Mandy flicked on the light in the small room but did not move, her jaw slack and her eyes as big as jade poker chips, transfixed by the bizarre tableau she had stumbled onto. Her face was as blank as a nudist’s laundry list as she murmured in a low voice hollow with disbelief, “Oh my God.”
Across the basement, Heather extricated herself from the freezer and looked quickly toward Mandy. “What is it?” she asked.
“Oh my God!” Mandy exclaimed more loudly. “It’s your brother!”
Kim recoiled to the farthest corner of the crib from the door, where he huddled with his arms clutched to his chest, like a modest girl caught topless. “Uh, I thought you guys were at the mall,” he stammered, not knowing what else to do or say. Mandy continued to gape at him as Heather slammed the freezer lid and crossed the basement to gawk at the spectacle.