Ch. 36
No storm can last forever and the winter gale that had held New York City in its icy grip finally dissipated late Saturday night. Not that this had bothered James or his family, as they had spent the day basking by the glow of a cozy fire.
"Mark my words, this storm won't last much longer," Mr. Grasshopper had said around noon as the family ate a light lunch. "We'll probably see the sun tomorrow."
"Gonna be fun diggin' ourselves out, though." Centipede aimed a grin in Earthworm's direction. "Think you can lend us a hand, so to speak?"
"Oh very funny," Earthworm groused. "I'm not digging through all that heavy cold slush." His long body shuddered as he curled closer to the fire.
"We may have some issue clearing the snow from the front and back doors," Mr. Grasshopper noted with a frown. "And not just us, I'm sure."
"Already taken care of." Centipede waved a nonchalant hand from where he lay stretched out on the couch. "Once the storm stops, maintenance workers are gonna get to work clearin' the streets and sidewalks."
"That'll take more than a day, though."
"Yeah, probably. Which is why Monday is an unofficial holiday for all city businesses and school." Centipede grinned at James. "How does a three-day weekend sound to you, kid?"
"I think it sounds fun. Do you think my friends will be able to come to the park on Monday?"
"Probably. For all I know, they could show up tomorrow."
"Really?"
"We will see," Miss Spider assured him. "But I think we will be in luck come tomorrow."
And indeed, the first thing James noticed upon waking up that Sunday was the sunlight spilling into his room. Pushing aside his thick covers, the little boy trotted over to the window to peer outside.
The sky was a hard blue with a bright yellow sun spreading its rays as far as the eye could see with nary a cloud to stop it. Below, the ground was covered with sparkling white snow, some of it piled high in drifts that rose nearly to the first story windows of the house. Pieces of broken branches poked out of the cover of snow and icicles hung like Christmas ornaments from the trunks of trees and the craggy walls of the Peach Pit. James didn't see anyone coming to enjoy the lovely winter day yet, but already a crew of men were trudging through the park carrying shovels and rakes. The team was bundled in heavy jackets and hats and James could see them sinking into the snow up to their thighs with every step.
"I hope the people cleaning the snow don't get rid of all of it," James said, looking up at his otter and truck. "Those big piles look like they'd be fun to slide down and we could probably build huge forts too."
James reached up to pet his stuffed otter, smiling as he met her shiny brown eyes. "I read otters like to slide on their stomachs in the snow. Do you?"
The stuffed otter didn't answer, but James had a feeling the answer was yes. He also felt the truck shift under his hand, its wheels against the toy shelf sounding like a soft deep chuckle. Clearly, the truck knew of the little otter's love of playing in the snow.
"I'm going to see if my friends want to play on the snow drifts too," James said. "I think it sounds like fun. But don't worry," he added, more to the truck than the otter. "We'll be careful, I promise. My family wouldn't want me to do anything foolish, so I won't. And we'll stay away from the men while they work."
James patted the otter once more and was certain the otter was smiling back at him. At the same time, the truck's lights caught in the sunlight, almost as though it was approving of James's words. The little boy waved at the otter and the truck before heading of to get ready for a day of fun in the snow.
"Think you'll have some friends out today after all, kid," Centipede said as James joined the family for breakfast.
"Really?"
"Oh goodness yes," Mrs. Ladybug agreed, handing James a plate of eggs scrambled with cheese and a portion of fried potatoes. "After being inside all day, I'm sure a lot of children will be eager to run about outside."
"Can't blame 'em; I'm feelin' a bit stir-crazy myself."
"The reemergence of the sun will do that," Mr. Grasshopper said with a nod. "I certainly wouldn't mind a walk myself."
"Just make sure you stay warm; it's still quite cold out," Mrs. Ladybug cautioned.
"Of course. Though I am sure you and your friends will barely feel the cold after a while, yes?" Miss Spider smiled at James.
"Probably not. But we'll still be careful."
