“Mony!”

Monica lifted her head from the book and turned her eyes to the door to see what her mother wanted. She had gotten out on the patio in the backyard, and even though the weather was freezing, she felt warm in her winter jacket and dog on her lap.

“What, Mom?” she asked with a small frown, a tiny part of her annoyed she had been pulled out of the imaginary world in the book. She had just reached a good part.

“The vet clinic called,” Rose, her mother said. She was slightly panting. Had she been in such a hurry to tell her? “Oh, and also your tenant...