61. Rose
61
ROSE
“Maybe we should have taken Dad’s offer and stayed the night in St. Peppers,” I whisper as we drive through the heavy rain.
“We’ll be fine, couch girl. It’s only for a few miles.” Zander’s grip tightens around the steering wheel.
We’re returning from a family dinner at my parents’ house. My dad likes us to visit as often as we can whenever he and Mom aren’t traveling. So today, at seven sharp, Zander and I; Kristy with her family, including my new niece, Chloe; and Zander’s brothers showed up at my parents’ doorstep.
As always, it was wonderful, with lots of good food, laughter, and music. Mom and I were joined by Dad on the piano. It was magical. It was family time. It was everything I’ve ever craved.
As for our own family, Zander and I talk about it a lot these days.
But there’s something stopping me from ditching my pills. It’s not the fear of danger that haunted my whole life, but it’s something inside me .
How can I give a perfect life to someone when this family stuff is still new to me?
“Fuck.” Zander brakes the car sharply before bringing it to a screeching halt.
“What? What happened?”
“There’s someone on the bench,” he says, looking through the rear window.
I turn around to see something yellow through the rainy haze. It looks like a plastic bag. “Are you sure it’s a person? It’s very small. Maybe someone left their luggage.”
“No, I saw it when we passed through. It’s a boy… I think.” Zander grits his teeth before his hand rakes through his hair.
“Oh God. Where are his parents?” I look back again, my eyes falling to the small bundle on the bench.
Zander curses before putting the car in reverse. The incessant rain continues to come down harder than before.
We stop in front of the bench, and I look through the blurry window.
It’s a boy with a yellow plastic raincoat.
My chest clenches at the sight of the forgotten child.
Zander brings his window down and calls out. “Hey, buddy.”
But the kid stays still, leaning forward with his shoulders folded over his chest.
Only after Zander calls out for the fifth or sixth time does the kid gingerly look up, and then immediately, his head drops down. In fact, he tightens his arms a bit more around himself.
“Hey, where are your parents? Are you lost?”
When he doesn’t reply to Zander, I look around the secluded stretch of road. There’s just forest behind him; no houses, no buildings. The next gas station is about ten miles away. We don’t even know how long he’s been sitting there.
“He’ll get sick in the rain.” Zander looks between the kid and me, his expression grim. I know his protectiveness is kicking in.
But more than that, watching a young boy soaking in the rain, all alone… I can’t even imagine what it’s doing to my husband’s heart. I grab the two umbrellas from the back seat and hand one to Zander. We both step out and approach the scared kid.
“Hey, buddy!” Zander’s words elicit no reaction out of the small stranger.
I notice the red backpack on the ground, soaking in a puddle of water. Wet hair peeks out from under the torn plastic cap of his raincoat.
I hold my breath when Zander glances at me before he takes a step closer to the boy. When he places his hand over the boy’s shoulder, shaking him gently, the kid collapses, falling on the wet bench.
“Oh God.” I take the umbrella from Zander as he tries to sit the kid up and lightly pats his face.
“How is he?” Words barely come out of my mouth as I try to protect Zander and the unconscious kid from the rain.
“He’s burning with fever. We need to take him to the hospital, Rose.” My husband’s pained gaze shoots to me, and I nod immediately.
“Yes. Yes.” I dart to open the back door of the car as he gathers the boy in his arms.
“There’s a towel in my workout bag.” Zander nods toward the car trunk while placing the small kid in the back seat.
After getting in from the other side, I towel dry the boy’s hair as Zander jumps in the driver’s seat.
“Why isn’t he getting up?” I ask as I clean his face gently, wiping away the grime and dirt. He looks like he’s been on his own for a while. I notice Zander brought the muddy red backpack and has placed it on the floorboard. That’s good. We don’t know what important things are stacked inside.
“He might be unconscious due to high fever. Will you be okay in the back seat, or would you like to drive?” Zander turns around, his arm resting behind the passenger seat. His gaze shifts from the kid, his head resting on my lap, to me.
The offer is tempting. He can clean and take care of the boy better, but I’m also not confident driving through this weather.
“I’m fine here,” I reply, giving him a confident smile so that he has one less thing to worry about.
I try to warm the kid’s small blue hands, rubbing them between my palms as Zander takes us to the hospital.
When we arrive, the kid is immediately rushed into the emergency room, and Zander and I are asked to stay in the waiting area.
“How old do you think he is?” I whisper.
“Don’t know. Maybe nine or ten.” Zander’s mouth twists as he pulls on his tie.
He and I have both lived through our harrowing childhoods, which have highly influenced our adult lives, and we also understand abandonment and loneliness like no kid should ever have to. I close my eyes, saying a silent prayer, hoping this boy doesn’t have a horrible backstory that will tarnish his future.
