Isaiah sat watching the activity. He had walked in the house and headed directly for the stairs. Not stopping even to talk to look for Mona who had been curiously absent. His eyebrows drawn together, he scowled at Karen‟s inattention. She hadn‟t even looked up when he had entered the room. Now he watched silently as she flung clothing into suitcases. "You‟re not going to even say why you‟re leaving?" No answer. Not that he truly expected one. "Where‟s Mona?" He would be happy with an answer to any question. Just for starters anyway. "How the hell should I know?" Isaiah felt the ice-cold chill of her eyes when she turned to him. Then watched as she returned to her packing. "She didn‟t say a word? Where she was going. What she was doing." "Not a word." Sighing, Isaiah fell back on the bed. The tension in the room was exhausting. "That‟s not like her." "Maybe she took another day off." "That‟s not like her either," he said.

***

Karen pounded off into Bobby‟s room, pushing him aside when he tried to block her efforts. "Why are we leaving now?" Bobby followed his mother to his dresser. Grabbing each item she tossed into the suitcase and tossing it back into its drawer. "I don‟t want to go."