N.A.M.I.

Chapter Five

Despite the events of the day the weather was actually fantastic.  The birds flew from feeder to feeder that were scattered throughout the neighborhood as if nothing had happened.  Dogs were barking, automated sprinkler systems were spraying, and she saw more than one newspaper laying on the walkways of houses that have yet to be retrieved from the owners.  It seemed as normal as any other day.  Was this all some sort of mistake or elaborate prank.  Her mind raced as she walked toward home.  She wanted to remain positive yet the thoughts that were racing through her mind were all frightening and ended in tragedy.   

Lisa could see their house just about a block away when she saw the first signs that something on this whimsical day was off.  She saw the Brown’s loading things in their car.  They had a son the same age as Tabby and she would occasionally run into them at the community park.  She walked past their driveway and looked up when she heard Ronald Brown scream at his wife to leave it and come on.  As Mrs. Brown walked out of the home toward the car Lisa could tell she had been crying and that she was noticeable unnerved. They made eye contact. Not knowing what to say or do Lisa waved as she would on any other day.  Mrs. Brown burst out in tears.

“Do you have Tabitha yet?” yelled Mrs. Brown.

“No but Bob is going to get her.” Lisa said this with one hundred percent confidence even though she hadn’t been able to get in touch with him.  “What about Kevin?  Have you been able to get a hold of him yet?”  Kevin Brown went to a private school at a local catholic church.

“We are going there now.  They say Dallas could be next Lisa.  You guys have to get out of here.” Mrs. Brown was still talking as she dove into the passenger’s door of their SUV.  The door had barely latched as Ronald darted out of their driveway.  For some reason Lisa watched them speed off around the corner and felt abandoned.  What did she mean that Dallas could be next?  Was that just the panic talking or was there a verifiable threat that Dallas was the next to be attacked. 

As she approached the house Bob’s truck was noticeable absent from the driveway. She hoped he’d somehow pulled in the garage next to her car, closed the door, and would be waiting with open arms to comfort her and reassure her they were going to be fine. She hurried up the stamped concrete driveway Bob had installed last year to the security panel by the garage door.  She entered the code, and bent down to enter the garage before the door had pulled all the way up. She made her way through the laundry and swung the door open to enter her kitchen.  The silence was deafening.  There was no Bob, no kids, no type of commotion at all.

Once she came to grips that she was still on her own that motherly instinct kicked in.  She went upstairs and began pulling clothes from her kid’s drawers.   Everything was as if they were going away for a week.  Seven pairs of socks, seven undergarments, and seven pairs of jeans as she thought they would be good no matter the weather.  She pondered whether she should grab long sleeve or short sleeve when it came to shirts.  She finally decided 4 of each.  That way they would be prepared. 

She was always prepared.  Lisa was one of those moms that carried Band-Aids, a Tide stick, needle, and thread.  She was ready to mend just about anything.  But this was out of her wheel house and she wasn’t sure what to be prepared for.  So she just decided to prepare as she would on any family vacation.  She was surprised that the act of going through the process of readying her family had brought on a familiar calm.  She can do this and once Bob shows up he can take the lead.

All the bags came together very quickly.  She found satisfaction in knowing she had been so efficient.  She decided to pull them all to the front foyer so Bob could grab them two at a time and sling them in the bed of his truck.  She dragged the final duffle bag to the front door and walked into the kitchen to grab a water bottle from the fridge.  As she swung the door open and she looked at the bottles she began to think.  They might need these later if this all goes south. Water could be hard to find or, God forbid, contaminated.

She walked to their sunken living room and melted into a chocolate brown microfiber chase lounge nestle close to the large fireplace.  This chair was her retreat.  Many a night she’d sat there close to a crackling fire with her Kindle escaping on far away journeys in mystical places.  She loved to read.  She had always dreamed of writing her own story someday.  One of romance, mystery, espionage, and all tied up with a happily ever after at the end. That is how she viewed life, a series of events that molded and sculptured us to the person and in the place God intended us to be. 

Just as she had started to slip into that peaceful place of God’s will the home phone rang.  It wasn’t a familiar sound because they rarely got calls on that line, and most were sales calls or solicitations.  The caller ID read cellular call and however the number did look somewhat familiar.  Maybe it was Bob as she just realized she had left the office in such a hurry that she didn’t grab her purse which had a pocket specifically designed for her iPhone4.  She grabbed the receiver and heard a panicked voice.

“Mom thank God you picked up. I’ve been trying your and Dad’s cell.  I am really freaked out.  Can you come get me?  I need you to come get me.”

“Tabby hold-on what are you talking about? Come get you?  Your dad isn’t at your school yet?”  Her voice reflected the fear of the unknown.

“No mom I am not at the school.  I am at the Kum and Go on Rockford just up from our house but things are going crazy here.  I’m scared” Tabby had held it together this whole time but that was through refocusing on her friends and her mission. Know she was talking to her mom about her fears and her situation.  She could hold back her own fears no longer.

“Ok baby, ok.  Are you alone?  Why did you leave school?”

“I am with Trent and Jewels.  I thought we were going to meet her mom, and now she is stuck somewhere, and I just want you to come get me.” Tabby pleaded.

“I will be there in a minute” Lisa’s heart dropped as she realized it was not just her cell phone that was in her purse.  The keys to her car were there too.  There was second key but it was attached to Bob’s keychain.  She swallows the growing lump in her throat as she speaks “Baby I can’t come get you.”

“What.  Why?” Tabby felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. “You have to mommy.”

She can’t remember the last time Tabitha had called her mommy and the old term of endearment was like a knife stuck in her heart as it was the ultimate cry for help and she could not answer the call.

“Baby I don’t have my keys. I left work in such a hurry I forgot to grab my purse.  You are not far away sweetie just stay together with you friends.  I will try to get a hold of your dad and let him know you are safe.”

“What do you mean? You want me to…” the line dropped as Tabby was talking.  Lisa stood for a moment with the phone pressed hard against her ear.  Thinking if she held just a little tighter a little longer she would hear her daughter’s voice again. There was nothing.  In fact there wasn’t even a dial tone.  Something had happened to the phone.