"Hey Zac, they still goin at it?" Quietly sitting on the buckled park bench, Taylor Hanson eyed his brother critically, frowning at the sight of his tear-stained face. Refusing to give any notice to the intruder of his privacy, Zac stared blankly ahead, periodically swiping at the moisture that trailed down his cheeks. "C’mon bro, please talk."

"Just look for yourself, Tay, nothin’s changed," Zac mumbled in response, his jaw barely moving in the effort to please his brother.

"Sheesh Zac, how do ya expect me to understand you when you…"

"What the hell does it matter! Nothin I say matters." Lower lip quivering, Zac shifted towards his brother, pleading etched into his every feature. No longer able to meet Zac’s despondent glare, Taylor adverted his attention to the scene unfolding across Central Park. Though inaudible, the obscenities emanating from his parents’ mouths were decipherable even from this distance; forming on their lips with such hate, voiced with such malice previously unthinkable in such a religious family. Shaking his head at the crowd that was gathering, Taylor sighed deeply at the sight of his youngest siblings both mesmerized and horrified by the commotion.

"I’ve got an idea." Rising to his feet, Taylor stuffed his hand deep into his pocket, his fingers grappling at a tinfoil packet. Withdrawing it, he carefully unfolded it, exposing a stack of peanut butter crackers. "Let’s feed the squirrels."

"Uh Tay, what are you on?" Skeptically reaching out for the food, Zac noted the stupid grin on his brother’s face before popping the snack into his mouth, chewing noisily as crumbs drifted to a rest on his jacket front. "What’s possessed you to save New York City’s starving rodent population?"

"Why not?"

"Dude, it’s like November, ain’t they hibernating by now, or somethin like that according to Jack Hanna." Scanning the park quickly, Zac shrugged, munching on another cracker as he awaited his brother’s next words, curious as to how they were going to feed the squirrels when there were none.

"Duh, La Nina’s here, their stupid internal clock thingies are screwed, according to Jack Hanna. Watch the whole show, Zac, you might learn somethin." Ignoring his brother’s grumbling, Taylor held out his palm, the sticky peanut butter giving off a pungent odor as the food lay outstretched. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Taylor cocked his head slightly to the left, smiling as a grayish creature inched towards him. "See, what’d I tell ya Zac, she’s hungry."

"How do you know it’s a girl, Tay, I didn’t see you lift up its poofy little tail and check." Squinting as the rodent cautiously approached their bench, Zac heard a warning bell sound in his head as he studied it closely. "Ain’t that thing a bit on the skinny side?"

"Nah, it’s probably just a baby."

"Tay I think it’s si…" In a split second the squirrel lunged, its sharp incisors sinking into Taylor’s finger in its haste for nourishment.

"Aw shit, the frickin thing bit me!" Dropping the cracker, which was promptly snatched by a small set of teeth, Taylor brought his injured finger to his mouth, sucking it as the wound seeped droplets of blood.

"You idiot, what if it had rabies? The thing didn’t look healthy if you ask me."

"Well I didn’t ask you, and it didn’t have rabies, Zac, it wasn’t foaming at the mouth." Looking up at the sound of footsteps, Taylor stood eye to eye with his older brother, Isaac’s lips set in a grim line.

"We hafta go guys," Isaac whispered, nearly pulling his brothers behind him by their shirt collars. "We hafta catch a plane."

"But Ike," Zac whined, confused, "we’ve got like press conferences tomorrow."

"Sorry, but Dad says we’ve gotta deal with some pressing family matters first." Murmuring as to not be heard by Isaac, Zac pouted as Taylor walked with his head bowed, obviously annoyed by the constant pestering.

"Zac, calm down, it’s just a little bite, everything’s gonna be okay."

************************************************************************* Musical credit given to Bush for "Greedy Fly."