They were sitting around the kitchen table, though it was well past dinnertime. Marion had called her in from the sitting room, where she was watching her little sister, Ruthie, color on a blank page. At her mother’s voice, she’d been surprised to glance outside and see the sky was growing dark already. How long had she been sitting there? Where were all the boys? “How late is it, Ruthie?” Her sister only shrugged and went back to her coloring sheet—a scene that included grass and a four-legged animal that was colored purple. Remembering that plum-colored animal, Sharon wondered if the entire world had gone crazy. She also wondered if the boys were hiding in the barn. No doubt they had all known what her parents were about to say. Everyone had known except her. “Did you say Wisconsin?” “Ya.” Her father didn’t blink. “That’s where Caleb and Julia live.” “Who?” “Caleb, your Aunt Betsy’s middle son. You remember him.” Marion spoke quietly, gently, as if she were afraid Sharon would bolt from the table.
