A mother named Margaret tells her three children, Madie, Sarah, and Austin, that she does not know where their father, George, is. Madie asks what the last thing George said before he left was. Margaret tells her that he said nothing. But Margaret does not believe this to be strictly true since she and George had an unspoken understanding that he would leave eventually. Margaret notices that her daughter Sarah is rather calm. She concludes that she already fully understands that George has walked out on all of them. This leads Margaret to think back to her own childhood when a neighbor of hers walked out on his own wife and kids. However, eventually that man did return and the family resumed, as far as the rest of the town could observe, as though nothing had happened.  The children then conclude that George will certainly return and so they begin to discuss what they should do when he does. George eventually does return but he is motionless and does not say anything. Margaret holds her children back from running up to him but eventually they do. The children set up a chair for him. George strokes their heads silently. Eventually, Margaret tells her children to go somewhere else for a while.