"Welcome," Sunny answered, responding to the question by preceding Kitty into the room. She knew it wasn't a helpful thing to have said. She should perhaps try biting her tongue some today.

When you had a family as big as Sunny's--there were no only children in her family tree--you saw your number of gatherings, including funerals. She'd been there when relatives passed and also after, when rooms had been cleaned and tidied. It was partly the nature of hotel rooms, the neatness and anonymity of them, but it really did feel like that. She shuddered once, and then tucked the thought away. She couldn't indulge in this right now.