It was already dark when Silas arrived at his parents' house.
It was an old apartment with dimly lit stairwells. Carrying his suitcase, he climbed step by step up to the fifth floor.
When he knocked, and the door opened, his mother, Lucy, wearing an apron and still holding a spatula in her hand, stared at him in surprise.
"Silas? Why did you come back so suddenly? You didn't even tell us you were coming." She looked past him and asked, "Where's Audrey? Didn't she come with you?"
Silas shook his head and pulled his suitcase inside the door.
His father, Bob, was reading the newspaper in the living room. He looked up at the sound, adjusted his reading glasses, and said, "Silas?"
"Dad. Mom." Silas stood in the entryway, his voice rough and dry. "I'm staying for a few days."
Lucy set dow
