One of those moments when it was just too quiet

Ruthie? What are you guys doing up there? Nothing… Ruthie, what are you doing? Nothing! No seriously, what are you doing? (pause) We want some alone time, Mom! That’s fine, but what are you playing with? (pause) Naaahhhh-thiiiiiiing! So if I come up there I’m going to find you sitting on the bed picking your nose? (like a teenager) Mom! — At the sound of my footsteps on the stairs I hear them scramble, and when I enter the room Thomas is in the closet and Ruthie is hiding under her desk. I am feeling a strange deja vu tingle that takes me back to when Ruthie hid under the bed after cutting her own hair.