Finding Opal

Chapter 7

Dustin calmed Carrie down eventually and then she tried to get me to let her call an ambulance to take me to the hospital to get me checked out.  Of course I refused, I told her I was fine but I did ask for them to drive me home and explain what happened to my parents.  I also admitted to her that I didn’t tell my mom or dad where I was. 

          But I requested that she keep the reason why I was there a secret.  At first she blantly refused, but then I reminded her that I possibly saved her and her husband’s life and the secret was for Opal’s good.  Then she agreed.

          We spent the whole car ride coming up with logical explanations of why I was at the Read’s house.  It took a while, but we finally came up with a good one. 

          As we approached my house my palms began to sweat.  My parents were usually pretty good about going with what I say because I’m a pretty good kid, but they weren’t stupid either, and I was worried they would see right through our “explanation.”

Dustin eased the car into Park and he and Carrie turned in their seats to look at me. 

“Candace,” Carrie started, “We just wanted to tell you how much we appreciate everything you’re doing, for Opal, we mean.  If you ever need anything, you know where to find us.”

They both smiled at me and I pulled the knob to open the car door.  I felt the cool rush of the autumn air push my hair back.  I scooted over the seat and stepped out onto the driveway that led up to my house. 

I heard the pop of Carrie’s and Dustin’s doors.  They followed me up the walkway that lead to my front porch.  Before I knocked on the door to my own house I wiped my hands on my now-ripped jeans.  I decided I couldn’t trust my hands to knock on the door hard enough to be heard a few feet away, so I chose the doorbell instead.  The white rectangular button emitted a faint light that could barely be seen in the sunlight.  I pushed it and then took a step back.  With once more reassuring look at the Reads I pushed my shoulders back and waited for my parents to answer. 

The door opened and I looked up to see my father standing and looking at us.  He looked like a wreck.

“Candace, honey, where have you been? And who are these people?”  He asked.

          “Hi, Dad.  Um, I think it would make more sense if Carrie and Dustin explained what happened.”  I responded.

“Hi, Mr. Ruby, I’m Carrie Read, and this is my husband Dustin.”  I was blown away by how calm she was in this situation.  “You see, Candace here was riding her bike when one of her tires ran out of air and she was right in front of our house.  She flipped over the handlebars and ruined her shirt and ripped her jeans.  Being in need of air for her tire, she came to us asking if we had a pump.”  Carrie took a break to let the information sink in.

          “Okay, this makes sense so far…” Dad said. I hadn’t noticed but Mom had come up behind him to see what’s going on.  She was wiping her hands with a dishtowel.  They motioned to Carrie to start again. 

“We told her we could use our pump and that we have a daughter that was about her age and she could have one of her old t-shirts since her shirt was so ripped.  We also got her cuts cleaned.  That was when we went back outside with a pump for her tire when we realized how broken her bike was; the handlebars were twisted, the chain off its track, and of course the front tire was flat.  We offered to take her home so she didn’t have to walk all the way back here.  She was tentative at first, then once we said we did have a child her age she agreed.  You have a very smart daughter here.”  Carrie flashed a grin at my parents, looking from one to the other.