Even though there is no school on Saturdays, the Critch family was still jammed packed with events.  Everyone sleept in except Jasper. He always works on Saturdays. He is gone by the time Martha wakes up. The coffee is already made so she pours herself a steaming cup.  The hot liquid satisfies her caffeine withdrawal.  Teegan then drags himself downstairs ten minutes later.

“Good morning sunshine!” Martha tries to lighten his mood.  The coffee must be going to her head already. 

“Good morning mom.  What are we doing today?”  Teegan looks at her with his tired eyes.  If Teegan could sleep in everyday, he would.

“You know, the normal boring stuff.  Store, bank, dry cleaners, and laundry mat.  What else would you like to do with your awesome mom today?”

Teegan laughs, “You’re not that awesome mom.  I’ll talk to Carter when he wakes up.”

“Go get ready and I will start breakfast.”  Martha laughs at her sarcastic son.

Teegan heads back upstairs and Martha starts cracking eggs in a bowl.  She gets the bacon out of the fridge, puts some in a pan on the stove, and starts shredding potatoes.  If Martha wasn't a teacher, she could probably pass for a pretty good cook at a truck stop.

Carter slumps downstairs just as Martha is putting breakfast on the table.  He is dressed but his hair is still a disaster.  If he could stay in bed all day everyday, he would.

“Good morning Frankenstein,” laughs Martha.  “Did you sleep well?”

“No mom.  I kept having strange dreams.  I can’t even remember what they were about, but I kept waking up.”

“I’m sorry, Carter.  Eat your breakfast and fix your hair.  We’ve got errands to run and maybe you can take a nap when we get back, if you feel like it.”

Teegan makes it back downstairs and they all have breakfast together.  With two growing boys in the house there is never any leftovers at meal time.  Carter then heads back upstairs to fix his hair so they can all get ready to leave.  

Martha and her family live in a 3 bedroom apartment with a community washer and dryer so it’s always cheaper to take the clothes to the laundry mat once a week.  She doesn’t wash her work outfits though. Those she takes to the dry cleaners. Martha knows that the boys don’t have the most fun on days that they run errands, but they still like to joke and talk the entire time they are out and she enjoys the simple quality time with them.  They all say goodbye to Brick and load up the dirty clothes into Martha’s van and head out of the driveway.

The first stop is the dry cleaners. Martha likes to stop there first so her clothes can be picked up Monday before school. As she pulls up she just happens to glance out of her side window and she notices a strange vehicle in the parking lot.  It’s a white pick up truck but it’s rusting bad. The back right tire has a spare on it, and one of the back break lights has been busted out. Martha usually doesn’t pay attention to things like this, but for some reason she has a weird feeling about it. She hasn’t seen such a crappy looking vehicle since she’d been in college.  Of course college kids couldn’t afford nice vehicles so 90% of the students had beater cars. She walks past it and goes inside trying to clear it from her mind.  She was used to seeing the normal vehicles in town, so this one stuck out like a sore thumb.

After dropping off her clothes, they all head to the bank.  She needs quarters for the laundry mat. The boys wait in the car as she heads inside.  She makes small talk with the bank teller. They talk about the weather and how their kids are doing.  Carter and Teegan go to the same school as the teller’s daughter. Martha is about to turn around and head outside when she just happens to glance out the bank window at the drive thru vehicles.  She sees that same truck again in the last lane at the ATM. She can’t see who is inside, because they have their window rolled up. Either they are looking for their card or they’ve already used the ATM.  She wishes the teller a good day and races to her van. She shouldn’t worry. A lot of people probably have the same errands as her. Especially on a Saturday. Everyone is out doing their adult responsibilities.  

They head to the laundry mat next.  This is the part that she actually loves to do.  Even though the three of them just sit there for two hours, Martha still has fun with her sons.  They each haul in a basket full of clothes. They all find a machine to put their load in and start the wash cycle.  They find a spot to sit and the bonding begins. They talk about school and soccer. Teegan and Carter even show their mom all their new levels that they got to on their tablet games.  Martha doesn’t really approve of too much technology time, but she makes sure she limits their screen times. She also makes sure that the games they play are approved by her or their dad.  

