"This is Phil. Leave a message. Or not."

The beep indicating for the caller to leave his message sounded and Doug ended the call, shoving his cell phone back into his pocket. He was frustrated and quite frankly a little angry with one of his oldest friends who seemed to have decided to utterly ignore his very existence for today. Next to him the other one of his very best friends - Stu - shot him a curious glance.

"And?"

"Nothing. No answer. Goes to voice mail every time I try."

"But we were supposed to leave an hour ago."

Stu couldn't help but sounding a little whiny about the whole thing. It had been four years since Alan had gotten married, two years since he and his wife had moved from L.A. to the Mexican border and now Cassandra had just had a baby. Actually Stu didn't even wanna think about those two... reproducing. But they were happy for them. The baptism for the baby had been scheduled for this weekend, the first time ever in years that the former 'wolfpack' came back together.

It was at least a five hour drive and with Phil being late - which meant for them to hit rush hour on the way out of L.A. - and Alan being Alan it would be one hell of a road trip and not in a good sense. Doug clapped his friend on the shoulder, fishing for his cellphone again. He was just as irritated. And, being completely honest with himself, a little worried. Phil certainly had a tendency to be childish and a little irresponsible at times, but Doug had never known him to be unreliable. In all the fucked up situations they had been involved in whenever all four of them had been together and alcohol had been involved, Phil had always been the one to keep his cool. It just wasn't like him to forget something like this or to not call if he would be late. Doug sighed.

"I know, okay? And Phil knows too. I'll try his home phone again."

Doug hit the number on speed dial and waited for the beeping of the phone to fade and someone to pick up the phone. It was a nerve wrecking eternity and then Doug was greeted by the all too familiar sound of the answering machine. He tried not to let his anger show but he didn't quite succeed.
"Phil, it's Doug. Again. Come on man, where are you? We're waiting. Please call me back asap."
Next to him Doug heard Stu sigh pointedly.

"Still nothing, mh?"

"Yep. I think we should just go over there. Maybe there's just a problem with the phone company or something. Or maybe they have been held up because of the kids. Whatever. We should just pick him up."

Stu nodded slowly. That was actually a good idea that they should have come up with way earlier. It was Friday afternoon and Phil couldn't possibly still be at school. He had no idea what Stephanie's work schedule was like. They barely ever talked about these things. But he knew she was working only part time. She had to be home. But that didn't change the fact that there was nobody answering. Doug's impatient call brought Stu back to the reality around him. His friend was already in the car.

"Come on, Stu. Let's go and check this out."

It was a 15 minute drive to Phil's house and Doug had a good feeling about coming here when he saw the Minivan parked in front of the garage. Stephanie's smaller car wasn't here but it wasn't Stephanie they had come here for. Doug parked his car across from the house and they walked to the door. It took a second ring and still a little more time but finally somebody answered the door. Though it was neither Phil nor Stephanie.

"Uncle Doug? Stu? What are you doing here."

"Hi Eli. We were looking for your father. He was supposed to meet us about an hour ago."

"I don't know. He's not home. Mom isn't either."

The boy sounded utterly clueless and somehow Stu couldn't believe that both Steph and Phil would just leave their kids alone at home without letting them know where they went and when they would be back. He never would have assumed the teenager was lying to them but something was definitely off here. Stu focused his gaze on Eli, hoping to pry some further information from him.

"You have no clue where your parents are?"

"Mom called here when I came home from school. She just told me to pick up Marie from kindergarden, that there was some money in the kitchen drawer and to order some take out and take care of my little sister."

"That's all?"

The teenage boy nodded and Stu shared a look with Doug. Neither of them had any idea what was going on here but Steph's and Phil's behavior were definitely strange. It didn't help to push the matter though. Poor Eli knew just as much as they did - nothing. Stu placed a hand on the boys shoulder an gave him a warm smile.

"Will you tell them we came by and that we need for them to call us. Please?"

"Sure, Uncle Stu. I tell them."

"Thanks, buddy."

They just stood there for a moment, frozen to the spot, after Eli had closed the door on them. Stu still had no idea what to make of this conversation and the strange behavior the boys parents were displaying. He still didn't know why Phil hadn't showed up or even called them to let them know he would be late. He was at a loss of ideas. His gaze shifted to Doug.

"What do we do now?"

"I think we should go back to Tracy's and my place and call Alan, tell him we can't make it today. And then... then we wait."

Stu nodded, not knowing what else to do. Calling Alan and telling him that they were letting him down surely wouldn't be a pleasant experience. Phil better had one hell of a good explanation for all this. But for the moment they could do little else but wait on their mysteriously disappeared friend. They drove back in silence and were greeted by Tracy at the door a strange expression on her face.

"Guys, erm, Stephanie called. I was out in the garden with Lilly and I didn't hear the phone. But she left a message and I think you should listen to it."

A rush of excitement went through Doug when his wife told him about the message. It still wasn't as good as finally hearing back from Phil, but Stephanie was a start. Surely her message had some clue about what was going on. They reached the living room and Tracy pushed the button on the answering machine to replay the message. Stephanie's voice was filling the room and what she had to say to them made the friends blood run cold.

"Hi Doug, Tracy. This is Stephanie. Look, I know you tried to call our house and Phil's cell several times today. I'm just calling to tell you to stop. Stop calling his cell, stop calling our house, stop waiting. Phil won't be joining you on that little road trip of yours. And quite frankly we would very much appreciate it if you left the two of us alone. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but that's the way we want it. I ask you to please respect our decision. I am sorry about all this. Truly. Well... thanks I guess. Bye."

The look, the friends shared, said more than words ever could have, but Stu still spoke his mind out loud.

"What the hell was that all about?"