Chapter 4
Three months passed before the teacher had serious reason to be concerned again. It was a Friday and Dean had seemed tired and edgy all week. She had worried that perhaps he was coming down sick with a bug, but apart from his increasing exhaustion and diminishing colour, so far nothing had become apparent. Each evening she had looked out for his father to share her concern but he had not appeared once this week. Even more of a concern had been the lack of anyone to collect him on Wednesday. She wondered what had happened and contemplated a phone call to the Pastor. She thought again of the improvement over the last few months and decided that she would wait until the end of the week. It was the weekend the boys were due for a stay with the Pastor, so she would see how Dean was on Monday.
It was a decision she regretted. Late that evening, she realised she was out of milk and so she made what should have been a quick run down to the late night store. She would never cease to be horrified by the turn of events that evening, but equally thankful that it was she who had found the child. As she entered the store, she had already decided to treat herself to a little something for her sweet tooth. It was as she rounded the end of the aisle that she saw him. He was attempting to conceal a packet of cookies inside his jacket. "Dean!" she said quietly in surprise.
He turned in horror, eyes brimming rapidly and shame colouring his cheeks. He dropped the packet and began to back away. She reached out and caught his arm. As she pulled him forward, she bent down and caught him in her arms as he began to sob, his whole body shaking. She held him tight, soothing him and stroking his hair until he calmed. Then still talking quietly, she told him to hold her basket and without letting go of him, she fished in her pocket for a clean handkerchief to dry his face. Despite all the questions running through her mind, she didn't ask anything. She kept a tight hold although at the minute he didn't seem inclined to run. If anything he almost seemed to welcome the contact and an adult telling him what to do. She put the cookies into her basket along with a loaf and some cheese. He didn't look up from the floor. It broke her heart to see a child reduced to this. No child ever deserved to be placed in such a position.
She took him to the check-out, paid and led him quickly to her car. She needed to be quick if she were going to get him into the car. She never was quite sure how she got him in car but his reaction when she closed the door cut her to the quick. He grasped the door handle desperately pulling and pushing as he tried to escape from the car, dragging small fingers desperately across the window as tears rolled freely down his cheeks. She was grateful for the childlocks on the doors, normally used to keep her daredevil grandson from opening the door.
As she got into the front seat, she was reminded of the first day she met the Pastor and how Dean had reacted to his strongly assertive tone. At this point, she needed something to calm him down, "Dean! Stop it! Now, sit still." The child's reaction was instantaneous. He froze, eyes wide and staring, only the tears still rolled freely. "Put the seatbelt on." He did as she said. "Is your Dad at home?" He didn't answer, just continued to watch her warily. "Is Sammy at home?"
He nodded, "I put him to bed." His voice was quiet.
"Have you seen Pastor Jim this week?" His eyes dropped to the floor. "Bobby?" No response. "Caleb?" Still nothing. "Do you need to get back to Sammy quickly?"
"Yes." The subject of his younger brother drew minimal replies but at least he answered.
"Was Sammy sleeping when you came out?" She started the car and began to drive.
"I put him to bed. It's after his bedtime. He's little."
"I know, honey. You do a good job looking after your brother."
"No."
"Let's get you back to him, shall we? You're staying down at the motel aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Which room number?"
"Mustn't say."
"It's okay to tell me Dean. I'm just going to come and see that everything's okay."
"No, it's fine. No need to come." She could hear the edge of panic in his voice. "I'll walk from here." He began to struggle with the door again.
"Sit still, you're fine. I'll take you back."
"No! I want to ... let me ... get out! Let me out! I need to get out!" She saw his struggle with the door become more frantic. "Let me out!" She contemplated stopping the car to calm him down but figured she was only a block and a half away so she would stop and calm him once she got there.
She pulled into the parking lot of the motel and climbed from the car. As he struggled with one door, she opened the other and sat beside him on the seat, putting her arms round him to halt his struggle. She pulled him in close and held him until he calmed. She looked at his hands scratched, nails torn from his frantic struggle with the door. "Come on, Dean, let me help."