Martha starts thinking about Jasper. She does miss him more knowing that Richard is going to be gone all week. Maybe she should take that time to fall in love with Jasper again.  She thought about planning a date night.  She starts weighing out all the positives and negatives in her mind.  Carter and Teegan are too busy playing their games to notice that Martha is staring off into space. She doesn’t do it often so maybe it’s not a big deal to them. Everybody does it at some point during their day.

Jasper and Martha met ten years ago at Milton’s.  Martha came in to get some flower seeds and potting soil.  Jasper helped her find everything she needed. Martha thought he was so cute and charming that she came back the next day to get a watering can.  She didn’t really need one because she could’ve used her kitchen cups to water her plants, but she wanted to see him again. He asked her out and she said yes.  They fell in love the same night and got married six months later. Teegan was the next amazing thing to happen in their life. Everything was going great. Martha was already teaching at Lincoln at the time.  Two years later, Carter arrived in their lives. They couldn’t have been happier. They were a happy family. They moved to their current apartment when Carter was two. Martha’s two bedroom just wasn’t big enough for their growing family.  When Carter turned six he started asking for a dog. He practically begged Martha and Jasper for a year before they finally caved and got the boys Brick for Christmas. Everything was great!

A couple of months later things seemed to fall apart.  Jasper started working more and Martha either didn’t care or she just didn’t notice. She was so wrapped up in her own life and her own emotions.  Her sons became the only important things in her life. The distance between them grew, but Martha thought they were just going through a hard time. It might’ve been the miscarriage Martha had right after Christmas.  They were so excited when they found out Martha was pregnant again, but they didn’t tell the boys because they were waiting to see if they were going to get a little brother or a little sister. When Martha woke up in the middle of the night with extreme pain in her stomach she asked the neighbor, Anne, to watch the boys as Jasper drove her to the hospital.  The doctors gave her the horrible news and they sat in the hospital for an hour crying.

When they came home, they decided to tell the boys that Martha had kidney stones. That was when Jasper started working extra hours at the hardware store. Martha just assumed it was to get away from it all.  When he was still working extra six months later, Martha thought that Jasper didn’t care about their marriage anymore.  That was when Richard got hired at the middle school and Martha thought it was such perfect timing that it was fate. Richard gave Martha the attention that she craved.

Now she had different thoughts.  He was leaving for a week and it seemed like it didn’t bother him when he reminded her yesterday.  She shruged it off.  She was in love with Richard, but it didn't seem like Richard would miss her as much as she would miss him.  He blew it off like it was just an overnight escape.

“Mom, it’s time to put the clothes in the dryer!” Carter is at his washing machine across the building.  She gets up to change out the clothes. She didn’t realize how much time has passed while she was daydreaming.  As she was switching the clothes, she notices that same white truck out of the window pulling out from the gas station across the street.  

"That looks like the truck that was in my dream last night,"  Carter told his mom. 

Martha dropped some clothes on the floor.  It has to be the same one as the one at the bank and dry cleaners. It’s got the broken brake light and the spare tire. What other vehicle would look like that? She still couldn't see who was in it.  The windows on the truck are so tinted that they look blacked out. Her heart starts to race because it is getting strange now. She’s never seen that truck before today and now she is seeing everywhere, and Carter was dreaming about it.  Maybe somebody just moved into town and they are checking out all of the local places.  She bent down to pick up the clothes and when she got up the truck was gone.

"What was that truck doing in your dreams?"  Martha asked Carter, trying to sound interested instead of concerned.

"I don't remember, but I remember seeing it."  Carter walked away as Martha was still glancing out of the now empty window.

The clothes are now in the dryer and she sits back down with Teegan and Carter.  She debates whether or not to text Jasper about the unusual truck and decides against it.  He always thought she worried too much about the simplest things anyways.  Ever since the miscarriage, Martha was supposively overly concious about everyday life.

The last stop on their day of errands is the grocery store.  Martha is glad she bought this van when Carter was born. It can fit three people, plus three baskets of laundry, and a week’s supply of groceries and everyone still sits comfortably.  

