she was n't sure how much time had passed when she heard footsteps on the sagging wooden stairs , and she thought about leaping into action , shoving the box back in its place and lunging for the salad bowl , pretending none of this had ever happened , but instead she stayed where she was-beside the open box , holding a photo of the entire family : mom , dad , nate , annie , patrick , emma , and tommy-and waited until mom appeared , pausing on the bottom step with a look on her face that was impossible to read .