A Time for Peace by Barbara Cameron

was lie down for a little while and she'd be fine."
    "I was coming over after I finished my baking." She glanced at the timer on the stove.
    Hannah sniffed. "What's that I smell? It's not—"
    Laughing, Jenny nodded. "It's cinnamon rolls. I made a second batch after the children left. Figured I'd bring some over to you and Phoebe."
    "Did I ever tell you that you're my favorite sister-in-law?" Hannah nodded when Jenny held up the tea kettle. "
Ya,
I'd love a cup of tea."
    "I'm your only sister-in-law," Jenny said, pouring them both a cup of hot water and getting out the canister of tea bags— regular for her, decaffeinated ones for Hannah, of course.
    "The thing is, we have to be careful with what we say around Phoebe. I think we offended her the other day."
    The timer dinged. Jenny drew the pan of rolls from the oven, placed them on top of the stove and checked them, then shut off the oven. When she turned to get a plate, Hannah was right there, holding one out and grinning.
    "Can I have that one?" she said, pointing to the biggest roll in the pan.
    Jenny peered at it. "Looks like it has your name on it. But I haven't put the frosting on yet."
    Hannah gave her the plate and resumed her seat. "Well, hurry. There are two of us waiting, you know."
    "I know. That's why you ate at your house and then here, too."
    Smiling, she got out a bowl and stirred confectioner's sugar and milk together to form a thick frosting. Slathering it on the rolls, she watched it melt down into the crevices.
    Hannah cleared her throat, reminding Jenny of her impatience to eat it. Quickly, she cut out the roll Hannah had pointed to, placed it on a plate, and put it before her.
    "You know, one of these days I might make that recipe for cinnamon roll French toast that Fannie Mae gave me."
    "Ooh, you're killing me," Hannah said as she picked up the roll. "Imagine how incredible that must taste." She chewed and swallowed, then took a sip of tea.
    Jenny wrapped up several of the rolls to take to Phoebe and made a separate package. She handed it to Hannah. "There's one in here for you and one for Chris. I trust that the one for Chris will make it to him?"
    Hannah rubbed her abdomen. "Is he carrying this baby? Hmm? Is he?"
    Rolling her eyes, Jenny took back the package and added another roll. Really, sometimes adults were worse than kids.
    "I'm sure Chris is going to love it," Hannah said with a grin."Ready to go?"
     

     
    Jenny knocked on her grandmother's door.
    "Come in," she croaked.
    Opening the door, Jenny peered inside the room. The blinds were shut, so it was dim, but she could see her grandmother sitting up in her bed, her back resting against the headboard.
    "You sound awful."
    "It's just a cold. You shouldn't be here."
    "I've been around colds with the children," Jenny told her briskly. "It doesn't mean you automatically get one."
    Walking over to the bed, she lay the back of her hand on her grandmother's forehead. "Oh, my, you're burning up," Jenny whispered, alarmed. "I'm going to get a thermometer."
    "There's one in the cabinet in the bathroom there."
    She'd never had reason to go into her grandmother's medicine cabinet before. Now, she saw the prescription bottles she'd never known Phoebe had. Quickly, she reached for the thermometer and shut the cabinet. No way she wanted her grandmother to think she was snooping and get upset with her.
    When she returned with it and persuaded Phoebe to pop it into her mouth, Jenny found that her mother's intuition about how high her grandmother's temperature was based on her hand to forehead was correct: Phoebe's temp was 104.
    "I think this is more than a cold."
    Phoebe shook her head. "I'm going to take some aspirin and have a nap."
    "I'll get the aspirin," Jenny said quickly. "You rest."
    A nap? Phoebe taking a nap was as alarming as her having a temperature.
    Hannah thought so, too, when she went to tell her.
    "I think we should call her doctor."
    Jenny bit her lip. "This is so hard. She's an adult. We