Ennis stood, alone, watching from a distance as the grey metal coffin was lowered into the ground. His parents had moved away from the grave, his mother crying softly, his dad holding back his tears. They were talking quietly with friends, but Ennis couldn’t tear himself away, couldn’t take his eyes away until it was all over, and putting someone into the ground was definitely a part of it - the last part, the final part, and then it really would be over at last, this horror and misery that had landed on them so suddenly just a few short nights ago.

He’d been up in his room, almost asleep, but still listening for his big brother Kendall to come home. He’d heard his parents talking, knew they were worried - Kendall was gonna be in trouble for sure. He was supposed to be home by 12:30, and it was going on 2:00 a.m., and he hadn’t even called. No way was he gonna be able to talk his way out of this one - dad might even strap him. Ennis hoped not - he adored his brother, hated it when he and his dad fought. But this time he could almost understand his dad’s anger, was pissed off himself. Where was he? Didn’t he know that he was worried? Didn’t he know that he lay in bed at night waiting for him to come home?

Ennis knew Kendall drank sometimes when he went out, had even said something to him about it once, but Kendall had said not to worry, that he never drank too much, that he was always in control. Kendall had lied though, Ennis knew he had, ‘cause one night, after Kendall came in and went to bed, Ennis had gone through the connecting bathroom from his room to Kendall’s to talk to him. He’d just wanted to hear about Kendall’s night out. Kendall was popular, had lots of friends. Sometimes, when he got home, he’d tell Ennis about their adventures. Ennis loved to hear about them, even though he could never see himself doing any of the wild things Kendall did.

That one night, though, when Ennis had gone in to get the scoop - just a few minutes after he’d heard Kendall’s door shut - Kendall was already asleep, and he couldn’t wake him up. He’d been passed out on his bed, and the smell of booze had made Ennis almost sick. Ennis had wanted to tell their parents, ‘cause he was scared, but he didn’t want to get Kendall in trouble, so he’d just stayed in his room all night, sat in a chair by the bed. By dawn, Kendall seemed to be sleeping normal, not passed out anymore, so Ennis went back to his room. He never said anything about it to Kendall.

Ennis never said anything about it to his parents either, never told them that Kendall was drinking, and somehow Kendall had managed to keep it a secret. Up until now, of course. Everyone knew now. With one sharp knock on the door at 2:30 a.m. on a frigid Sunday morning in November, Kendall’s secret was revealed, his parents were devastated, and his little brother was left horribly alone.

Ennis flinched as the groaning machine shuddered to a halt, and Kendall’s coffin settled into its final resting place. Ennis wiped the tears from his face and went to join his parents, guilt just one more layer of misery piled onto his already broken heart.

***********************

Jack stood alone on the edge of one of the party rooms at his parents' country club, fidgeting in the new suit and shoes his mom had made him wear to the wedding. Jack hated weddings, all the planning and fuss and inconvenience for something that probably wouldn’t last till he was old enough to drive. His mom would say he was too young to have such a bad attitude about it, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t know any happily married people, only bored or unhappy ones, so he didn’t have much confidence in it.

His parents were still married, and he wasn’t really worried about them getting a divorce, but he didn’t think they were happy, sure didn’t think they were in love, not like what he saw in the movies, anyway. How could they be? They hardly ever even saw each other - his dad was always away on business and his mom was always at her clinic with a patient. That meant that they hardly ever saw him either, which had been fine up till now. He’d always had his grandma to take care of him, make sure that he got to the places he needed to go, make sure that he had something good to eat, didn’t spend too much time alone. But now, all that was about to change.

Today, his grandma was standing at a big table, drinking champagne, surrounded by their family and friends, holding hands with a guy he’d only met a year ago, Lou Stigmeyer. Grandma had met Lou at the Bop Club, where she liked to go sometimes with her lady friends to dance on Saturday nights. Now, her last name was Stigmeyer too, like he’d ever be able to get used to that, and she and Lou were cutting a big white cake covered with bells and flowers. Tomorrow, they were leaving, driving down to New Orleans to take a two week cruise - their honeymoon. Just thinking about his grandma on a honeymoon, and all that might mean, made him totally sick, like he might have to throw up or something.

Once they were back from the cruise, she and Lou were going to spend a week with him and his parents, mostly him, since his parents were never home, and then they were driving Lou’s old-man Buick sedan to his house - her house now - in Orlando, Florida.

He’d shown them all pictures of it - it was on a golf course, and Lou had said he was going to teach her to play, but Jack coulda told him he was wastin’ his time with that plan. Grandma had to be the least athletic person he’d ever known. Jack had always had to restrain himself when they’d played catch, even when he was little, and when she’d tossed the football for him to run for, he’d never known which way it was gonna go. Sometimes it even went backwards! She’d been almost as excited as him a couple of years ago when a boy his age had moved into the house next door to her. As soon as he and Nick had spent their first afternoon playing together, she’d given him an important looking paper announcing her Official Retirement from Baseball and Football so that she could concentrate on her second career, Cookie Baker.

So, he and Nick had played their games in her long, shady back yard, and she’d kept them full and happy with sandwiches and cookies and fruit drinks. Now her house was sold to some new family with three daughters. Nick was excited about having girls next door, but Jack figured they’d just be a nuisance most of the time, wanting to follow them around and tell on them for everything. Whatever...... as far as he was concerned, it didn’t matter who moved in, it was who was moving out that he cared about. That was what was breaking his heart.