CHAPTER 38When Mara and Sam entered the living room, Melanie and Denton Proctor were pulling on their coats, clearly intent on leaving immediately. As Diana turned to open the front door, someone on the other side knocked on it. She opened the door to see Ping standing on the front porch and said, “Mr. Ping, what a surprise that my daughter failed to mention that you would be stopping by.”
“I apologize if this is a bad time. Perhaps I should have called first,” Ping said sheepishly.
“Don’t be silly. You’re always welcome. The Proctors were just leaving,” she said, conducting a little traffic management by waving the couple out, stepping onto the porch with them and holding the door for Ping to go inside. He nodded to the departing guests and entered the house.
“Are the two of you okay t
