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NOTE: words that are in italics are placed between ***
-1984-
"Honey, are you sure you are okay with this?" Bobby's mother asked in a caring tone, "Even if one little part of you isn't, just say the word and we'll refuse."
"Mum, you'd make a great foster mum and Dad isn't drinking anymore, so it'll be fine," Bobby stated in the grown-up fashion he had developed since Mary-Anne had run off into the bush, "Mary-Anne needs a family and I think we'd be a good family for her."
"Honey, are you sure? I mean, she's going to come here with many problems. I'll have to spend a lot of time working with her, along with taking her to the therapist. We might even need to do some family counselling." Lisa took a deep breath, reached over and squeezed her husband's hand tightly as she looked deep into her son's eyes trying to see if his words were really matching his feelings. All she saw was deep sadness and maturity that far out ranked his young age. If only she could protect him, yet, would he allow her to do that if she could?
"What your mother is trying to say, Bobby, is that you don't have to agree simply because the doctors said this would be the best home for Mary-Anne." Robert stated in a firm manner and continued, "After all, I have reservations about her coming here especially after knowing how capable she is of hurting those close to her. Like you."
"Dad, Mum, it'll be fine. She needs a home and we have the room. Mum, you are really good with kids and Dad, she needs a Dad who will love her without hurting her," Bobby swallowed hard, then continued, refusing to cry, "Besides, sometimes I really miss Tracey and….."
Bobby stopped. Wiping his tears, he turned away and swallowed hard again. No, he refused to remember. All that mattered now was Mary-Anne. Before he could speak again, his parents both grabbed him in a tight hug and they all started to cry. It had been years yet sometimes it felt like yesterday.
******************
Bye Mummy! Bye Daddy! Bye brat! Don't grow too much while I'm gone! Love you all!
******************
Bobby was 5 years old the day Tracey disappeared. She was 20 years old. She loved to tease Bobby and make him laugh. Tracey loved life and never stopped to wonder "why" when bad things happened to those around her. Instead, she'd jump into the middle and begin helping out without ever being asked. This was one of those times. Her friend had called in tears, unable to talk, begging Tracey for help. Tracey was on her first day of summer break from college and hadn't begun the waitress job she had lined up. Bobby remembered the fights his big sister had with their parents. They didn't want her to go across country to another province, into a hornet's nest without protective gear. He never forgot that term because he remembered laughing when he heard it, picturing his sister wearing the white hooded clothes he had seen the beekeeper down the road wear when he got honey from the hives. In the end, Tracey won, as always. No one could stop Tracey when she was needed.
It was raining hard the day she left, driving away in her beat-up VW bug. He remembered when she got that bug and how she slugged him in the arm yelling "punch bug, got you kid!" Bobby remembered how his parents sat by the phone every night, waiting for her to call in and the relief on their faces after they hung up from the latest call.
One night, the call never arrived. Bobby remembered crawling out of bed and sneaking to the kitchen, hiding behind the fridge, listening to his father yelling at the police that the rule of 48 hours didn't apply to a young woman who was so strict about calling home. When the police arrived the next night, Bobby knew he'd never see his sister again.
5 years later, they still never heard from Tracey. Tracey never arrived to her friend's home. Her car was never found. It was as if she had never existed. That she was simply a dream that vanished in the breaking of the dawn.
3 months after Tracey disappeared, Mary-Anne moved next door turning Bobby's life upside-down. 6 months after Tracey disappeared, his father started to drink. Unable to cope with the disappearance of his daughter, he tried to drown his pain in liquid amber medication. His mother became lost in her work at the shelter. Yet, Bobby never felt neglected. His parents made sure he was always loved, cared for and safe. One year after Tracey disappeared, Mary-Anne's father tried to abduct Mary-Anne from the school. Three years after Tracey vanished, his parents removed all the photos from the shelves of Tracey and tried to return life back to normal. The only photo that remained in a frame was the one Bobby had sitting on his bedside table. Four years after Tracey had drove off in her VW, Mary-Anne reentered his life, turning it completely upside-down with her story of abuse and disappeared into the bush.
That was the night his father stopped drinking completely. Robert had been seriously cutting down the drinking but the night Mary-Anne disappeared memories of Tracey flooded back, along with the realization that nothing could change what had happened. The next morning, Bobby woke up to a house filled with Tracey's photos and a new resolve from his parents to locate her. Still, deep inside, Bobby believed he'd never see his sister again.
Now, 3 months later, his father still remained sober and strong. His mother no longer had purple shadows under her eyes. Bobby saw this as a sign. It was time. Time for his family to heal. Maybe one day Tracey will come home. Maybe one day they will find Tracey, just the way they found Mary-Anne. Or maybe another family will find Tracey and invite her into their home to keep her safe. The same way they were now inviting Mary-Anne.
Bobby took a deep breath and pushed the memories from the past into the back of his mind, straightened his shoulders, wiped away his tears and in a voice far older than his 10 years, he stated, "Let's go bring Mary-Anne home."
© 2001
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