“Mr. and Mrs. Teager?” A middle-aged woman dressed in scrubs approaches us. “I wanted to inform you that we’ve called the police. Can you please wait until they arrive? They might have some questions for you about where you found the boy.”
“Of course.” Zander nods before motioning toward the door from which she walked in. “How is he doing?”
“He has a high fever. The doctor also found some infection in his lungs, mostly due to the cold. We’re giving him an IV. He’s too weak. Poor kid. We hope we can find his parents soon.” Her lips twist into a sad smile before she leaves us alone in the sterile-smelling waiting room.
Zander and I settle back on the plastic chairs. There’s no one except us in this room, but through the open door, we can hear the usual activity at the nurses’ station.
I hide myself in Zander’s arms, the hospital smell taking me back to my own childhood days.
Half an hour later, a police officer knocks on the door of the waiting room. “Mr. and Mrs. Teager?”
We nod before getting up.
“I’m Gabriel Cole from Cherrywood Police Department.” He shakes hands with us. “Thank you for bringing the boy here. Would you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
He sits on the couch while we take our seats.
“Where did you find him?”
We tell him all about how and where we found the boy. It feels strange to call him “the boy” during the whole conversation. I wish we knew his name.
“Were you able to ID him?” I ask.
“Actually, Mrs. Teager, I was hoping you’d be able to help me there. Did you find anything on him?”
“Yes. He had a backpack.” Zander grabs the small backpack from under his chair.
Officer Cole opens the main zipper and takes out an empty plastic water bottle. After placing it on the wooden table, he pulls out two frayed and faded cotton T-shirts and two pairs of pants. The last items are a notebook and a small pencil box. Everything is wet and isn’t of much help in identifying the owner.
The police officer puts everything back and opens the smaller compartment. After inspecting the picture frame he just retrieved, he hands it to me. It’s a photograph taken at some amusement park—a happy couple with a small boy, maybe five or six years old. I wonder if that’s him.
Officer Cole finally opens the smallest pocket on the top of the bag and retrieves a plastic card.
He reads it and then shows it to us. It’s an ID card from a group home for kids with no family .
“It’s an address from Cherrywood, but I can’t see the kid’s name.” I struggle to form the words as my heart gallops inside my chest. There’s a room and bed number, but no name.
“How did he reach the highway?” Zander grabs his neck, and I can feel the frustration seeping out of him.
“I’m wondering the same.” Officer Cole puts the bag back on the ground, except for the ID card, which he tucks into his shirt pocket.
I’m about to ask him what will happen next when a nurse enters the waiting room. “The boy is awake.”
The police officer nods to her before turning our way. “Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Teager. I’ll speak to the boy and try to find out how he landed on the highway.” When we make no move to get up and leave the hospital, as he most likely expected, he adds, “Thank you for bringing him in.”
I notice from the side that Zander’s grip has tightened on the arm of the chair. Unease settles inside me, watching him so shaken.
“Will it be okay if we wait? We’d like to see him.”
Zander’s grasp loosens, and he pulls me closer to him as we wait for an answer.
“Um, wouldn’t you like to leave? It’s already ten thirty.” Officer Cole jerks his head toward the large clock on the wall.
“If it doesn’t bother you, we’d like to wait,” Zander replies quickly. I can feel his speeding pulse under my hand.
“Not a problem for me. I’ll update you once I have more information.”
After the officer leaves with the nurse, Zander and I sit silently in wait, and I’m sure his thoughts are drifting to his own childhood, same as mine.
We stay in the waiting room for another half hour before Officer Cole returns .
“The boy’s name is Alexander.” My heartbeat escalates, and I grab Zander’s cold hand. “I just ended a call with the headmistress of the group home. He got there eleven months ago after his parents’ death in a car accident. He’s up for adoption, but it seems nine-year-olds aren’t in high demand.” Officer Cole’s lips flatten in annoyance.
I stay tongue-tied, not sure what to say next.
Zander clears his throat twice before speaking in a low voice. “Something must have happened recently for him to run away like that.”
“It seems the boy was rejected twice before a third refusal two days back. The whole incident, not to mention the recent loss of his parents, must have led to the decision.”
“And the home didn’t report the missing kid to the police?” My husband’s voice rises as his fists curl. He so rarely loses his calm, but this situation must be driving him crazy, especially now that we know the boy’s name.
Officer Cole once again seems taken aback by our reaction. I don’t know how he feels about Zander asking him all these questions. But after a beat, he replies. “It seems it’s not unusual for the kids to hide in the compound after such a refusal. They saw him last night, so he’s been missing since morning. My guess is that he escaped last night after dinner.”
