dinner, then he went to his bedroom. to be alone or what? to work on a stamp collection. exacting, organized, introverted. joan was the polar opposite. eventually that disconnect took its toll. bill moved out, joan moved on, filed for divorce. the kids grew up, moved away. in the fall of 1988, joan sold the house on sharynne lane. my mom was trying to finish up the sale and the move from torrance to start her life over again. it was a friday evening. joan was packing, getting ready. shaun and a younger brother called her on phone, told her we re coming over. it was just getting dark as they arrived. so we opened up the door, went in, calling for her, nothing. as i went through the front living room, i caught something out of the corner of my eye. it was my mom.