"Since six," Marisol said.
"What's in it?"
"Lamb shoulder, preserved lemon, olives, a soffritto I built yesterday, and something I'm not going to explain until it's on the table."
Margaret was quiet for a moment.
"I brought croissants," she said.
"I saw," Marisol said. "The good ones from the place on Sixty-Third."
"You know it?"
"I've been buying from them since before the patisserie opened the second location." Marisol looked up from the stove. "They use cultured butter. Most patisseries don't anymore."
Margaret looked at her.
A pause that contained an entire recalibration.
"Yes," she said. "They do." She put down the patisserie bag carefully, the way you put down something you've just decided is a gift rather than a contribution. "We should talk about the croissant situation i