My shoulders slump back in light relief. He wasn’t on his own for very long.
“What happens next?” Zander asks, tension dripping from his voice.
“Kid’s fever is down. The doctors gave him an IV, and in about an hour, he should be ready to leave. But as the weather isn’t so good, I’ve asked the headmistress to pick him up tomorrow. So, for tonight, I’ll take him to the station with me.”
“Police station?” My hands tighten around the cuffs of my shirt, and Officer Cole shrugs helplessly. “Can we take him for the night?” The question leaves my mouth before I’ve fully thought it through.
I look at Zander, who is equally surprised.
“You want to take him with you?” Officer Cole does a double take.
“We know it’s an unusual request,” Zander says, and his hand rests over my shoulder as we wait for the officer’s response.
“I don’t know what to say, Mr. Teager.” Officer Cole’s brow creases as he looks at us incredulously. When we continue to stare at him with a hopeful expression, he says, “I understand you’re feeling bad for the kid, Mrs. Teager, but I need to talk to the caseworker at the hospital to see if that’s even possible. I’d also need some sort of ID and your background information.”
Zander takes out his business card and his driver’s license from his wallet.
“You’re the CEO of Elixir?” Officer Cole sounds impressed, and I pray the small smile that pulls on his lips when he returns the cards means he’s in our favor. “I thought you looked familiar. I was reading your interview on improving the local economy with technology.”
“So, do you think there’s any possibility for us to take the boy?” Zander asks.
Officer Cole’s smile wavers, and his lips press together, making my heart race. “Like I said, Mr. Teager, I need to talk to the caseworker and then to the headmistress of the group home. Most importantly, I need to talk to Alex. If anyone thinks for any reason that it might not be healthy for him, I would have to, unfortunately, decline.”
Zander nods. “My lawyer can also draw up a document confirming my character, and maybe I can have something signed from the local judge. We’ll also make sure to give you updates every two hours, or anything else to keep you posted that he’s doing well. ”
Officer Cole rubs the back of his neck under his collared uniform shirt before glancing up at my husband. “You understand why I’m surprised by your concern for a stranger, Mr. Teager? Even family doesn’t go to such lengths sometimes.”
Zander looks down at me, and the cautious police officer follows his move. “Rose and I didn’t have a normal childhood. My wife was raised in an orphanage before she was reunited with her parents not too long ago. I lost my parents at a young age myself and was raised by a man who took me and my brothers in.” He speaks in a steady, low-pitched voice. “We understand what the kid is going through.”
The suspicion in Officer Cole’s eyes is replaced with…a hint of awe, if I’m not wrong. “Let me talk to some people and see what we can do.” He ambles toward the exit, and at the last moment, looks over his shoulder. “I really appreciate what you guys are doing here. I just have to follow the process.”
When he leaves, Zander calls his lawyer, Grayson, and explains the situation. I only hear half of what he’s saying as my mind wanders to Alex, who’s alone somewhere in this big hospital.
Once Zander’s call is finished, we wait impatiently in the meeting room. I don’t know why, but this feels like a big moment for us.
“Are we doing the right thing?” I ask softly, afraid of my own words.
He turns around and grabs my hand. “We’re doing the right thing, couch girl. No one understands better than us how it feels to be cold, scared, and alone in the dark night.”
“Zander.” I knew he was visiting his dark memories, but his words hit my chest hard. My throat constricts, and my eyes pool with tears.
“His name is Alexander, Rose. The name my father gave me. The name inscribed on my back.” Zander’s hand reaches behind his shoulder, where hidden under his jacket and shirt is a tattoo of that name. A reminder of his past, like many others.
I hold his face, looking into his eyes. He’s back in those dark nights, left outside his house in the rain. When he places his forehead against mine, tears run down my cheeks. Very seldom does Zander remember his past. But when he does, it all comes crashing down, and my man, who is my rock, is in his most vulnerable state. I hate to see him like this.
A throat clears, and Zander and I part as Officer Cole walks from the door to us. “I tried speaking to the boy, but he isn’t talking much. However, the headmistress of the group home thinks if you’re still open to the idea of taking him with you tonight, it might be good for him. Of course, the letter from your lawyer and the judge’s recommendation helped things with the caseworker.”
“Really?” My heart races as my mind drifts to all the possible things that we must do or have in our house so that Alex’s stay tonight is comfortable.
“Yeah, the headmistress thinks it might do him good if he stays in an environment that he obviously misses so much, even if it’s just for a night.”
My gaze skids to Zander’s serious face before I give more than a few nods to Officer Cole. “We want to help in any way we can.”