First paragraph from Chapter 2 of upcoming novel: What They Did Instead

It was a slow-moving summer morning of no plans. Juliette, on the third of her twelve daily cups of black coffee, was carefully

slicing a bowl of slippery peaches. Picked from their acreage that morning, the fruit was juicy, the size of softballs,

and would spoil them for all other peaches the rest of their lives. When the phone rang, Hedy plucked a couple of slices from the

bowl, handed one to Bridget and slid the other in her mouth. Juliette rinsed her hands at the sink and by the fourth ring, grabbed

the receiver. It was her mother, Ruby, calling with a medical report she knew was coming.