Mitch agreed. “Honey, we’ll speak with them tonight after dinner. They’ll know something is up anyway, and we’ll be in Akron at least until Friday.”

Joe and Rosemary decided it was time to let Carolyn and Mitch be alone, and so they hugged them and said good-bye at the front door. Fortunately the boys could stay with their grandparents while Mitch and Carolyn were gone, and they would know how to handle their concerns.

Mitch and Carolyn looked at each other across the table. “As usual, your dad gave us some good advice,” he said. She nodded. “I mean about praying for guidance,” he added.

“Mitch, I’m not ready to talk to God just yet. Can you do it?”

Dinner was an odd affair, and as Mitch suspected, the kids knew something was up. Luke, their eleven-year-old, noticed his mom had been crying, and asked her why. She tried to put him off by saying it was just the change in seasons, and her allergies were acting up, but at dinner when Carolyn suddenly excused herself, the pretense started to crumble.

“Dad, what’s going on? Are you and mom getting a divorce like Tommy’s parents?” Luke asked. He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“No, son, nothing like that. Let me get Mom, so we can have a chat.”

Mitch knew the moment had finally come, and said another silent prayer for God to put the right words in his mouth as he went to retrieve Carolyn. Their three boys thought of Danny and Rachel more as a big brother and sister than as friends. Heck, they even called them by their first names. Rachel and Danny had insisted on that. And Evan and Christopher were like family as well. You couldn’t be closer without being blood relatives.

Carolyn was in the upstairs bathroom. Mitch could tell that she was inconsolable. It broke his heart to do it, but he tapped on the door and told her it was time to talk to the kids. They couldn’t wait any longer. Carolyn walked out, nodded bravely, and said, “Tell me one thing, Mitch. How, just how, do you tell your children one of their friends is dead, and that he was murdered by his father, who also killed his wife and then committed suicide? None of this makes sense, even to an adult, let alone to three small children.”

“I don’t know. But we’ll do our best.”