The water was numbing. I tried to grip the surface of the ice, but it broke
away. I saw Mom and Carmen on the ice making a chain toward me. I knew what
they were doing. I gripped Mom's hands and I felt myself being pulled to the
surface.

"Is it warm enough?" Mom asked about thirty minutes later. We had returned
home. "I could turn up the heat."

"No, this is fine," I answered.

My thoughts wouldn't settle. I wasn't going to catch Carmen today. She had
escaped after making sure I was all right. Isn't it ironic? The very thing
that pulled our family apart is bringing us closer together. I know it
brought Zack and I closer. And now this.

"It didn't have to end the way it did," Mom commented. She picked up the
phone and dialed a number. "Mrs. White? I'm staying at home. What? You can
handle it yourself. Yes? All right. Goodbye."

"What did you mean by 'it didn't have to end this way' ?" I asked.

Mother sighed and sat beside me. "Ivy, did you know Mrs. White had a
daughter?"

"Really?"

"Yes. She was around five years older than you. Her name was Faye. When Faye
graduated from high school, she wanted to go on to college. But Marilyn
wanted her to enter a dance academy. Well, they had a big argument about it,
and that night, Faye ran away. She hasn't been seen or heard from in five
years."

"Is that why Mrs. White acts so nuts?"

"It is. Treating her like a superior is my way of denying it ever happened. I
didn't want to admit that if it had happened to her child, it could happen to
mine."

"You were afraid I'd leave home like Faye?"

"Yes, I admit I was. I understand how you felt. But who was I to hold you
down? And I was also afraid that the family ties we all had would change. And
they did. Drastically."

"I think we all knew." I added. "But Mom, we can work on this.And Dad and
Zack."

Mom gave me a smile. "I suppose."

As if on cue, Dad and Zack came in.

"How's your fever?" I asked.

"It's gone, smartie." Zack retorted.

"Must have been the twenty four hour bug," Dad surmised.

Zack sat down next to me. "Spending the day with Dad and Parter wasn't so
bad."

"It's odd you should mention Parter." Dad cut in. "He hasn't been the same
for eight years."

"What happened to him?" Mom asked.

"You and Zack were on a business trip back then. Ivy, you were at a martial
arts meet."
He continued. "During this time, three kids were kidnapped. The perpetrators
demanded $60,000 for their safety. For three days, we puzzled over how to
handle it."

"What does this hostage situation have to do with Parter?" I asked.

"Simple. The hostages were his children. When the kidnappers went to pick up
the ransom money, we were waiting. But the kids were severely scarred by the
experience. And so was Parter."

Wow. Amazing, isn't it? Both Mrs. White and Parter had bad experiences with
their children. This was probably all Mom and Dad could do to keep from going
nuts themselves.

I sighed. My family may be considered dysfunctional. (All I needed was for
Carmen to make me realize how much the word fits.) But I know, we can work it
out.

It's good to be home again.

The end.