CHAPTER 9BAND PRACTICE
He was gone again. There was no doubt about it in Kelly’s mind. He had made that lovely appearance on mischief night, then seemed to struggle to hold on over the next few weeks. Then, shortly before Thanksgiving, he disappeared. And this funk had settled in for weeks on end—well into December. Not that he was home much, but when he was, he was barely communicative and had set up camp on the couch, eschewing any suggestion of social engagements. She had tried to draw him out on several occasions but was rebuffed with his usual platitudes that he would be just fine once he had a chance to recharge his batteries. She teetered on the edge of suggesting he see a psychiatrist. He had done so a couple of years back but bailed after he became convinced that the “shrink” was
