Benji looked over at me where I stood by the open bedroom door.

“Can we plant the sunflower seeds tomorrow?”

“We’ll plant them out in the back garden right after breakfast,” I told him gently.

Clay got up from the bed, stepped out into the carpeted hall, and leaned his forehead against the door frame.

His shoulders shook without a sound, his hands shoved deep in his jeans pockets.

He walked down the hall without a backward glance, and the front screen door clicked shut behind him.

From the kitchen window I watched the red taillights of Clay’s truck pull out of the driveway, leaving Benji and me alone in the quiet kitchen.