As Delia trudged up to her room and Andy came into the house and into the kitchen, neither of them noticed the two teenagers in the living room. Ephram sat at the piano which fit him well, and on a chair next to him sat Jig, with a cello between her knees. After Ephram's sister and father entered and exited the two's sight, they turned to each other.

"What was that?" Jig asked him. He shrugged and turned back to the piano keys.

"I don't want to know. You want to start from the top again?"

"Yeah. I just can't seem to get it. If I mess it up Friday-"

"There is no place you can hide, bwa ha ha," Ephram said, laughing in an evil guy kind of way. Jig laughed a little.

"Yeah, something like that. But, you, my piano playing friend, have gotten it down pat… or George, or Arnold, or Chris…" Jig said, questioning the ability to get something down 'pat.' Ephram laughed slightly.

"Pat, adjective. Completely, exactly, or perfectly," Ephram told her. Jig just kind of looked at him, slightly scared that he knew that, but also slightly amused by it.

"I have trouble believing there's any one else in the world like you, Ephram Brown… What is your middle name anyway?" she asked him. He looked at her, a little surprised by the question.

"Andrew," he said and she nodded, not very surprised.

"That makes sense. It could have been worse, you could be Ephram Jehovah Brown…" she said and he laughed.

"I suppose so. What's your middle name?" he asked her. She looked at him, confused.

"Ira… Remember? Juliet Ira Green. J-I-G. Ira…" she said. Ephram looked at her, the information redeveloping in his mind. He cringed when it came to him.

"Right! I knew that! Jesus where is my mind today?" he asked her. She shook her head.

"I guess you haven't gotten it down pat yet," she told him and he grinned at her.

When Nina woke up in the morning she found the bed space next to her empty. She rubbed a starch feeling from her hair, and scratched the dry saliva that been left on the corners of her mouth by a night of light drooling.  She stood up onto well rested legs and grabbed her nightgown, which she, ironically, only wore in the morning.

She could hear the sound of her husband's voice and followed it down the hall. First she peeked through the crack of Sam's room, and found her son undisturbed. She walked down to the next door to find it wide open. She peeked in just enough to make sure it was safe, before walking into the room fully, with a smile on her face. She found Carl holding Meredith in his hands, bouncing her slightly. The baby, by no means affected by the early hours of the day, was moving her head and wide open eyes around, taking in everything the room had to offer her. Nina smiled, very real amounts of joy lifting the ends of her lips.

Ephram wasn't sure of the reason, but he did notice that breakfast was quieter than usual, and that his father and sister never looked each other in the eye. Keep in mind the difficulty to know the direction of two sets of pupils at the same time, and the fact that Ephram still noticed whenever he looked up from his bowl of cereal. Cereal. That too was a sign things were not right in the Brown homestead. Lately, Andy had actually been getting good at making breakfast foods, but today he showed no effort. There had always been at least an effort.

When the lack of speaking made Ephram start counting the number of times Delia chewed, Ephram had to do something to break the silence. So he cleared his throat and leaned off the kitchen counter. Neither his father nor his sister seemed to notice him, both lost in the evidently interesting world of their cereal bowls. So he cleared his throat again, almost to the point of pain, and still nothing. He sighed and shook his head.

"Look, I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but, if only for me, settle, it please?" he asked them, now of course having their attention. He stood up and pushed his chair in, leaving his now empty bowl on the counter. He grabbed his coat and his book bag. Andy was about to open his mouth to speak but found no words to pour from it. Delia, though obviously aware of Ephram's miniature speech, seemed twice as interested in her cereal bowl as before. Ephram sighed yet again, and shook his head, yet again.

"Okay, so, whatever. Just settle it as soon as you can, I have to get to school," he said as he walked toward the door. Just short of reaching it he turned back to look at them.

"Oh yeah, I have rehearsal after school today, and Desi and I might hang out after, but, I'll be home before supper," Ephram told his father. Andy nodded.

"Uh, yeah, okay," Andy muttered. Ephram nodded his head, happy to find out he wasn't just talking to himself.

"See ya later," Ephram said with a small wave and an exit.

Before leaving for school that day, as Bright walked down the stairs and over to his coat, he noticed his sister with his parents, all nodding their heads. Bright paused slightly and watched as his sister smiled and walked toward him, most likely searching for her own coat.

