Clearing away the dishes he had used, the teen rose from the table to escape the tiresome meal. He had acted appropriately, he tried to convince himself. He had been polite. He'd stayed at the table longer than either his brother or sister. There was no way they could fault him for his behavior.

He was trying to be good. To 'tow the line' as Johnny had put it. But it was hard. Somehow, knowing his time was limited there made being around them painful. The easy conversations and casual attitudes of the adults just plain hurt. How they could be so casual with him, knowing that he was only days away from leaving, angered him more than he ever thought was possible.

As Bradin quietly excused himself to his room, Ava finally directed her gaze away from the stoic figure. Looking around the table, she quickly realized that she was not the only one amazed by this unexpected change in demeanor.

"What the hell is going on with him?" Susanna bluntly questioned.

Jay gave her a sideways glance. "I'm not alone in thinkin' he's a bit off, eh?"

"Hardly." Susanna returned. "What happened to the moody boy with the fowl attitude?"

"Come on, Susanna. He was never that bad." Ava immediately defended her nephew.

"Never that bad?" She gave the protective aunt a level look. "Sneaking out? Drinking? Torturing his little brother? Any of this ringing a bell with you, Ave?"

"He's a teenager, Suz." Johnny put in.

"Exactly." She replied; satisfied with how easy it was to get her point validated.

Not that it was crystal clear to the rest of them. Ava was the first to question her. "Exactly what?"

"Exactly my point, Ava. He's a teenager; he's supposed to be annoying. And not annoying in this silent zombie way. Annoying in the selfish, rude, careless way that we were so becoming accustomed to before this last little grounding incident."

"You really think that's what it was?" Ava questioned, concerned to hear her suspicions validated. "You think he just shut down when I grounded him?"

"We grounded him." Johnny reassured her. "And it's not like it's the first time."

"Really not like the first time. He didn't even acknowledge it last time you confined him, mate." Jay reminded him. "Now it's like..."

"He exists to be grounded." Ava broke in, her concern mounting. "It's been more than two weeks and he hasn't even whined once. He just sits in his room."

"No pleas to just hang on the patio or watch TV." Johnny added.

Susanna also noticed the odd behavior. "He's way too cooperative. He's too well behaved. It isn't normal."

"Totally unnatural." Jay willingly confirmed.

Susanna locked eyes with her business partner. "Something is definitely up."

"I know." Ava replied dejectedly. "What I don't know is what it is."

"So?" Jay questioned, earning himself odd looks from every direction.

Johnny spoke up first. "What do you mean: 'so'?"

"So what's the harm in it? He's just acting a little off. It's not like he's hurtin' anyone." Jay continued. "He's just quiet. Obedient."

"Yeah, the obedient thing is definitely a plus." Susanna agreed.

Johnny shifted his gaze back to Ava before adding his two cents. "They do have a point, Ava. He's behaving."

"He's not acting like himself." Ava defended.

Johnny had an immediate response, though. "Maybe he's trying to make amends. Show you he can be responsible."

"Maybe." The skeptical aunt allowed.

"Maybe not." Susanna put in. "What's it matter, though, really? What matters is that we revel in it while we can, folks. Because, trust me when I say that it sure ain't gonna last."

"So we just do nothing?" Ava questioned.

Johnny was the first to answer. "Susanna's right. He's a kid. He's resilient. Even if something is wrong, he'll get over it. And if he doesn't, then we deal with it."

"Problems have a way of finding us on their own, Ava. There's no need to go out looking for them." Jay added.

"I suppose." She hesitantly agreed, continuing to gaze where the teen had last stood.