By late afternoon, I knew I needed to make another call.<\/p>\n
I had been waiting for a message that might never come on its own.<\/p>\n
I couldn't let the silence decide what I did next.<\/p>\n
Bentley was helping Maddie put her toys into a box when I returned to the kitchen.<\/p>\n
He looked up as soon as he saw me reach for the telephone.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you calling again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I stay here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
He brought the toy box closer to the table.<\/p>\n
I dialed the hospital number I had used earlier.<\/p>\n
While the call connected, I looked at the blue jar.<\/p>\n
It had a small mark near the bottom, as though someone had once knocked it against the counter.<\/p>\n
I wondered whether Amber had filled it with coins over time or put the money in all at once.<\/p>\n
I wondered how often she had reminded Bentley where it was.<\/p>\n
Those questions had no answers, either.<\/p>\n
When someone answered, I explained the situation again.<\/p>\n
I gave Amber's name and repeated what Bentley had told me about the fall at work and the surgery.<\/p>\n
I said I was concerned because the children had not heard from her.<\/p>\n
I tried to be as precise as possible.<\/p>\n
I didn't want to exaggerate.<\/p>\n
I didn't want to leave out the part that mattered most.<\/p>\n
A ten-year-old boy and his three-year-old sister had been alone for nine days.<\/p>\n
Their mother had told them she would contact someone if she couldn't return.<\/p>\n
Then the calls had stopped.<\/p>\n
I listened carefully to the response.<\/p>\n
There were limits to what the person could tell me.<\/p>\n
I understood that I was a neighbor, not a family member.<\/p>\n
I understood that private information could not simply be handed to anyone who called.<\/p>\n
But understanding the reason for a limit did not make the situation less frightening.<\/p>\n
I asked what I should do to make sure someone understood the urgency of the children's situation.<\/p>\n
I explained that I wasn't asking for every detail of Amber's medical care.<\/p>\n
I needed to know how to reach the right person or how to make sure my concern was passed along appropriately.<\/p>\n
I listened again.<\/p>\n
I wrote down the information I was given.<\/p>\n
I repeated it to make sure I had heard correctly.<\/p>\n
Then I thanked the person and ended the call.<\/p>\n
Bentley was standing beside the table.<\/p>\n
He had put the toys away.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they tell you anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey explained what they could and gave me information about how to continue asking for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Mom there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI still don't have confirmation that I've spoken to the right person about your mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face fell.<\/p>\n
I hated saying it.<\/p>\n
I hated watching him take another uncertain answer and try to fit it into the small space he had left for hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm sorry,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt's not your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words were so familiar that I almost asked him who had taught him to say them.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered that he had spent days trying to convince himself that everything was his fault.<\/p>\n
Perhaps he had learned to recognize that sentence because he needed to hear it himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I said. \u201cBut I know you're disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the telephone.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we call again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. We'll keep working through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
I put the number and notes in a safe place.<\/p>\n
I didn't want to lose anything that might help us continue.<\/p>\n
Then I turned back to Bentley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you like something to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked puzzled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have something if you're hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm not hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't make him take anything.<\/p>\n
He sat down beside the jar.<\/p>\n
Maddie came over and climbed onto the chair next to him.<\/p>\n
She rested her head against his arm.<\/p>\n
He immediately put his arm around her.<\/p>\n
For a few minutes, he looked almost peaceful.<\/p>\n
Then Maddie asked, \u201cWhen's Mommy coming?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley closed his eyes briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know, Maddie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
I sat down on the other side of the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're trying to find out,\u201d I told her gently.<\/p>\n
She considered that.<\/p>\n
Then she asked if she could have a cracker.<\/p>\n
I got one from the cupboard and broke it in half because she preferred small pieces.<\/p>\n
She ate it while leaning against her brother.<\/p>\n
Bentley looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to tell her Mom was coming tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't interrupt.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery morning, she asked. I kept saying tomorrow because I thought Mom would call.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed Maddie's shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she stopped asking all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice became quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's when I got scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
I let that settle between us.<\/p>\n
Children sometimes stopped asking questions because they had received an answer.<\/p>\n
Other times, they stopped because they had learned that asking did not change anything.<\/p>\n
I could not know which had happened inside Maddie's little mind.<\/p>\n
But I could see what the waiting had done to Bentley.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to make up an answer for her anymore,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can tell her the truth in words she understands. You can say we don't know yet, and that I'm helping you find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut she might cry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe might.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want her to cry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stroked Maddie's hair while she chewed her cracker.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can't keep every sad thing away from her,\u201d I said gently. \u201cYou can comfort her when she's sad, but you don't have to make every feeling disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn't answer right away.<\/p>\n
Then he whispered, \u201cI thought that was my job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Bentley. Your job is to be her brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if I don't do enough?\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached across the table, stopping short of touching his hand until he looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have already done far more than a child should have had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at me.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I thought he might cry.<\/p>\n
Instead, he turned toward Maddie and rested his cheek against the top of her head.<\/p>\n
She didn't seem to notice.<\/p>\n
She was busy trying to fit the last piece of cracker into her mouth.<\/p>\n
I gave them time.<\/p>\n
Later, I prepared a simple dinner.<\/p>\n
Bentley helped set the table, but he didn't rush to take over every task.<\/p>\n
When I handed him a spoon, he placed it beside his plate.<\/p>\n
When Maddie asked for water, he looked at me instead of jumping up.<\/p>\n
I poured the water.<\/p>\n
He watched me carry it to her.<\/p>\n
Then he sat back down.<\/p>\n
Nothing had changed about Amber's absence.<\/p>\n
We still had no confirmed answer about where she was or when she might come home.<\/p>\n
But Bentley was beginning, in small and uncertain ways, to let someone else do the things he had been doing alone.<\/p>\n
I knew that would take time.<\/p>\n
I also knew that a quiet evening did not mean the problem had been solved.<\/p>\n
After dinner, I checked the telephone again.<\/p>\n
There was no message.<\/p>\n
I left it beside the blue jar.<\/p>\n
I would keep asking.<\/p>\n
PART 14 END<\/p>\n
By late afternoon, I knew I needed to make another call. I had been waiting for a message that might never come on its own. I couldn't let the silence … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36417,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36397\/revisions\/36417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}