Once again Kirsten spent a restless night tossing and turning in bed, only this time she had the full king sized space to herself. As she had predicted Sandy had taken the, not so subtle, hint and remained away from their bedroom. She didn't know where he had slept, frankly she didn't know if she cared.
Why couldn't he trust her instincts? How could he not want the boy to be Jacob?
The multitude of questions swam before her but she mentally chided herself for such thoughts. As much as she was angry at Sandy right in this moment she knew, after all that they had been through together, that he would move heaven and earth for his children – he would have given himself so that Jacob could still be with them.
Rolling over and gripping the pillow close against her body the first fresh tears of a new day escaped her eyes rolling steadily down the familiar path on her cheeks to pool on the soft pillow. The bright neon clock was bleary through her eyes, blinking away some tears, she focused on the dial and with frustration once again saw that very little time had elapsed since the last time she had checked it – 6.15
All through the night she had lay awake and planned what this day would hold for her, and for Jacob. She had seen the group of boys at around 4.30 in the afternoon walking out toward the exit of the mall. There were so many possibilities as to why they were there but only two jumped out at her, either they were going home from school and it was a shortcut of theirs. Or it was possible that one or more of them worked there and they had come to met each other after a shift.
Either of these theories was plausible and Kirsten had formulated a plan of action in her mind, she would leave early from home and drive out to the mall to watch the employees arriving to start their day. If she didn't see him then there was a chance she might see one of the other boys from the group who might be able to give her some information.
Then her day would be spent wandering through the many stores looking closely at each and every employee or passing face that resembled her sons. Around the time when she had seen them yesterday she would head down to the corridor leading from one side of the mall to the other. If he used it as a route home he would have to pass by that same spot again.
During the night all the doubts, fears and questions had played out in her mind. What if he wasn't working today? He could be ill and not at school! Any number of things could upset her careful planning.
But through all these doubts one thing never wavered in Kirsten's mind – that the boy was Jacob. No matter how many uncertainties Sandy placed in her mind, even if he did rip her story to shreds she never, not even once, doubted that that blonde boy was Jacob.
Gripping the steering wheel tightly in her hands, her knuckles turning white under the grip, she watched as the cars came and parked or dropped off another employee of the stores within the mall. Each time another car entered her vision she would try to take note of every detail as fast as possible; colour, make, model, license plate, dents, scratches, driver – anything that could be useful for the police to have.
Strangely though as soon as the passenger or driver had emerged from the car and it wasn't the buy she had seen yesterday all those carefully located details vanished from her mind and she steeled herself for the next car and to repeat the process all over again.
Mentally it was exhausting and Kirsten had never felt this on edge since those fateful few weeks ten years ago when ever passing child could have been Jacob. She never thought that she would feel like that again – it was not a feeling she revealed in but it was necessary if there was any chance she could have her boy returned to her.
She must have sat in the mall parking lot for at least an hour and a half, maybe two hours until the string of employees ended and the cars became the early shoppers out to miss the crowds and grab a bargain.
Walking between stores her eyes darted back and forth looking at each face quickly dismissing each one which did not met her close criteria; too old, wrong skin tone, to tall, wrong hair colour – crossing people off her list.
After a few hours of wandering around the stores as well as up and down over each floor she was beginning too lose heart. She had already been asked several times by an interfering security guard if everything was alright or if he could help with anything as she had passed him several times.
Maybe Sandy was right, maybe she imagined the blonde boy that had helped her – she supposed it was possible her mind could make him up.
Entering a little coffee shop, with an open sitting area at the front, she ordered her favourite half-café caramel macchiato on the dry side, a treat for herself and to raise her spirits.
Finding an empty table close to the border with the busy walkway of the mall she dropped into an uncomfortable metal chair and popped the lid off her steaming coffee. Adding a little more milk and just a tad more sugar she slid down in the chair finally allowing herself to relax a little in her resting place.
Her eyes scanned the crowd one final time looking out for any sign of the boy she had seen yesterday – and then – there on the other side of the corridor – yes.
It was him – Jacob.
Kirsten was tempted to leap up from her view point and rush to him with her arms thrown wide but some niggling feeling made her stay where she was.
Something about the boy's tense movements, his nervous glances around at the crowd – held her in her place watching him, interested in what he was doing.
Turning over her wrist she glance down quickly at her expensive watch the hands read 12.17 and immediately she questioned the boy before her. Her son, this boy, was only fifteen years old and should have been safely in school mucking around in class with his friends. What was he doing here at this time on a school day?
Glancing back up she thought for a second that she had lost him again, in that short time he had moved away from the space he was last in. Scanning the crowd nearby Kirsten breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted him again standing near a group that had gathered around a street performer making robotic actions.
Sitting up in her chair Kirsten focused in on the boy watching his moves and quick upward glances looking up to the sky and upper levels.
To her amazement, when he was satisfied with the situation, his right hand dipped into the pocket of the middle aged mans pocket beside him. Expertly, without any fuss or unnecessary jolting, he pulled out a black leather monogrammed wallet which he slid into his own hoodie pocket.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with the man for a few more seconds ensuring he had felt nothing and looked at the performer in front of them before slipping away from the man toward the back of the crowd.
Once separated from the crowd he kept his hand firmly in his pocket and walked around the side of a shop display and headed toward the escalators to rise up to the level he had previously been looking at.
Kirsten hadn't realised her mouth had been agape throughout the whole incident as she watched this thief pick the pocket of an unsuspecting bystander. Suddenly torn from the scene before her, the fear of losing sight of Jacob again overriding the shock of what had just happened, she stood abruptly and moved in step behind him following up the escalators.
Once on the second level of the mall she stayed closely behind the blond boy, following him toward another of the exits out into the car park. The boy turned around just before pushing the door open and glanced at the cameras and guards one more time. Kirsten dropped her step just a fraction letting him move out into the open space alone knowing that she would be easily seen if she followed straight behind him.
She didn't dare leave it any later than a few seconds before she too stepped out into the car park, spotting the boy over against a wall near a trash can she stepped back behind a pillar looking out at him as he sifted through the wallet throwing away anything of identification or no use to him.
Finally in the fresh light of day Kirsten had the chance to examine his features closely, her breath caught in her throat as her gaze wandered over his face looking at how he had changed but still somehow remained the same over the years.
The small chicken pox scar just near his hair line, the soft blond hair that had darkened over time still falling into his eyes making him toss his head from time to time in exactly the same way he did as a toddler. His nose had clearly been broken since his time with them a slight bend in the bridge which before had been perfectly straight. A small semi circular scar that was fading beneath his bottom lip from where as a four year old he had taken to chewing that spot in his sleep.
Kirsten couldn't believe that he had been so close to them all that time, he had been a short drive away. Years of heart ache and tension lifted from inside her – Jacob was alive all this time he had survived and been within their reach.
Nothing was going to stop her from having him back.
Nothing.
