After dinner, May produced ice cream cups from the freezer: three flavors. Franz took the twins outside to the garden.
The night air was cool but not cold, the kind of evening that carries the smell of the sea without the bite of it. Lily and Leo settled on the stone bench near the roses, working through their ice cream. Lily had chosen strawberry and was already eyeing Leo's vanilla, turning over the terms of a negotiation she hadn't yet announced.
May joined Franz near the garden wall. She held two more cups. "There are more flavors inside. Chocolate. Mango. The twins might want to try them."
"I'll ask them."
Lily looked up immediately. "More flavors? Can I try different ones at once?"
"You can," May said. "But don't eat too much. You'll spoil your stomach."
"I won't. I have a very strong stomach."
"You have a very impatient stomach," Franz said. "Go. Take Leo with you."
Lily grabbed Leo's hand and pulled him toward the house, their cups abandoned on the bench.