With one arm holding him still, she used to the other to soothe him. Sobs escaped the small body beside her, but they were smaller than before. "It's okay, Dean, it's okay. We'll sort everything. Let's go find Sammy." She took his hand in hers and along with the bag of groceries she got out of the car. "We need to see if Sammy's asleep."
He walked head down to a door, fished in his pocket for a key and let himself into the room. He said nothing but he didn't close the door until she had entered then he pushed the door to. He didn't say a word as he walked to where his brother was sleeping. She saw some anxiety leave him as he watched his brother but she was also aware of his silent wariness as he watched her.
Reassured that the pre-schooler was indeed fine, she turned her attention back to Dean and his surroundings. "Right honey, let's sort you out now we know Sammy's fine. I want you to go and wash up. A proper one mind, clean hands, clean face, right?" He nodded silently. "Clean t-shirt too if you've got one. Do you have one?" Another nod. "Go sort out then, sweetie."
She had already spotted a phone with numbers beside it. As soon as Dean left the room, she went to the phone. She was relieved to see the Pastor's number was top of the list and she rapidly dialled the number. It was answered by the Pastor himself on the second ring. "Pastor Murphy? This is Dean's teacher speaking. I am sorry to disturb you so late but I'm afraid I need your assistance urgently... Yes... Things are very bad this evening, I'm sorry to sat. I don't want to speak in detail now for the children's sake, but suffice it to say that I am with them now at the motel where they are unattended... yes, that is correct, unattended. There is no food for them... We spoke before, Pastor Murphy, about the need to contact the authorities... yes... I understand.. in a few moments then. I await your call." She replaced the phone and picked up the bag she had brought with her.
Retrieving the bread and cheese, she quickly made up a cheese sandwich and cut it into pieces for Dean. She wondered whether Sammy had eaten or not. She turned to see Dean silent and wary as he watched her. "Sit down, Dean. Eat this." He sat in the chair but made no move to eat the sandwich. He watched her as she moved round the kitchen area. She had the final confirmation she had needed, the child before her now was stealing because he had no other way to feed himself or his brother. There wasn't a scrap of food left in the cupboards. She looked at him again and saw defeat etched into every line of his young face and posture.
"They're going to take Sammy away now, aren't they?" he asked quietly.
"It's going to be okay, Dean."
"I'm going to be in trouble now. I'm sorry, I didn't want to but..."
"Dean, honey. I'll make sure you're not in trouble. It wasn't your fault. It'll be okay now."
"They'll take Sammy somewhere else, won't they?"
"Honey, I've told Pastor Jim, not anyone else."
"He'll be ashamed of me."
"No. I'll make sure he isn't. Don't worry." She sat beside him. "Come on have a bit of this sandwich." He just shook his head and pushed the plate further away. He laid his head on his arms in the space in front of him.
"Dean, is your Dad coming back tonight?"
"Don't know," came the muffled reply.
"How long has he been gone?"
"Don't know anymore."
"Are you tired, honey?"
"Yeah."
"Why don't you lie down for a bit. I'll watch over you both"
"They'll take Sammy while I'm asleep." He could barely lift his head from the table.
"No Dean, no one will take Sammy away from you while you're asleep, I promise that."
"I was supposed to look after him. I was supposed to keep him safe."
"You've done that, Dean. Now let me do it and you have a rest for a while."
The phone rang and Dean leapt in shock from the table. She saw his eyes widen in fear and panic as she moved to answer it. "No!" He shouted, "Leave it!"
"It's fine, it's for me." She held him back from the phone with one arm as he struggled to stop her answering. She raised the phone. "Yes... Pastor Murphy, it's good to hear from you. Yes, Dean is next to me." She felt the fight go out of Dean and he stopped trying to reach for the phone and went to stand by the bedroom door. "Right, we'll see him in about 30 inutes. That's great... No, it's not a problem for me to wait with the boys until then. Yes, I'll get Dean for you now."
