Chapter Twelve
Puppy Search Party
The next morning was a quiet one; the O'Connells and Seti were missing the adopted puppies. Even Rick seemed to miss playing with the puppies with his son. Evelyn only set out one dog dish that morning but it was a waste of time because Seti wouldn't eat. All she would do was lay in her whelping bed and sigh and dog sigh. Her mournful eyes followed the members of her family around whenever they entered the parlor.
Alex spent nearly the whole day in the parlor with Seti, laying by her side and riding her stories about dogs that found missing people, from books that his mother had gotten him as a little boy.
Alex also read Seti a story about how a mother dog had saved her puppies from a burning building; she had cared each one of her puppies out, one by one and didn't stop until they were all safe.
Later, at dinner, Alex said that that was Seti's favorite story.
"How do you know?" Evelyn asked her son, along with telling him to each his carrots.
"She told me so." The boy asked, putting a carrot in his mouth with slight disgust.
Rick laughed. "Seti told you she liked the story, what else did she tell you?" Rick asked, smiling.
"She told me she wanted her puppies back. She told me that those people were not good people for her babies." Alex answered, total seriousness in his voice.
Evelyn was surprised that Alex used the word 'babies' instead of 'puppies'.
All through the rest of dinner, the family was silent. They were all thinking about Seti's puppies.
The next day, Evelyn and Rick slept late; later then they usually did. When they went downstairs, it was no surprise not to see Alex downstairs, sometimes the young boy slept until noon. Sometimes he was up with the roosters but today was one of those 'late-sleeping' days.
However, around noon Evelyn and Rick were still surprised that they had not seen Alex all morning. Maybe he was just sleeping late but what really bothered them was that they hadn't seen Seti this morning either. Usually it was the dog that woke them up, scratching on the door to go outside. This morning, however, Seti hadn't made a single appearance.
Rick decided to go check on his son while Evelyn went to see if Seti was all right.
Rick knocked lightly on his son's door and when he got no response he was sure his son was still asleep. However, he knew that he would feel better if he saw Alex asleep in his bed.
Rick opened the door to Alex's room and was surprised to see that the bed was empty; bedclothes were folded neatly at the end of his bed and his son's rucksack was gone.
Before Rick could think any further, he was startled to hear his wife calling his name. "Rick!" She cried.
Rick ran down the stairs and quickly into the parlor where his wife was standing, by Seti's bed, holding a crudely written note. "It's from Alex." Evelyn said and handed the note to her husband.
Rick read the note over and over again. "Mum and Dad, Seti ran away to find her puppies; I tried calling her but she didn't come back. I decided to follow her to make sure she didn't get lost. Love Alex."
"I can't believe he would do something like that." Evelyn was saying over and over again; though it was clear that she was more worried about her son then mad at him.
"Evy, calm down," Rick said, though he was really trying to calm himself down more then his wife, "he can't have gotten too far, we'll just look for him." Rick said.
Evelyn seemed to think that that was a good idea; since it was the only idea that they had at the moment.
Together, Rick and Evelyn set out -on foot- to search for their son and their dog.
Rick and Evelyn searched for hours in Alex's favorite hang-around spots. They combed the park over three or four times, asking everyone if they had seen Alex; they checked all the bookstores and shops of any kind but no one had seen an eight-year-old boy. They even checked by the museum but there was no sign of Alex; it was nearly five in the afternoon and Evelyn was being to become frantic.
"Don't worry Evy, Alex is a smart kid, he'll come home. He knows his way around London just as well as you do. Besides, he's got Seti with him and she wouldn't let anything happen to him." Rick said, putting his arm around his wife's shoulder.
Evelyn seemed horrified at the thought that something could happen to her son. "Rick, it's going to be dark soon and he's only eight years old. He's probably scared or…" Evelyn began.
"Evy, Evy Alex is a brave kid and it's not even dark yet. He'll be fine, he's probably waiting at home for us right now with an explanation." Rick said and kissed his wife on the forehead.
