Did I hear birds singing? I turned, thinking we were going back upstairs, but he took my elbow with a gentle firmness. ‘I’m pretty sure our coats ...re down here.’ Hank pointed down an unlit hallway. ‘Okay.’ I smiled, ready to follow him anywhere. We slipped down the dark hall, past doors that might have concealed anything. Did Linda have a craft room, stuffed with fabric and beads? Did Stanley have some kind of smuggled contraband from a foreign head of state? Or maybe it was the other way. “It was my father. He was watching us,” I stated.“No, Hec, he was passed out. Like usual,” she responded.“Mom, I don’t think so. His eyes kept fluttering closed whenever I looked in his direction.”“That doesn’t mean anything, Hec. He was passed out.”“He wasn’t even snoring. He always snores.”“Hec, even if he was awake and watching us, it’s like I told you before, he just doesn’t care.”“How can he not care if you are playing with someone else’s cock?”“He would be happy I wasn’t bothering him for. 4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?7. Business conventions are important ... because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?9. Scratch a cat ... and you will have a permanent job.10. No. Opening her eyesshe was burst into a full sob clutching the woman tightly with one wordescaping her lips between breaths, "Mom!".The ride home felt calming. Her mom was still driving the same Aerostarminivan. In the back Janet seen the marks where her younger brother haddrawn in magic marker during the family vacation. It was the same and ithelped her relax. She kept her eyes closed for the trip home to avoid theconfusion she felt walking through the school. Janet's mom let her sitsilently.