My mind snapped out of the memory placing me back into the present. Alice, Matthew and John were all sitting at the table, slowly eating the food that Rebecca had placed in front of them. I would imagine that it would taste good. All I could smell was the hickory smoked bacon and maple syrup that was wafting from the kitchen. I sat down beside Alice. Rebecca placed a warm plate in front of me. It had four slices of bacon, two eggs, over easy, and one piece of toast. As I took a bite it tasted the same as the rest of my food has tasted for a week. Tasteless. The atmosphere was so bare at the table. Everyone was drained, cold and lifeless. It was as if somebody had taken a straw and had just sucked the life out of all of us. There was no laughing anymore, nothing to even smile about. I sighed and went back to eating my breakfast.A sudden thumping down the stairs broke me out of my silent misery. Mother had just appeared from the hallway. From the bags under her eyes, I could tell that she got limited sleep. The worst part of her of her was that she had a fake smile on her face. I think she was trying to be strong for Alice, Matthew and John, but I would rather see her screaming her anguish to the world than that fake smile. For me it was agonizing torture. “Good morning everyone, sorry I’m up so late, I just seemed to lose the track of time,” she said in a falsely high voice. Every word that came out of her mouth was like ice shoved down my throat. “Alice, can you help me make an apple pie for supper?” Mother asked. I looked over at Alice. She nodded her head. This was going to be a very long day.By the time we had all finished our breakfast, I made a break to leave. “Thanks for breakfast Rebecca.” I exclaimed as I got up to leave. She turned towards me and surprisingly she smiled. “Oh don’t you worry about it, I’m setting lunch up for 12:00, so don’t be late. Alright?” I nodded and left the dining room. Just as I was about to climb up the stairs two small hands grabbed me around the middle. I turned around and I recognized my sister’s pixie face. She seemed utterly confused, even for a six year old. “Eric, what are we going to do?” she wailed with tears beginning to brim in her blue eyes “About what?” I asked. “About Mother.” she replied, now openly crying. “Hey Alice come on, don’t cry.” I said, trying to brush the teas from her eyes. “Listen to me, I’ll try to think of something, okay?” I gave her a big hug and I carried her up the stairs.


By the time we got to the top of the stairs, she had stopped crying. “You go back to your room and get ready, okay, I’ll be working outside today, so you’ll just have to be strong, got it?” I asked as I set her down. She nodded and skipped down the hall, her blond hair bouncing behind her. I sighed as I turned heading for my room. How was I ever going to make Mother realize that Father wasn’t coming back and that it was all my fault?