Together, Rick and Evelyn walked home; though neither of them showed it, both were praying that their son would indeed be waiting at home for them.
However, when Rick and Evelyn returned home their son was nowhere in sight. While Evelyn dissolved in a string of worried tears, Rick phoned Jonathan and told him everything. Jonathan promised to be right over, and would look for Alex on the way.
Jonathan arrived shortly after his conversation with Rick but he also bore no signs of Alex. The long hours into the night were long and nerve-racking.
By midnight, Rick was the only one awake; Evelyn had finally managed to fall asleep on the couch and Jonathan had fallen asleep shortly after her. Rick was too nervous, too worried to sleep; he constantly looked out the large, curtained windows for any sign of Alex.
Around 12: 30 Rick heard the familiar sound of Seti scratching against the back door to be let inside. Without thinking twice, Rick ran to the back door and opened it; it was Seti, wagging her tail, tongue lolling out of her mouth. However, Alex was not with her; Rick instantly became worried all over again.
However, Seti began turning circles, trying to tell Rick something. Rick followed Seti out into the garden to discover his son asleep in the grass; the boy had probably been in the garden since nightfall but had fallen asleep before returning home. Rick instantly felt like 300 tons had been lifted off his shoulders as he picked his sleeping son up. He carried Alex back into the house, followed by Seti, and laid his still sleeping son beside his wife on the couch.
Rick knelt by Seti and began petting her long coat. "Good girl." He repeated over and over again, feeling that he owed his son's safety to the dog. Seti just sat and wagged her tail, occasionally licking Rick on the face.
While his wife, son and brother-in-law still slept, Rick made Seti a large dinner fight for a "dog-king" to thank the dog even further. Seti ate her dinner and then followed Rick back into the sitting room.
Before long, Evelyn woke up and upon seeing Alex asleep beside her; the look of worry and fear disappeared from her face. Rick explained how Seti had led him to Alex, who was perfectly fine asleep in the garden. Now it was Evelyn's turn to thank the Golden Retriever.
Rick and Evelyn decided to let their son sleep, in the morning he could explain everything.
The next morning, Alex woke up very surprised; he was surprised to be inside his house and was surprised to see his parents standing by the couch, waiting for him to wake up. Then, the young boy remembered everything (almost everything) that happened the day before.
He gave his parents his innocent smile. "Mum, Dad I can explain everything." Alex said.
"And that's just what you're going to do." Rick said. He and Evelyn sat down beside Alex. Seti joined the family, lying down at their feet.
"Well, you see it all started yesterday morning. I got up early to see how Seti was doing without her puppies and she was waiting for me by my door. She went down stairs and I followed her and then she scratched like she wanted to go outside; I opened the door for her and she ran out and started running down the street. I called her name but she wouldn't come so I ran upstairs and got dressed and put a few things in my rucksack then I wrote you a note and followed Seti. I didn't want her to get lost or someone to take her so I figured I'd better follow her.
You should have seen her, she would go from house to house, barking and then listening. She was seeing if one of her puppies were in each house. She really wants her puppies back; we have to get them back." Alex said, pleading with his parents.
Both Rick and Evelyn looked at each other and then down at Seti; Seti looked back up at them, her brown eyes studying them closely.
With a sigh Rick said, "Tomorrow we'll see if we can get one of the puppies back. The only problem is we have no idea where the puppies are."
Alex frowned. "Tomorrow? Dad every minute the puppies spend in their new home they get more attached. We have to find them today." Alex pleaded.
Evelyn nodded. "He does have a point." Evelyn said, looking at her husband.
"All right, but we don't know where the puppies are." Rick repeated.
Alex brightened. "That's okay, we can play detectives like Sherlock Holmes." Alex said. Apart from Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes was Alex's favorite book. Together with Seti, Alex rushed into the parlor to "brush-up" on Sherlock Holmes.
