowly.
The older woman noticed.
She opened her arms.
"Come here, sunshine."
The girl stepped forward.
Her grandmother hugged her for a long time.
Then she whispered something the father couldn't hear.
His daughter nodded against her shoulder.
The older woman looked up at him.
Her expression told him she understood that something serious had happened.
But she didn't ask questions in front of the children.
Instead, she smiled.
"Who's hungry?"
The boy raised his hand.
"I am!"
His sister hesitated.
The grandmother caught the hesitation immediately.
"Good. Because I made enough food to feed the whole neighborhood."
The boy laughed.
His grandmother led them inside.
The familiar smell of baked cornbread and simmering vegetables drifted from the kitchen.
Family photographs crowded the walls.
Old quilts covered the living room chairs.
A large wooden clock ticked above the fireplace.
For the little girl, the house had always been a place of comfort.
She used to spend summer afternoons here making cookies and listening to stories about her father's childhood.
She remembered the backyard swing.
The crooked cherry tree.
The tin of peppermints hidden in the living room cabinet.
And the photograph of her mother laughing at a family picnic.
Nothing in this house had been removed to make room for somebody else's feelings.
Nothing suggested that remembering her mother was disloyal.
Her grandmother pointed toward the dining table.
"Wash your hands. Lunch in ten minutes."
The children hurried down the hallway.
The father followed his mother into the kitchen.
The moment they were alone, she turned.
"How bad is it?"
He rested both hands against the counter.
"Worse than I knew."
He told her about the conversations he'd had with both children.
About the hidden food.
About his daughter fearing she might be sent away.
About the boy sharing snacks at school.
His mother listened.
Then she opened a cabinet, removed two mugs, and poured coffee.
Only after she placed one in front of him did she speak.