She held the phone out towards Dean who she knew had been listening to every word.
He walked reluctantly over to the phone. "Yes sir... pack our bag, yes sir... Dad... no sir, I understand..." She wondered what exactly was being said as she watched Dean attempt to interrupt the Pastor's flow of instructions. The she saw the look of devastation settle back on his features and the tears begin to well again. She stepped forward and took the phone from him, "Yes, Pastor. I think Dean and I need to start packing that bag now if we're going to be ready in time." With that, she pushed Dean toward the room in which his brother was sleeping. "I'm sure we'll speak again later Pastor, but for the minute, I think I should go and help Dean with that packing... Until later then."
She hung up the phone and went to join Dean. As she approached, he looked up and asked, "Will they take me away? Will I be locked up? What will happen to Sammy? Will he stay with Dad?"
"Dean, no-one's taking you or Sammy away from each other. Bobby's coming to get you and he's going to take you to Pastor Jim's, that's all."
"Pastor Jim won't want me to stay anymore. I've been bad."
"No, it'll be fine."
"I am. I know it's bad to steal. I was stealing. You told us a story about stealing and how it was wrong."
"Dean, it is wrong to steal, but you were trying to look after Sammy."
"The Bible says you must never steal, it's always wrong."
"How do you know that?"
"Pastor Jim says it in church. I listen when we go with him. He says it's important to always remember."
"Dean, did you steal the cookies just because you wanted cookies?"
"No."
"Did you take them because you had nothing to give Sammy to eat in the morning?"
"Yeah."
"That's not really bad stealing, you shouldn't do it. What you should have done is ask someone for help, someone like Pastor Jim. Then you won't steal. Now we've finished this packing, so you and I are going to sit down and rest until Bobby gets here." She led him to sit down and she managed to get him to lie down enough that she could stroke his hair as he drifted towards sleep.
He was almost asleep when he jerked upwards and awake saying, "He'll be so angry."
She pushed him down again. "Ssh. Everything's fine. Just rest for a bit and we'll make it better in the morning."
When Bobby arrived twenty minutes later, she eased herself out gently from next to Dean and went to the door.
"How are the boys?" was his first question. "Sorry, that sounds rude. Evening, sorry it took me so long to get here. Are they okay?"
"They're both asleep. Sammy hasn't woken at all, but I've only just managed to get Dean to rest. He fell asleep about ten minutes ago. Do you want me to wake him?"
"No. Let's see if I can lift him into the truck without waking him. I'll put Sam in first, then their bag. Dean's still pretty small, he shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"While you do that, I'll just make some sandwiches in case they wake up. I suspect Dean hasn't eaten anything, but he was so tired, I didn't force him. We packed and then I got him to sleep."
It took ten minutes to pack the boys and their bag into Bobby's truck. Bobby came back to help shut up the room. "I doubt he'll be in school on Monday. Jim will keep the boys up there for now. They'll be safe."
"That is the problem for me. I know they're safe with yourself, the Pastor and Caleb; this is the problem," she said gesturing to the empty room.
"I know. You have Jim's number?"
"Yes. I'll call him once I'm home to let him know you're on your way. There are some things I need to say but I couldn't risk small ears hearing."
"I understand. I should be going, we have a long drive ahead. I want to thank you for everything you've done this evening and I apologise for the situation. We'll be in touch, probably Jim..."
"Safe driving."
With that she watched him drive away with the boys. She took the paper with the names and numbers on and climbed back into her car and headed home.
When she got in, she dialled the Pastor's number. It appeared he had been waiting beside the phone for the call. She explained the evening's events and Dean's fears that he would be taken away, that the Pastor would no longer want anything to do with him.. The Pastor reassured her that he would keep both boys with him and that he would take special care to reassure Dean and that he would not be punished for his actions. He took her number and promised to call with more information but confirmed that for a few days at least, Dean would not be in school.