Mystery Cookies

Everything was falling into place, the landlords imposed strict rules: no playing near the pond on site and no using the fireplace. Given what we had been through, we had no intention of taking risks, but their conditions felt insensitive and even callous. It was as if they were rubbing salt in our wounds. The day after the fire, Dad went to work, his clothes still smelling of smoke since we hadn't started replacing or cleaning them yet.

His boss, showing great sympathy, offered him the day off and anything else he might need. Dad half-joked that he had no place to be. The Mystery Cookies rolls-up since a house fire is such a large loss, the insurance company divided the claim into parts, assigning a senior claim rep coordinator to manage the claim.