"What was that about?" Bright asked in his way of not seeming like he was curious.

"Oh, I just asked Mom and Dad if it's okay if I have some friends over Friday night, after the senior play. You know, like a girl's night…" she explained.

"Oh. Who are you asking over?"

"Jig and Desi."

"Won't Jig be with Mr. What's-His-Face?"

"Isaac's leaving after the play. I thought it'd be nice to help cheer Jig up," Amy explained. Bright nodded, somewhat getting it.

"Hey, uh, I don't suppose you could invite Georgianna Prescott?" Bright asked. Amy paused on her way for the door and looked at him.

"The chess player?" she asked, surprised. He shrugged.

"You know, if you want to… just a suggestion… you don't have to…" Bright said not looking at her. He cleared his throat and walked out the door, leaving it open for his sister. Amy simply smirked, and followed him.

Delia had been quiet for most if not all of the day. Murasaki worried a little, but since she knew the reason for Delia's laconism she lost no hair over it. She did notice that Delia kept looking at Torres and Torres kept looking at Delia, without the other's knowledge. But, the odd part that Murasaki especially noticed, was that they each had the same look on their face. A worried, pouty, almost curious look. It was noticeably the same. She nudged Delia slightly, again during art class.

"Maybe you should apologize?" Murasaki told her. Delia looked at her, needing no clarification on whom they were talking about. She nodded simply, to Murasaki's surprise. Delia stood up and slowly walked over to Torres. She lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and a few moments later Delia was laying on the floor, her hand on her right eye, and Murasaki leaning over her worriedly.

"Murasaki, do me a favor. Never give me advice ever again?"

"Deal," Murasaki said and helped Delia to her feet and to the nurse's office.

With a nagging grumble in his stomach Andy walked into Mama Joy's on his lunch break. Actually, it was earlier then he usually took his lunch break, but there was no one at the office and as afore mentioned, he had a nagging grumble. Due to his earliness, he did not have the privilege of supping with his colleague Dr. Abbott. But, instead, he had the greater privilege of having his lunch with someone nicer both in the mind and in the eyes. As he walked in he kept his coat on for the main purpose of keeping his hand at the right pocket of it. He sat down, pulled out the book from his pocket, and placed it next to his neighbor's plate. Her eyes, without any forethought, went to the object and she smiled. She chewed quickly and swallowed what appeared to be scrambled eggs and hash browns. She picked the book up and turned to him, he grinned.

"So can I return that here or do I have to stop off at the library?" he asked. She shook her head and placed the book in on the empty space next to her.

"Here is fine. Hello Andy."

"Hello Penny. Hey, who manages the library while you're here?" he asked her. She gave him a brief glance before turning to her meal.

"No one, it's closed."

"Oh, so it's good I came here then…" he said. She nodded.

"It's always a good idea Andy. What can I get you?" Nina asked walking over to them.

"Oh, uh, chicken fingers and coffee," he told her. Nina nodded, jotted it down on her pad, and walked away. Andy looked over to see Penny shaking her head.

"What?" he asked her. She looked at him and smiled.

"Chicken fingers. How… improbable…. See ya later Andy," Penny told him placing her money on the counter by her plate. She stood up and put her coat on. As she raised her arms to place the sleeves on, the stomach of her sweater rose as well and Andy caught a brief look of something odd.

"What's that?" he asked her as she straightened her jacket.

"What's what?"

"On your stomach, it looked like a scar."

"What are you talking about?" Penny asked him. His eyebrows burrowed slightly. Taking the initiative he reached forward and lifted the bottom of her shirt. She quickly batted his hand away and took a step back, but it wasn't quick enough. Andy had seen what he wanted.

"Penny, that's a scar from a cesarean…" he told her. She frowned.

"I know…. Bye…" she said and bolted quickly from the diner. Andy sighed and looked as Nina placed his chicken fingers in front of him.

"Nina, has Penny ever given birth?" he asked her. She froze like a deer in headlights.

"I got to go," she said and too bolted from him. Now Andy was plain confused and wore his trademark puppy face. He looked to his left and saw a book laying on the countertop. He picked it up and turned to the door.

"Penny you-!" he said but stopped when he looked at the book closer. Instead of being The Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus, it was Headlong Hall by Thomas Love Peacock. Andy chuckled slightly and shook his head.