"Of course you will, dear. And lucky for us, it took those maintenance workers almost no time to clear the snow from the doors."
"I saw them from my window. Are they done already?" James asked.
"They have finished clearing a path from our front and back doors, yes. But I imagine they have other work to do."
"Yeah, they're gonna clear the snow from as many of the paths in Central Park as they can today."
"Hmmm. Well, if they need a hot drink, they're welcome to turn to us. I'll keep the kettle on the stove."
"I'll let 'em know. C'mon, kid, wanna go outside?"
"Yes!"
Mrs. Ladybug had been quite correct about the outdoor temperature. The air was crisp and seemed to crackle with every breath James took. While the wind had vanished, the chill wrapped itself around James's face like an icy flannel. Still, the presence of the sun made the feeling far more bearable than it would have been otherwise and even through the cold, James felt the light caress of the sunbeams on his cheeks.
"Oh yeah, the worst is over. We're gonna have an early spring and a hot summer."
"Do you think so, Centipede?"
"I know so, kid. It'll be a coupla weeks before we feel the difference, but we aren't gonna have to deal with any more snow this winter."
"That's good. I think we have enough to last."
"You said it, Jimmy. And hey, look, here come some of your friends."
Sure enough, a group of children were spilling into the park, their booted feet skidding a bit on the hastily cleared paths. Some of the kids ran off to throw themselves into snow drifts while others split off to form teams for snowball fights. Most of the adults hung back, meandering slowly along the snow-streaked stones and chatting casually with their neighbors. James waved as he spotted several of his friends approaching and trotted over to meet them. Centipede followed behind him, pausing only to speak to a few of the working men about Mrs. Ladybug's offer for hot drinks.
"Hi, everyone. Are you all alright?"
"Yes. Mom was scared we were going to loose power, but Dad said we didn't have to worry 'cause of our gas generator."
"We can't use our phone, though. It stopped ringing on Friday night and it still won't work."
"I think there are people fixing that," James assured Ricky. "A lot of the city needs help right now."
"Yeah. My dad said some of the roads coming to the city are all blocked up because of the snow."
"The alley next to our apartment building is all packed with snow too. Our dog's mad 'cause he likes going in there to play and now he can't."
"Well, maybe your dog should try digging the snow out."
"Hey yeah, maybe all the dogs in the city can do that!"
"I like that idea! We could get teams of dogs to help dig the snow away from buildings and tow it away!"
James and his friends laughed at the idea, especially when one girl asked just what her miniature poodle was supposed to do.
"She can direct the other dogs. I read that poodles are really smart!" James told her.
"Jewels is! She can open plastic bags by herself."
"Then she'd be perfect at giving directions!" James replied, eliciting another bout of laughter from the rest of the kids.
"Hey, kids, what's so funny?" By this point, Centipede was striding over to greet the gathered children.
"We think you should have the city dogs help dig out the snow!" one of the kids answered.
"Huh..." Centipede tapped his chin in thought. "Ya know, that's not a bad idea. But, uh, who's going to teach the dogs what to do?"
"The Search and Rescue Team's dogs. They use special dogs to help find lost people, right?" James asked.
"Hey, yeah, they do!" Centipede laughed, rubbing the top of James's head with a few hands. "Good thinkin'. Maybe I really should look into a program like that. I swear, kids, sometimes I think the police dogs and horses are more use than somma the people I gotta deal with on a daily basis."
"Did the police dogs help find Dylan last night?" Tessa piped up.
"No, but they didn't have to. But oh boy, is that a story!"
"Really? What happened?"
"Was Dylan bad?"
"Is he frozen like a popsicle?"
"Was he hiding in the toy store?"
"You better handle this one, Jimmy-boy." Centipede waved at a figure rapidly approaching the group. "I think the rest of us are gonna have to explain what happened last night to Ms. Gould."
James watched as Dylan's social worker, bundled in a thick brown coat with a matching hat and scarf, made her way over to the group.
"Hey there, Rachel. All good?"
"If you mean with the storm, then yes, I made out just fine. But from what I understand, we have a lot to discuss."