Puppy Search Party
The next morning was a quiet one; the O'Connells and Seti were missing the adopted puppies. Even Rick seemed to miss playing with the puppies with his son. Evelyn only set out one dog dish that morning but it was a waste of time because Seti wouldn't eat. All she would do was lay in her whelping bed and sigh and dog sigh. Her mournful eyes followed the members of her family around whenever they entered the parlor.
Alex spent nearly the whole day in the parlor with Seti, laying by her side and riding her stories about dogs that found missing people, from books that his mother had gotten him as a little boy.
Alex also read Seti a story about how a mother dog had saved her puppies from a burning building; she had cared each one of her puppies out, one by one and didn't stop until they were all safe.
Later, at dinner, Alex said that that was Seti's favorite story.
"How do you know?" Evelyn asked her son, along with telling him to each his carrots.
"She told me so." The boy asked, putting a carrot in his mouth with slight disgust.
Rick laughed. "Seti told you she liked the story, what else did she tell you?" Rick asked, smiling.
"She told me she wanted her puppies back. She told me that those people were not good people for her babies." Alex answered, total seriousness in his voice.
Evelyn was surprised that Alex used the word 'babies' instead of 'puppies'.
All through the rest of dinner, the family was silent. They were all thinking about Seti's puppies.
The next day, Evelyn and Rick slept late; later then they usually did. When they went downstairs, it was no surprise not to see Alex downstairs, sometimes the young boy slept until noon. Sometimes he was up with the roosters but today was one of those 'late-sleeping' days.
However, around noon Evelyn and Rick were still surprised that they had not seen Alex all morning. Maybe he was just sleeping late but what really bothered them was that they hadn't seen Seti this morning either. Usually it was the dog that woke them up, scratching on the door to go outside. This morning, however, Seti hadn't made a single appearance.
Rick decided to go check on his son while Evelyn went to see if Seti was all right.
Rick knocked lightly on his son's door and when he got no response he was sure his son was still asleep. However, he knew that he would feel better if he saw Alex asleep in his bed.
Rick opened the door to Alex's room and was surprised to see that the bed was empty; bedclothes were folded neatly at the end of his bed and his son's rucksack was gone.
Before Rick could think any further, he was startled to hear his wife calling his name. "Rick!" She cried.
Rick ran down the stairs and quickly into the parlor where his wife was standing, by Seti's bed, holding a crudely written note. "It's from Alex." Evelyn said and handed the note to her husband.
Rick read the note over and over again. "Mum and Dad, Seti ran away to find her puppies; I tried calling her but she didn't come back. I decided to follow her to make sure she didn't get lost. Love Alex."
"I can't believe he would do something like that." Evelyn was saying over and over again; though it was clear that she was more worried about her son then mad at him.
"Evy, calm down," Rick said, though he was really trying to calm himself down more then his wife, "he can't have gotten too far, we'll just look for him." Rick said.
Evelyn seemed to think that that was a good idea; since it was the only idea that they had at the moment.
Together, Rick and Evelyn set out -on foot- to search for their son and their dog.
Rick and Evelyn searched for hours in Alex's favorite hang-around spots. They combed the park over three or four times, asking everyone if they had seen Alex; they checked all the bookstores and shops of any kind but no one had seen an eight-year-old boy. They even checked by the museum but there was no sign of Alex; it was nearly five in the afternoon and Evelyn was being to become frantic.
"Don't worry Evy, Alex is a smart kid, he'll come home. He knows his way around London just as well as you do. Besides, he's got Seti with him and she wouldn't let anything happen to him." Rick said, putting his arm around his wife's shoulder.
Evelyn seemed horrified at the thought that something could happen to her son. "Rick, it's going to be dark soon and he's only eight years old. He's probably scared or…" Evelyn began.
"Evy, Evy Alex is a brave kid and it's not even dark yet. He'll be fine, he's probably waiting at home for us right now with an explanation." Rick said and kissed his wife on the forehead.
