It was a cool fall day as seven year old Alex jumped into a huge pile of leaves. She was raking them back into a pile when her little brother, Joey, leaped in and made the leaves fly everywhere. Joey was five, only two years younger than Alex.
“Joey!” Alex screamed, “That’s my pile! Go make your own!”
Joey stood up, held his chin in the air, and with a huff said, “Mommy says that you need to go inside and get Missie.” With that he walked to the other side of the yard and started to make his own pile of leaves. Missie was Alex’s two year old sister who was five years younger than Alex.

Alex walked up to the house and opened the door. “Missie! Missie!” Alex yelled. She walked into the living room and found Missie sitting on the floor crying. “Missie?” She said in a soft voice, “Would you like to come outside and play?” Missie sniffed twice then nodded her head. Alex led Missie outside and helped her start her own pile of leaves.

After two hours of playing on the leaves, everyone was starting to get hungry. “Joey, you stay here with Missie while I go see when dinner’s ready.” Alex ran inside to the kitchen. Her mom wasn’t there. I wonder why Mommy hasn’t started dinner. Alex thought. All of a sudden she heard her parents yelling at each other. Alex ran upstairs to her parent’s room, cracked the door a little, and peeked inside.
“You always do this, Andrew!” Her mom screamed.
“That’s not true and you know it, Ellen!” Her dad screamed back. Alex pushed the door open the rest of the way and stood there, fists clinched, and tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Stop fighting!” She screamed and ran as fast as she could all the way outside. Before anyone could see her she dashed underneath the porch. She crawled all the way to the back and started to cry even harder than before.
“Alex!” Her mom called, “Alexandra, please come out!” Her mom sighed. “Joey, Missie, dinner will be ready in half an hour.”
“O.K.!” Joey yelled as he jumped into another pile of leaves.

Half an hour later they were sitting at the table eating dinner when Missie asked the question all the kids had been wondering,
“Where Dada?”
Their mom didn’t look up, “He’s sleeping over at a friend’s house.”
“Kinda like a sleep over?” Joey questioned.
Their mom hesitated, “Yeah, kind of like a sleep over.”
Alex looked up from the food she had been pushing around on her plate, “Why isn’t he sleeping with us?”
Her mom looked up now and Alex saw tears in her eyes, “Because.”



Chapter 2
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It was Saturday now, a week since Alex’s dad went to the “sleep over”. Her dad had come home a lunch time that day. Now it was 1:00, rest time. Missie was across the hall sleeping, Joey was on the other side of the room playing with his matchbox cars, and Alex was playing with her dollhouse. Suddenly there was a SLAM. Missie started t cry and Joey ran to his bed and hid under his sheets. Alex was scared too but also curious. So she walked downstairs to see what was going on. The door opened again and Alex’s dad came inside and ran upstairs. When he came back down he was carrying a suitcase.
He kissed her on the cheek and said, “Alex, Sweetheart, could you bring Missie and Joey down here? Thanks, Sweetie.” Then he ran out the door again. He’s never looked so sad before. Alex thought. Did someone die? Is Mommy O.K.?

Alex quickly ran upstairs and brought the crying Missie and the scared Joey downstairs. They all waited by the door in silence. When their dad came back inside, he grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the door where Alex, Joey, and Missie were standing.
He sat down and sighed, “I love you guys very much,” he began as he pulled Missie on his lap. “I’m not leaving because I don’t love you…but I have to go. I promise I’ll visit you all a lot. I love you. Good-bye.” Before they could do or say anything he had put Missie down, kissed them all on the head, and left.


Prologue
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For the next year Alex’s dad visited her, Joey, and Missie. The visits got farther and farther apart until they stopped altogether. Now Alex is fourteen, Joey is twelve, and Missie is nine. They still do not have an earthly father but daily pray to their heavenly Father.