"We sure do," Centipede sighed. "Better come in. Everyone's still home right now, so might as well get this over with. Kid, you'll be okay?"
"Yes, Centipede."
"Atta boy. You kids have fun."
"We will!"
"So what do we do first?" Ricky asked when Centipede and Ms. Gould had left.
"I wanna hear what Dylan did."
"Me too."
"I know he stole a lot of ice cream from the Kids' Corner," Adam said. "My big brother told me."
"That's true," James agreed. "But he did a whole lot more than that. If you want, we can build a snow fort and I can tell you. Unless you guys wan to play at sliding down the snow drifts first."
"Yeah! Let's do that!"
"Sure! We can hear the story later."
"Good point. I wanna play!"
"The let's go!"
Laughing and cheering, the children raced toward the big piles of snow, scrambling up the powdery drifts and rolling back to the ground. The thick layer of snow covering the icy ground cushioned the kids' landing, which only encouraged them to jump back to their feet and repeat the process again. Happy laughter swirled up into the clear blue sky, filling the crisp air with joy and the promise of a happy spring season.
Well, a mostly happy spring season, anyway.
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"Oh, look them. Aren't they just delightful?"
"Ahh, the blessing of youth," Mr. Grasshopper agreed, stepping up beside Mrs. Ladybug to view the scene through the living room window. "They'll wear themselves out sooner rather than later, though. Ah, well, let them have their fun."
"Yeah, well, I'd rather be out there than in here. No offense," Centipede added as Rachel Gould spread out her notes on the coffee table.
"None take, Mayor. Quite frankly, I wish I could be out rolling in the snow with the children right now. Unfortunately, it seems we have a few major issues to discuss here."
"Really? I think we have only one issue to discuss and that issue is Dylan." Earthworm jabbed his tail in the family's direction for emphasis. "Tell me, has the little hellion managed to raze the juvenile detention facility to the ground yet?"
"That would be a bit difficult. He's been in the infirmary since he was brought in on Friday night and won't be getting out until tomorrow. Maybe not until Tuesday, even; it will depend on how he's feeling."
"So he did become ill?" Mr. Grasshopper asked.
"Not from his little escapade, no. According to the doctors at the facility, Dylan had to be brought up to date on about five different injections."
"Five? You're telling me that not only was Dylan Anderson a right little terror, but that he missed five crucial injections?" Earthworm's voice was nearly a shriek. "Good Heavens, to think what the little monster might have exposed us to! Why, we'll be lucky if we don't-"
"We will be just fine, Earthworm, as we cannot contract most human diseases. And I personally made sure James is up to date on all of his vaccines, so no harm there. Although, how did Dylan manage to continue his schooling with the lack of mandatory vaccines?"
"That's what I'm trying to determine," Rachel said. "My guess is that Amelia took her grandson to get the shots he needed to start school, but never kept up with them and the school either didn't notice or were placated by Amelia promising to remedy the situation, but they never followed through to see if she had."
"That is something you should raise with the school board, Centipede," Miss Spider said "Such a problem could cause trouble for children who have not yet received those needles."
"Maybe I should get the dogs to do it," Centipede muttered.
"The... dogs?"
"Eh, never mind; the kids'll get it. But you're right about that, Angel Fangs. If the schools ain't keepin' track of the kids' medical records, that's more than a problem; that's a catastrophe waitin' to happen. Who knows what else they ain't keepin' track of."
"I'll leave that to you," Rachel said with a relieved nod. "But in regards to Dylan, it was pure luck that the infirmary was able to obtain Dylan's medical records. The phone lines didn't go down and the hospital Amelia was staying at was where she had taken him to get his original injections, so they were already on hand."
"She took him to the hospital and not a regular doctor's office?" Centipede asked.
"It does make sense," Mrs. Ladybug mused. "Hospitals deal with numerous people on a daily basis. If Amelia had taken Dylan to a pediatrician's office, they would have caught on to the fact that he had missed physicals and injections far sooner."
