She sits at her desk, in front of her computer. She is in a complete trance. She doesn't even realize that Daphne is standing in front of her.
"Did you hear me?" Daphne questions.
Kathryn looks up. "I'm sorry, I was distracted, I didn't even hear you come in. What did you ask me?"
"Do you want to go to lunch with me?"
"No thank you. I've got a lot of work to do."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, sweetie, but thank you for asking."
"Are you ok?"
"Of course."
"Are you sure? I've barely seen you all week. You've been hiding away in here for days."
"I just need some time alone."
"Is there something going on that I should know about?"
"No. Enjoy your lunch."
"Do you want me to bring you back something?""No I'm fine."
Daphne leaves the room. She tries to shake the feeling that something is wrong, as she climbs into her car.
Kathryn sits in her office, at her desk. The screen of her computer is blank. She has yet to even turn it on, and it's afternoon. Her head throbs as she sits there, consumed by her own thoughts. She tries not to think about her family, and the irreparable damage that she has done to it. Her anxiety rises as she hears the door open. The footsteps move in her direction. John appears in the doorway. He smiles at her.
"Hey I'm on my way to a business lunch do you want to come?"
"No thank you."
"Are you sure?"
"After all of the lunches about the education bill that I had to endure I think that I will pass."
"I thought you might want to spend some time with me. I've been really busy lately, and I haven't been a good husband."
"I kind of just want to be alone."
"Kathryn are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she insists.
"Is there something going on that I need to know about?"
She shakes her head, "I am just trying to work on something, and I need some time alone."
"I completely understand. I will leave you to it then."
Bay looks over at Daphne. She shakes her head.
"I cannot believe that you talked me into this."
"Don't worry she is at the grocery store. She won't be home for hours."
"I hope not. If she finds us snooping through her office she is going to kill us."
"This is kind of a public place I doubt that she would hide anything in here."
"I would just like to point out how wrong this is, on so many levels."
"Because you aren't the one who came up with it?"
"Because she is our mother."
"Let's look in her closet."
Bay rolls her eyes as she follows Daphne out of the room. They wind up in Kathryn's closet. Bay flips the light on. Daphne closes the door.
"It might help if we knew what we were looking for."
"I will know it when I see it."
"That really inspires confidence Daphne."
"Just keep looking."
"Remind me again why we are doing this? This is just based on a hunch, right?"
"She is hiding something."
"She has a right to keep things from us, she's an adult."
"Something bad," Daphne clarifies.
"There is nothing in here but clothes, and shoes," Bay points out.
"There has to be something," Daphne argues.
Bay reaches into a pocket of a dress. She pulls out a crumpled piece of paper.
"What is it?" Daphne wonders.
Bay stares blankly at the post it note. She shakes her head. "It's just a bunch of numbers."
"Let me see," Daphne holds out her hand.
Bay places the bland yellow colored sticky note into her hand.
"It looks like a date and time."
"So what are the other numbers?"
"One five two six."
"Maybe they are lottery numbers, we don't know."
"One five two six?"
"Is it an address?" Bay questions.
"There is no street name. We will never figure it out based on the number."
"Maybe it's the last four digits of a phone number?"
"We will never find out who it belongs to with the last four digits."
"You are not helping."
"Four numbers?"
"Maybe it's a P.O. box, or the combination to a lock. It could be a million different things. A lock box. The last four numbers to a bank account. The last four of someone's social security number. A room number, it could literally be anything."
"A room number," Daphne answers.
"That is what you want to say it is? That is fine with me. Can we be done with this now? We need to get out of the closet before she comes home."
Daphne follows Bay out of the room. Halfway down the stairs Bay turns to Daphne. She nudges her arm.
"Why do you think it's a room number?"
Daphne shrugs, "I don't know."
"You're lying."
"Have you seen the way that Chip looks at her."
"You can't possibly think that about her."
"No, but I can think it about him. He is a player."
"She would never do that. She wouldn't cheat on anyone. She doesn't even cheat on her taxes."
"I know."
"And yet the expression on your face tells me that you are considering it as a possibility. Why?"
"Because I know Chip."
"And I know my mother. She is not that kind of person."
"People make mistakes," Daphne reminds her.