Frank’s Supermart is next to Milton’s so Martha decides to visit Jasper at work first. She walks in with the boys and notices Jasper is talking to Kelly.  Kelly is one of Jasper’s coworkers.  She is young and beautiful. A college student who likes to flirt with everyone and everything.  Martha met her a while ago and when Jasper got home that day she told him that she didn’t like her.  Jasper told her she had nothing to worry about because she had a boyfriend, but Martha still didn’t trust her.

“Hi honey. Hi Kelly,” Martha acted like it didn’t bother her when she saw them together.  

“Hi hun.  What are you doing here?  Hey kiddos,” he gives Carter and Teegan huge bear hugs and then pecks Martha on the cheek.  

“We were headed to Frank’s and just decided to stop by.”

“Mom,” Carter interrupts. “I have to use the bathroom.”

“Teegan, take your brother to the bathroom please.  Kelly will you please show them where it is.”  Martha was glad she had an excuse to get rid of her.

“Of course,” Kelly says with a smirk on her face.  She gave Martha the once over and walked with the boys to the bathroom.

Martha thought now was the perfect time to mention the truck in a casual way.

“Jasper, we were out running errands and I kept seeing this white truck at all of the places that we stopped.  Now normally I wouldn’t think anything of it, but this truck, I have never seen it before. It looked so dingy. And why would it be at the exact location of all the places we stopped today.  It’s just so unusual and I don’t know if I should be worried or scared or if I should just forget about it. Maybe they just moved to town and that’s why I’ve never seen it before. Do you think they are following me?  Do you think the boys are in danger?” She notices that she is beginning to babble. Martha babbles when she is nervous and she stops talking immediately, taking a deep breath. 

Jasper stares at her in confusion.  “I don’t know what to tell you honey.  If you see it while you are at the supermarket just let me know.  But like you said, they could just be some new people that moved into the neighborhood.  I wouldn’t worry too much. Just relax.”

"Carter said he saw it in his dreams last night too."

"Dreams are mysterious Martha.  You can never predict them." 

There he goes again, thinking Martha is just worrying over something stupid.  She feels like Jasper doesn’t believe her and stops talking to him about it. The boys come back from the bathroom alone and they say their goodbyes to head to Frank’s.  
   
Walking down the aisles, Martha tries to spot anyone that looks suspicious. She really doesn’t know what a suspicious person looks like, but she tries anyways. She sees all the normal people that shop on Saturdays.  She sees some new people as well, but they are all with their kids or boyfriends or friends. Nobody looks out of place.

Loading the groceries in the van, Martha scans the parking lot to look for the white truck.  She doesn’t see it so she figures she was being worried for nothing. She drives home feeling more relaxed.  Her mind was being ridiculous and she laughs at herself for it.

“What’s so funny, Mom?”  Carter asks from the back seat.  

“Oh nothing honey, it’s something your father said to me earlier about…” her words trail off as she sees the white truck driving past her on the street where she lives.  Her stomach lurches as they speed by. She pulls into the parking and tells the boys to stay in the van until she checks the building.

“Why? What’s wrong, Mom?” Teegan looks concerned now.  Being the older brother, he feels the need to protect Carter.

“Nothing, I just decided that we should be more safe and check things before we head inside.  I saw it on the news one day.”  Martha's quick thinking brought Carter and Teegan to nod their heads in agreement.

Teegan doesn’t really believe her, he's too smart for his age, but doesn’t say anything for Carter’s sake.  He will ask her about it later when they are alone. “Ok Mom. We’ll wait here.”

Martha gets out of the van locking the door and being skeptical of her surroundings.  The outside of the apartment looks like it did when they left. She goes to the back of the building and it looks normal.  She checks the back door. The security system is still on. She goes back to the front and tells the boys they can come out of the van.  They all grab either some laundry or groceries and head inside. The hallway door on the second floor is still locked just as Martha left it, but something isn’t right.  Brick usually greets them by the front door even before Martha can get the front door unlocked. She peeks in the window and doesn’t see him. She jiggles the handle thinking that he didn’t hear them at first.  She peeks in the window again. Still no Brick. Her heart starts pounding. Something is definitely wrong.

She turns to Teegan and Carter’s confused expressions, “Where is Brick?”