Chapter 2
brUNO
Bruno had, of all things, lost his son.
One moment he was bouncing impatiently at Bruno’s feet as Bruno consulted with Alan about the destruction of a lunch box, the next he was gone.
Gil was not in the Tiny Paws bathroom, or in the backyard.
Bruno checked the cubbies. Alan, braids swinging, overturned the bean bag and poked around between the animal cages, then they moved their search to the entryway.
Gil’s boots were gone, but there was no sign of him in front of the building.
He was a sensible kid, where could he possibly have gone?
If he got cold outside, why didn’t he knock to get back in?
For a five-year-old, he had impressive lungs, and Bruno didn’t imagine that he wouldn’t have heard if Gil had yelled.
He and Alan searched in opposite directions out the front door, hollering his name.
“I didn’t see him leave,” Alan said, as they met again.
“But there were a lot of people coming in and out. And there’s no way to tell if any of these are his footprints.
” The snow was beaten down on the sidewalks, and traffic was streaming by regularly on the road.
There was a square dent in the snow where a box of clothing and toy donations had been. “This is the first kid I’ve ever lost!”
Bruno felt seven kinds of panic, and cataloged each of them clinically before shunting them aside. It wouldn’t do his son any good to get hysterical. Shock was unhelpful. Blame was unproductive. Curling up in a ball to hide was useless.
But it would be nice! his armadillo said serenely. It’s fun to be round. For some reason, he wasn’t worried at all.
Bruno was not nearly so calm. He could feel his heart racing and his gut clenching, and his brain wanted to spin over all the horrible things that might have happened. Gil might have frostbite, or been hit by a car.
Even kidnapping wasn’t off the table. Kids from this very day care had been snatched for their shifter secrets. Teacher Addison had been tricked into getting into a fake ambulance while she was in labor.
Nothing was off the table.
And Gil was so trusting and extroverted! He’d strike up a conversation with anyone, and probably hop willingly into someone’s car for the promise of a sweet, no matter how many times Bruno talked to him about stranger danger.
Bruno was standing in the middle of the street, hollering at the top of his lungs for Gil with no care for who saw him being the worst dad in the history of parenthood when a little red Toyota came around the corner and slid to a stop sideways in front of him, blocking the road.
A dark blonde woman in a puffy coat scrambled out of the driver’s seat, looking wild-eyed and wind-blown.
She was wearing stereotypical librarian glasses and a basic wool hat, but Bruno thought she was one of the prettiest and lively-looking women he’d ever seen.
Panic could be flattering on some people, and she was one of them.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t have a car seat, and I don’t know how he got into the car at all. I got to the donation center, and he was just there. He said I’d taken his clothes, and I guess he just snuck in without me noticing, somehow. I mean, that makes sense, right?”
Gil was in her back seat, struggling with the seat belt and Bruno felt like his world stopped in place as relief crashed down on him. “Gil!”
“Mystery solved,” Alan said, looking as relieved as Bruno felt. “This is Veronica Chase’s assistant, Clarice. She was coordinating the clothing drive. Gil’s back safe, and I’m freezing!” He was in short sleeves, and made a show of rubbing his arms as he punched a code in by the door to get back in.
Bruno could guess exactly what had happened: Gil had shifted and left his clothing behind in a pile. Clarice had gathered them up with the charity box and thought that armadillo-Gil, rolled into a perfect armored ball, was just an odd toy being donated.
Clarice was still babbling and she looked as wild around the eyes as Bruno felt. “We didn’t have to drive very far, I’m really sorry. I still have no idea how he got in my car without me noticing and we came right back.”
“He’s very sneaky,” Bruno said, meeting Gil and sweeping the boy up into his arms to squeeze him. “You terrified me, Gil. I didn’t know where you went.”
Gil looked surreptitiously at Clarice. “There was a LOUD NOISE. I got scared.”
“Oh, a car backfired,” Clarice said. “I just about jumped out of my skin.”
Gil looked at her suspiciously. “Can you DO that?”
“Do what?” Clarice looked confused.
“Jump out of your SKIN!”
“It’s a metaphor,” Clarice said. “That’s… ah… just a thing people say.”
“No one can jump out of their skin,” Bruno said firmly, trying to get control of the situation and his nerves.
He was close enough to tell that this woman wasn’t a shifter, and he couldn’t risk their secrets.
“Thank you for bringing him back. Gil, you can’t just go around climbing into people’s cars. ”
“I DIDN’T!” Gil protested.
Poor Clarice looked even more bewildered. “He must have,” she said uncertainly.
“Of course he did,” Bruno said.
“I DIDN’T!!” Gil repeated, looking hurt.
Bruno tried to give him a significant look, but Gil was too mad about not being believed to notice.
“I WAS—!”
“WE HAVE TO GO,” Bruno said even more loudly. “Thank you very much, Miss Clarice. It was nice to meet you. Say thank you, Gil.”
“I ONLY—!”
Bruno herded him away. “Cars have to get past now,” he said pointedly.
Clarice looked guilty. “Oh goodness, I’m right in the middle of everything.” She waved at the cars waiting behind her in the road and slipped back into the driver’s seat of her car to pull away.
Bruno irrationally wanted to chase her down, but Gil was preparing for a first-class tantrum, and Bruno wasn’t sure what he would do with Clarice if he caught her.
“You must be hungry after your adventure,” he said, hauling Gil over the berm of snow onto the sidewalk. “How about a hot dog for dinner?”
Gil looked at him suspiciously, clearly considering whether it was worth pitching a fit instead. “I like hot dogs,” he agreed. “BUT I DIDN’T GET IN HER CAR.”
“I know, squirt, but think about it. She’s not a shifter. You can sense that, right? She doesn’t know that you were the armadillo she picked up. We have to keep that a secret.” Bruno lowered his voice as they returned to the day care to collect the rest of Gil’s stuff. Alan buzzed them promptly in.
Gil pouted, then pointed out, “But I was a good armadillo! She couldn’t tell I wasn’t a ball!”
“You did a great job being a ball,” Bruno agreed.
This, and the promise of hot dogs, seemed to appease Gil. “I’M A GREAT BALL!” he announced to the kids left in the day care lobby.
“I’m lucky,” Tara told him, carefully pulling on one boot.
Shane babbled happily and tried to snatch at the strings hanging down from his sister’s hat.
“I’m glad you found him,” Vivian said kindly. “All’s well that ends well.”
Bruno felt a whisper of uncertainty. He’d found Gil and that ought to be the end of it, but he had a sneaking feeling that something was just beginning.