Chapter 41
His daddy had told him to wait until five o’clock.
Danny had followed his daddy’s instructions. Every one of them. Just like he said in the note.
Danny didn’t know how his daddy had done it because his grandparents wouldn’t let his daddy come to their house anymore.
But after Danny got home from visiting his mom at the hospital last night, his grandma had tucked him into bed.
When she’d left the room, he turned on his side and stuck his hand under the pillow the way he always did and there was the note.
He’d switched on the light, saw it was from his daddy and smiled.
His daddy had written that at five o’clock today he was to make sure no one was watching him.
Then Danny was to put on his coat, put the letter in his pocket with his gloves, and go into the upstairs bathroom, the one by the room where he slept.
Over the bathtub there was a window. It was really little but Danny could fit through it.
Being real careful that he didn’t make any noise, he had slid the window open and climbed out onto the roof.
Then he’d made sure he closed the window real tight.
His daddy had written in his note that the police would be looking at the windows.
Danny had to be sure he didn’t forget that part. It was real important.
The roof was the one over the big old side porch. Climbing out onto the roof had been scary at first, but his daddy had told him not to be afraid. He was a big boy now and he could do anything his daddy told him.
This was the only way they could be together again.
Danny had to inch all the way to the part of the porch that connected to the garage roof. Soon as he was on the garage roof, he lay flat on his belly and wiggled his way toward the farthest end from the driveway. The next part was the hardest, scariest part. He had to climb down.
The ladder was there, just like his daddy had said in the letter. Slowly sliding his body off the edge of the roof, he climbed down one rung at a time. Turned out it wasn’t too hard, either.
Peeking around the corner of the garage, Danny made sure no one was looking for him on this side of the house. His daddy had said to be sure the searchers had moved toward the woods first. Danny could hear them calling his name in the woods beyond the backyard.
He hurried over to the garbage cans his grandparents kept lined up at the side of the garage, climbed up onto the smallest one—the one his grandfather used for sticks and stuff he picked up in the yard.
Then he opened the lid of the big one next to it.
It didn’t smell very good in there but his daddy had promised he would be fine.
Danny scrambled into the can and pulled the lid closed.
It was really, really dark. He closed his eyes and thought of that Christmas song he liked so much.
Danny couldn’t remember ever being so scared, but he had to do what his daddy told him.
They were going to get his mommy out of the hospital, and then they would go home to get his Christmas presents.
The ones his grandparents wouldn’t take him to get.
His daddy promised that what the police and his grandparents were saying was all lies.
They just wanted to take Danny away from his daddy.
They wanted to turn Danny’s mom against his dad.
All they cared about was getting his mom and the new baby.
They didn’t even care about Danny. Seemed like his daddy was right about that.
His grandparents had been pretty mean to him.
They made him stay in his room a lot. Wouldn’t let him watch television.
He hadn’t had any fun at all since he came here.
He wanted to go home.
What they were doing to his daddy was bad. His grandma and grandpa shouldn’t be doing something so bad.
Danny didn’t like the police. They looked at him funny.
Well, he was gonna do just what his daddy said, and then he wouldn’t have to worry about the police anymore. He would be with his mommy and daddy far away from here. His daddy had promised that, too.
Danny wondered, as he huddled in his stinky hiding place, if that was what his daddy had meant when he’d said the princess wouldn’t take his place.
He was pretty sure he hadn’t seen a princess around here. But he might not have understood what his daddy meant. Maybe he meant the girl baby his mommy had in her tummy. If his grandparents wanted the girl and didn’t want Danny, that might be what his daddy meant.
It was getting colder, but Danny didn’t care. His coat and gloves would keep him warm enough in this stinky old trash can. He felt bad that his grandma was probably crying since they couldn’t find him. But she shouldn’t have been mean to his daddy. That wasn’t nice.
Danny closed his eyes and sang Christmas songs in his head.
Tonight he would get the presents his mom and Santa had brought him.
Santa hadn’t come to his grandparents’ house.
His daddy explained in his letter that Santa’s presents were waiting for Danny at home.
He couldn’t wait to open his presents and to see his mom.
Everything would be okay then. His daddy never told him lies. He always told Danny the truth.
All Danny had to do was be very still and not say a word.
When it got dark enough the police would stop looking for him. Then his daddy would come get him.
Jingle bell . . . jingle bell . . . jingle bell rock.
He wished he remembered the rest of the words.