Together, Rick and Evelyn walked home; though neither of them showed it, both were praying that their son would indeed be waiting at home for them.
However, when Rick and Evelyn returned home their son was nowhere in sight. While Evelyn dissolved in a string of worried tears, Rick phoned Jonathan and told him everything. Jonathan promised to be right over, and would look for Alex on the way.
Jonathan arrived shortly after his conversation with Rick but he also bore no signs of Alex. The long hours into the night were long and nerve-racking.
By midnight, Rick was the only one awake; Evelyn had finally managed to fall asleep on the couch and Jonathan had fallen asleep shortly after her. Rick was too nervous, too worried to sleep; he constantly looked out the large, curtained windows for any sign of Alex.
Around 12: 30 Rick heard the familiar sound of Seti scratching against the back door to be let inside. Without thinking twice, Rick ran to the back door and opened it; it was Seti, wagging her tail, tongue lolling out of her mouth. However, Alex was not with her; Rick instantly became worried all over again.
However, Seti began turning circles, trying to tell Rick something. Rick followed Seti out into the garden to discover his son asleep in the grass; the boy had probably been in the garden since nightfall but had fallen asleep before returning home. Rick instantly felt like 300 tons had been lifted off his shoulders as he picked his sleeping son up. He carried Alex back into the house, followed by Seti, and laid his still sleeping son beside his wife on the couch.
Rick knelt by Seti and began petting her long coat. "Good girl." He repeated over and over again, feeling that he owed his son's safety to the dog. Seti just sat and wagged her tail, occasionally licking Rick on the face.
While his wife, son and brother-in-law still slept, Rick made Seti a large dinner fight for a "dog-king" to thank the dog even further. Seti ate her dinner and then followed Rick back into the sitting room.
Before long, Evelyn woke up and upon seeing Alex asleep beside her; the look of worry and fear disappeared from her face. Rick explained how Seti had led him to Alex, who was perfectly fine asleep in the garden. Now it was Evelyn's turn to thank the Golden Retriever.
Rick and Evelyn decided to let their son sleep, in the morning he could explain everything.
The next morning, Alex woke up very surprised; he was surprised to be inside his house and was surprised to see his parents standing by the couch, waiting for him to wake up. Then, the young boy remembered everything (almost everything) that happened the day before.
He gave his parents his innocent smile. "Mum, Dad I can explain everything." Alex said.
"And that's just what you're going to do." Rick said. He and Evelyn sat down beside Alex. Seti joined the family, lying down at their feet.
"Well, you see it all started yesterday morning. I got up early to see how Seti was doing without her puppies and she was waiting for me by my door. She went down stairs and I followed her and then she scratched like she wanted to go outside; I opened the door for her and she ran out and started running down the street. I called her name but she wouldn't come so I ran upstairs and got dressed and put a few things in my rucksack then I wrote you a note and followed Seti. I didn't want her to get lost or someone to take her so I figured I'd better follow her.
You should have seen her, she would go from house to house, barking and then listening. She was seeing if one of her puppies were in each house. She really wants her puppies back; we have to get them back." Alex said, pleading with his parents.
Both Rick and Evelyn looked at each other and then down at Seti; Seti looked back up at them, her brown eyes studying them closely.
With a sigh Rick said, "Tomorrow we'll see if we can get one of the puppies back. The only problem is we have no idea where the puppies are."
Alex frowned. "Tomorrow? Dad every minute the puppies spend in their new home they get more attached. We have to find them today." Alex pleaded.
Evelyn nodded. "He does have a point." Evelyn said, looking at her husband.
"All right, but we don't know where the puppies are." Rick repeated.
Alex brightened. "That's okay, we can play detectives like Sherlock Holmes." Alex said. Apart from Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes was Alex's favorite book. Together with Seti, Alex rushed into the parlor to "brush-up" on Sherlock Holmes.