"Which is likely why she didn't do that." Mr. Grasshopper shook his head. "My guess is that's yet another strike against Amelia's potential as a guardian."
"I would say so. Speaking of Amelia, she's doing better. No fever or infection, thank goodness, but she's still bedbound and gets tired very quickly. I believe she's getting her stitches out next week and that's when she'll be transferred to the long-term care home."
"Is that also when we'll determine what we'll happen to Dylan?"
"Yes. I've set the court date for next Saturday at 1:00. Is that alright?"
"We'll be there. All of us."
"Though Ms. Glowworm probably won't have to attend, as she's had little contact with Dylan." Mr. Grasshopper glanced toward the ceiling, where the sound of soft snores could be heard drifting down from the ceiling.
"That should be fine. And... would it be alright if I spoke to James about his experiences with Dylan?"
"That is alright with us," Miss Spider assured her. "We have spoken to James about that and he is prepared to speak with you. Perhaps an afternoon this week after he is done with school?"
"That should be perfect. I'll make it either Wednesday or Thursday and I promise, I won't push your son hard."
"We know, Rachel, and thank you. Although, speaking of school, James was kind enough to bring home a good deal of homework and assignments Dylan refused to complete. Apparently, he also had a project that was assigned two weeks ago that he never started on."
"Oh dear. Yes, I'll take that with me. I'll have to wait to see what the family court judge says regarding Dylan's placement before I pass it on to him, though. If nothing else, it'll be good evidence."
"Should he not attempt to complete some of that work while he is in the facility?" Mr. Grasshopper asked.
"They have their own education program corresponding to each child's grade level and that credit can be transferred over to whatever school the child in question begins attending once they are out of the facility," Rachel explained. "Many of the children in the facility are sent to different schools than the ones they previously attended, either due to their new placements or, sadly, because their behavior prevents them from being welcomed back to their former schools."
"No doubt Dylan's school will be glad to see the back of him," Earthworm groused.
"Well, he hasn't really done enough to be expelled, has he?" Mr. Grasshopper asked. "Refusing to complete his homework has, thus far, only resulted in him not being promoted to the next grade level."
"Yeah, three times," Centipede reminded him. "Wouldn't shock me if they kicked him out for that!"
"I believe he would need to be a certain age before the primary school no longer welcome him," Miss Spider said. "At least, I remember something like that in the school's guide book when we registered James."
"I believe you're correct, Miss Spider. Once a child is above a certain age, they are automatically promoted to a junior high school level. However, finding a school of quality to take such a child can be difficult and sadly, such children only have to wait a few more years before they can legally leave school. Sooner, if their parents permit it."
"And Amelia would have most certainly allowed Dylan to leave school if that was what he wished."
"Which wouldn't be a problem if he was learning a trade or already employed, but something tells me that Amelia wouldn't be happy with the idea of Dylan working in a factory or farm."
"Regarding the later point, though, we had something of an idea about that. Rachel, do you know any farm families willing to foster children?"
"A few, actually, and I know what you're referring to," Rachel said with a nod at Mrs. Ladybug's words. "I have had some success with problem children by placing them in farming communities. In fact, one of my most troublesome boys is currently running the farm his foster father used to. Or rather, his adoptive father; the Gillmans made the adoption official a few months before this boy's eighteenth birthday."
"How nice!"
"Yes, it's good to know such a strategy helped a child in need."
"Do you think it could help Dylan?"
"Possibly." Rachel frowned at a few of her notes. "There may be some complications regarding placing Dylan out of the city. Fostering is different than adoption, as reunification is the general goal with the former. In this case, I doubt Amelia will be given full custody of Dylan again, but that's something else that'll be up to the family court judge. All the same, I'll recommend such a placement for Dylan if you think it'll help."
"Anything to get that boy off the couch and away from the television."
"Good point." Rachel picked up a notepad and pencil. "Could you give me the full story as to what happened when you heard Dylan first went missing? I want to get all of the facts I can."
"Well..."