they were all talking over one another in an attempt to explain each of their unlikely presences here-an impulsive , last-minute road trip from new jersey for patrick , a worried drive from dc for annie and charles , an anxious flight for mom and dad-and emma sat down on the couch in the living room and stared out the window at the spindly trees and the stippled lake and tried to assemble her own story , answers she did n't yet have to questions she did n't yet feel ready to think about .