As ever, thank you.

Vocal Reverberation Under Spinal Pressure

"So," says Dad, pouring himself a cup of coffee whilst the rest of us eat in uncomfortable silence. "I heard from Phil today."

"Has he given up on our girl too?" asks Mom, tearfully. She's still furious with Dad for coming home. Furious, and slightly thankful, as she had become convinced that whilst in Nevada, he would somehow get involved with a gang and end up dead. I don't know.

"No," he says, sitting heavily in his chair. "He has found her."

We all stare at him. "What?" shrieks Mom, knocking over her plate, sending toast crusts into the mouths of our ever waiting dogs. "They're coming home?"

I exchange glances with Kit and Mary. The likelihood of their coming home is what? Slim to none?

Dad rubs his face with a weary hand. "Not exactly," he says, and Mom all but wails. "They are moving to a house in Huntsville."

"Alabama?" asks Mom, incredulous. "Why would they move there? They had much better be closer to here, then when Lydia starts having babies, I can help her out."

"That is if she hasn't already," mutters Mary.

Thankfully, neither Mom or Dad hear her.

"It's barely an hour and a half to get there," I say.

"And she's already there for college," puts in Kit.

"It'll be much more convenient for them," says Dad, quietly.

I think we are all (save Mom) agreed, that Lydia in another state is probably a good thing.

"Well then I guess that's…that's great," says Mom, and her face splits into an almighty smile. "My little girl," she says, "an hour an a half away, married, finishing college…" She shakes her head slowly, as if she doesn't quite believe that her dream has come true. Kit looks confused. Mary looks like thunder. Turns out that's an ability she shares with Will. Dad looks…I don't know. He looks old suddenly. He stands up, drains his coffee, and walks heavily out into the hall. The study door closes with its familiar creak and Mom starts talking champagne and onesies.

"They're coming home? Just like that?"

I stand on the porch, coffee in one hand, my cell in the other. "I know, right? He's missing something out."

"Yeah, and if he's not telling you, phone Aliz."

Huh. She is an evil genius after all. "Hey, good plan," I say, somewhat dumbfounded.

Jane smirks. I can hear it. "I'm full of 'em."

"Full of it? Yeah…I'll say."

The sound erupts of a raspberry being blown down the line. "I've got to go," she says, "but call if you get any more out of him."

"I will," I say, and we say goodbye. I embrace another brief moment of quiet, trying to block out the sound of Mom on the house phone with her sister Adelaide, trying and failing not to sound too smug that her youngest daughter is married and has a house and is going to be an hour and a half away. Aunt Addie's only child, Derrick, is gay, single and lives in China. We suspect he moved there largely to put as much world between him and his mother as possible. Either way, Mom's smugness is out of this world.

"Daddy?" Lizzie asks, leaning round the study door.

"Sweet pea?" Rex replies, looking up wearily from the computer screen in front of him.

She sits down on the window seat and frowns. "Do you think it was Uncle Phil who laid out the money for the house, and not George?"

He sighs. "I think there is a very good chance of that," he says. "George does not appear to be much of a one for paying his bills."

She frowns further. "You found where they had been?"

He smiles very slightly. "And had to all but lie to stop them from hobbling me with several bills for unpaid rooms."

"But then surely there are now people after them for their money?"

He looks back at the screen, sighs and hits print. The old printer whirrs into life, and chugs out a single page copy of an email. "Read it," he says, and Lizzie picks it up.

Frowning further she looks up at intervals with an incredulous expression. "His bills have been paid?" she says eventually, reaching the bottom of the page. "Uncle Phil paid their bills? How much was it?"

"Enough."

She begins to worry the corner of the page between her fingers. "And you think he paid for that, and the house?"

Rex leans back and says nothing.

"Maybe they're going to rent."

He sighs. "It says there they've bought a house."

She glances back at the email and grimaces. "How much?" she asks.

Rex rubs his chin, sits up again and clicks through the windows he has up on the computer screen. "I reckon it can't be much less than fifty thousand at the very least."

Lizzie's jaw drops. "Holy…"

"Yeah."

"They've got five kids! Aksel's going to Yale! How can they possibly afford it?"

Rex leans back again, both hands rubbing his face. "I don't know," comes his muffled reply, "and come to that, how in the hell can I ever repay him?"

"Hi! It's Lydia. Or should I say, Mrs Wickham! It sounds stupid…anyway. Uncle Phil said he'd get in contact with you as we were still honeymooning, but the long and short of it is, we have a house! In Huntsville, so don't worry- I'm going back to college when it starts again. George is one hundred and fifty percent behind me and I'm going to finish college and then I don't know, maybe become a fashion designer. Or an actress. George says I could do either. He is so supportive. Anyway. We'll be home in a few days, and then you all have to come and see our new house. It's ours from Saturday. Crazy, right? We might swing by you first though. You know, as it's quite a way from Nevada across, but we'll see. We might just want to get home and move into our love nest. OK, so I'll be in contact soon. Bye!"

"They're not coming here" says Dad. "No way am I having him under my roof."

"I second that," says Mary, eyeing the answer-machine with distaste.

"Nonsense" says Mom. And that is, unfortunately, that.