Close Call

Please note: this post is unlikely to be funny, because, well it's not funny.  But - be aware that the story has a happy ending, and the little boy you are about to read about is safe at home as I type.

It is safe to say that J has a pretty loyal little playmate in our neighbor Leon.  He is a sweet kid, though he does have a hard time taking 'no' for an answer.  Hopefully, when he is an adult, this will translate into a tenaciousness that brings him all kinds of good things, but for now, it is (only slightly) irritating.

This morning the phone rang at 10:30am, and immediately, I said, "It's L".  And it was.  Inviting J to soccer practice once again.  Really, very sweet.  J got his gear together, and off he went for a couple of hours.  M started working, Z was very busy designing and building a lego technics gondola in his room, so I spent the afternoon making more pots (to be continued....)

When J arrived home from practice, we had a late lunch, and another neighbor came calling, a boy named 'Nick', brother of Max, mentioned in an earlier post as a companion of Christian.  Both Max and Nick were over yesterday afternoon, and it was really a great vibe.  Two pairs of brothers playing very well together.  The mom stopped by to introduce herself, and we really liked her too.  Max said some nice things about my pots, which of course, wins him very high regard from yours truly :)

Anyway, back to today.  At about 2pm, Nick was over and Leon rang the bell.  J answered, because I was covered in clay.  They conversed, and J said something like, "I can't, I have a friend over".  L left.  The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful (Well, except for the awesome series of gondola designs that Z was coming up with).

At 4:30 the phone rang.  It was Leon's dad.  He said he was going short shopping (ok, little joke,,, kurz einkaufen), he would be home in 20 minutes and we could send Leon then. "Uh.... Aber, Leon ist nicht hier...", I stammered, and then said, "Martin, can you come here please?".  M spoke to Leon's dad and then hung up the phone.I asked, "so? What did he say", still trying to understand how serious the situation might be.  "Well, he said is has happened before, and he will ring a few bells in the neighborhood and look."    Ok, I thought.  Probably went to another friend's place.  M asked the dad to call us when L was found.  M went over to the playground to see if he could find L.  He found L's dad, also looking.  Then the dad drove around Suchsdorf, looking for L.

We stayed at home, painfully doing nothing, as there was nothing to do.  We don't know the family very well, and couldn't launch an all-out search campaign as near strangers.  We were very worried, really just waiting to hear back.  I thought, "If either of my kids ever goes missing, I am toast".  I barely know this kid and I am crying and can't let it go until I know he is safe.

At about 7:15pm the phone rang again.  It was L's dad.  L was home.  He had been across the street from their house, somehow, the dad hadn't thought of checking there (maybe L rarely goes there, I don't know). But he is fine.  Took M and I an hour and a glass of wine to release the worry-tension.

Remember how I said L could be 'slightly irritating'?  I don't think it will bother me much anymore.  I spent a couple of hours so worried about him. That vulnerability, the reminder that he is just a little boy ought to keep me on his side for a good long time.