It was a smoggy, overcast day, and that partially accounted for it being so quiet, though it was the beginning of Christmas vacation. Whatever the reason, Donna Howell was just glad that the day had been so quiet, and she hurried to switch off the lights in her classroom before the usual last minute gossip wandered in, keeping her from leaving on time. It happened often during the school term and ordinarily the attractive blonde teacher didn't mind in the least, as she wasn't happy about going home to an empty house. But this day she had good reason to get home early, as she was expecting a phone call from her daughter.

Before the last of the lights were turned off, the young teacher checked to be sure the list of instructions for the janitor were firmly attached to the bulletin board. Everything was in order, so she picked up her purse and coat, then walked to the door. After looking back at the small room, she closed the door and locked it from the outside. She glanced up and down the familiar, but now unusually quiet, corridor, then walked briskly out to her car, remembering that tomorrow she would be meeting her daughter and son for a much needed holiday.

"Good grief!" she exclaimed out loud to scold herself for having forgotten why she was in a hurry. Sheri was due to call in half an hour, and Donna knew her daughter would worry if she wasn't there to receive the call. Sheri had become so mature in the past few months that it was almost frightening. In fact, when both the children had arrived home for a weekend last month, she had been amazed at how grown up they had become since their last visit. They seemed more worldly wise; a look about them that she wasn't sure how to interpret, and in some ways, she had been even more conscious of the changes in her son.

Kevin was no longer her little boy, but instead he was a young man maturing rapidly. Yet there was still that special gleam in his eyes that made her feel proud, and as always she had a hard time keeping her emotions in check. He was her boy, and she would always want to hold and squeeze him, maybe even more than a mother should. In fact, she had even trembled when he had walked into the house, greeting her with an innocent childish kiss on the cheek.