26

NAME: FLORAMUNDI DONNELLY

Well, of course I was worried. The one day I got home early from work, I found my house completely empty. I could see Sophie's backpack and cell phone in the living room, but there was no trace of my daughter in the whole house. I began fearing that she had run away from home, as there had been no sign of her for almost two hours now, and it had been over three hours since the end of the school day. I'd moved past the anger stage. I was already making deals: If Sophie comes back home safely, I won't strangle her or even ground her. Please, please, let her be okay!

To take my mind off the anxiety, I was cleaning out the spare room where Cap had lived for two months. I have to say he was the tidiest person in the house, as opposed to Sophie, who used the floor as a display rack for her clothing choices. I couldn't find so much as a speck of dust that had come from Cap. As for clutter—the boy had nothing, so he couldn't possibly leave it lying around. There were a few pieces of schoolwork. One was an essay entitled: "The Most Important Invention of the Twentieth Century." What had Cap chosen to write about? The telephone? The computer? No, duct tape. In spite of my nervousness, I couldn't contain a chuckle. I remembered Garland, where duct tape had served every purpose but food.

In fact, my sweep netted only one other item—a slip of paper neatly folded in the nightstand drawer.

1 "Effervescence" bangle, multicolor stones

Engraving: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

My heart turned over in my chest. Sophie's bangle—it was from Cap? He had that much of a crush on her?

No, he'd pretended it was a gift from Bill. In my job, I knew that pure kindness, with no strings attached, was pretty rare. The boy was an angel!

Whatever problems I had with Rain, I had to admit that she'd raised a truly wonderful kid.

I stared at the scrawl at the bottom of the receipt: Paid by check.

Oh, no.

I remembered the school's bank statement—the check to the jewelry store. In his innocence, Cap had purchased Sophie's bracelet with money from the Student Activity Fund!

I raced downstairs, picked up the phone and dialed Frank Kasigi. He wasn't picking up, so I tried his cell, but no response there either.

I had nothing left to do but sit and pray for Sophie's safe return. Just two minutes later, I was surprised to hear the sound of a car pulling into our driveway. Running to the window, I could see that it was Bill's car- he was driving, and Sophie was in the passenger seat. I heaved a sigh of relief and ran outside.

"What in the world are you doing, Sophie? When did your father come here?"

"Surprise, Flora!" Bill shouted. "I just dropped in for a visit this afternoon, so I thought I'd surprise Sophie when she got home. She actually brought along some eighth-grade friends. I gave them some refreshments and then drove them back to their houses. Their mothers insisted on hosting us, so we got really delayed. You must have been getting worried about Sophie, so I apologize for not letting you know."

I walked over to Sophie and was shocked to see that her eyes were red, and her complexion was ashen.

"What's wrong? Have you been crying?" I asked her.

"We can talk about it in the house, Mother," she replied, getting out of the car.

"I'll explain all of this to you, Flora," Bill cut in.

Bill also got out of the car, and we all walked up to the front door, which was unlocked.

We all sat down around the dining table.

"So, what's all this about, you two?" I asked, confused.

Sophie's eyes fell on the engraved bangle receipt, and she picked it up and read it. She then took off her bracelet and put it on the table next to the slip of paper. "I think you already know. Where did you find this receipt?"

"I was getting worried sick about you, so I started cleaning out Cap's room to take my mind off the anxiety. I found this paper in his nightstand drawer."

I picked up Sophie's bangle and turned to Bill with a disappointed expression on my face. "I should have known that you didn't send this. To be honest, the inscription threw me a little. It certainly didn't sound like the Bill Donnelly I used to be married to, but I thought you could still surprise me. Sophie was thrilled the day she got this in the mail."

"I fucked up, Flora. I meant to have Sophie's bracelet engraved a month ago, but I got super busy and forgot to actually send it to the engraver. I'm so sorry. I feel like a terrible person."

I sighed. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Bill. What's done is done."

"Enough of that," Sophie cut in. "The point is that it may be too late for me to ever thank Cap. The poor kid doesn't even have a phone at home. He's gone, sucked back into the sixties. Now, tomorrow's Halloween Friday, and Kasigi's canceled the junior high dance. My eighth-grade friends are crushed, and I really feel bad for them. And there's nothing any of us can do to bring him back without your help, Mother."

"I agree with Sophie, Flora," Bill cut in. "You grew up in that hippie commune, so you're the only one in this house who knows where to find Cap. Will you come with us tomorrow afternoon?"

I nodded. "You drive, Bill, and I'll navigate. It's been over 35 years, but I'm confident I can find my way back to Garland. You can thank Cap in person for his selfless act, and I'll try to talk some sense into Rain so that she'll possibly allow Cap to finish the school year with his friends at Claverage. As for the dance, I talked to Frank Kasigi and found out that Cap has been spending money left and right on charitable donations. Frank had to cancel the dance to recoup what he could. I'll explain all of this to Cap, and he can apologize to Frank in person. Maybe Frank will reschedule the dance to next week."

"I tried telling Cap not to spend the school's money on charity, but my advice fell on deaf ears. I figured Kasigi would strangle him once he found out about his spendthrift ways," Sophie replied.

I waved a hand at her. "Now go upstairs and finish your homework. You better get all of it done if you want to do this tomorrow."