Tramp watched as Collette slumped down depressingly on her lone bed. Of all the things that he had expected to see on her face, sadness was not one of those things. How could he, when he knew how giddy Collette could get whenever she spoke of, or thought about Meelus. He himself was excited when the shaggy dog asked him to tell Collette to meet him. It seemed there would be something to lift his daughters' spirits up.
There was a small change in Collette that he had noticed ever since Danielle left. It really was small, but too noticeable to be ignored. Much to his frustration, Collette wouldn't ever talk about it, insisting that everything was fine. The signs were becoming more and more obvious everyday, the way she'd always be the first one awake in the morning, how quiet she was while the family ate and how she would endlessly stare out of the window.
Now with whatever had happened with Meelus, he feared that things would only get worse for his daughter.
He turned away, feeling sad himself and pulled himself up the staircase. He stopped halfway up and looked out through the window, staring out at nothing in particular.
"Oh Tramp. What's wrong?"
A tiny crack of a smile formed on his lips. "Hiya' Pidge'."
Lady nuzzled into him gently and looked out of the window as well. "If it's about Collette..."
"It is." He slowly turned his head in the other direction. "I never use to worry about any of the girls, they always had each other, but now Danielle is gone, Annette is mostly independent and...I'm just worried that Collette is starting to feel lonely."
Jim Dear passed by with Junior in his arms, the toddler looked upset at being carried, even though he was clearly too young to attempt scaling the stairs. "Poor Jim, he doesn't know what's coming."
"Maybe you should try talking to her."
He snorted. "If anything, I'm the last person she'd want to talk to right now."
"Now don't you say things like that." Lady retorted sternly. "She's your daughter Tramp. It doesn't matter whether she wants to talk to you or not, you need to talk to her."
"Thanks Pidge'...I guess."