"We must have pushed him too hard."

"Evelyn, please. You know we did no such a thing."

"Then why did he run away, Jackson? Clearly we must have upset him. And what about those other kids in the car with him? Who knows what they could have coerced him to do? First he runs away and then he's...then he's having sex before marriage!"

"Evelyn, for God's sake, pull yourself together!"

"I'm sorry," she sobs. "I'm so sorry!"

A sigh. "No, it's okay, so am I. I know you're worried about our Brian."

Some sniffling. "Once at book club, Mary - oh you remember Mary, don't you? She brought us this book from the library about parenting troubled teens, and it said all kids go through a rebellious stage. Do you think that's what this is?"

Another sigh. "I'm not sure."

"Do you think he hates us?"

"What? No, of course not! You need to calm down. Here, sit, drink your tea."

It's quiet for another minute, then Brian's father speaks again. "I blame myself, really."

Outside the double doors leading to the den, Brian sighs and heads back into the dining room, sitting and swishing his mushy cereal around in his bowel. His sister Jenny stares at him, scooping Cheerios into her mouth and chewing loudly.

"Where were you last night?" Jenny asks after she's swallowed. Brian shakes his head and picks up his napkin, wiping milk off her chin.

"Nowhere, Jenny, okay?"

"You made Momma cry yesterday," Jenny says as she kicks her feet back and forth under the table. Brian drops his head a bit and groans before he sits back up.

"I'm going through my rebellious stage, okay?"

"What's that?" Jenny asks.

Brian shakes his head as he tries to think up a good enough answer. "It means I'm turning into a hoodlum," Brian finally says and Jenny gasps.

"Momma's not gonna be happy about that, no siree," she says, shaking her head too.

Brian rolls his eyes. "I know she's not," he says, swishing around his cereal again.

They're both quiet before Jenny pipes up again. "Can I go through my rebellious stage, too?" she asks and Brian scoffs.

"What? Of course not. You're not old enough. Now eat your cereal," Brian says, swallowing hard when his father emerges from the den and comes into the dining room, hair tousled as if he's run his hand through it one too many times.

Jenny smiles at him. "Brian is a hoodlum," she says and Brian slides down in his seat with a groan.