Words Get In the Way (20 page)

An officer walked briskly toward them. “The news is here. Would either of you be able to make a statement?” Linden nodded gravely, but Callie just covered her face and turned away.

42

B
en looked at the clock and decided it was time for bed. He needed to use the john one last time though. He pushed the call button but the nurse didn’t come, so he decided he’d try to make it on his own. He sat up, slowly swung his legs over the side, reached for his walker, and stood up gingerly.
Not bad!
He glanced at his neighbor, Hal, who appeared to be dozing, but then Hal opened one eye and peered at him. “Ben, you’re such a rebel,” he teased.

“Well, the nurses don’t come and a fella can’t wait forever.”

“I know what you mean.”

Ben made his way slowly across the room and disappeared into the bathroom.

Hal chuckled and raised his bed up a bit. “Mind if I turn on the news?” he called.

“No, go ahead,” Ben said, closing the door. Hal clicked on the TV and watched as
Breaking News
scrolled across the bottom of the screen. A field reporter, standing in front of the New Hampshire State Police emergency dive trailer, spoke to the camera. “Three-year-old Henry Wyeth was last seen this afternoon during the storm. He has blond hair and blue eyes, and he was wearing a John Deere T-shirt, green shorts, and blue sneakers. He is said to have autism and he doesn’t speak. The dive team is here as a precaution because the Contoocook River runs through the property, and although there are still people out looking with flashlights tonight, a full-scale search will be launched early tomorrow morning. Volunteers are asked to arrive by seven o’clock, but if anyone has any information about the boy or thinks they’ve seen him, please call the Jaffrey Police.”

Hal heard the toilet flush and the water running, and then Ben reemerged with a smile. “See, even an old coot can still take care of himself!”

Hal laughed. “You mean a
stubborn
old coot.”

Just then the nurse came in and, when she saw him out of bed, hurried over to help him. “Mr. Wyeth, you shouldn’t be out of bed without assistance,” she scolded him. Ben just nodded obediently and winked at Hal.

43

I
t was well after dark when the search was finally called off. Linden helped Callie into the house, and she collapsed on the couch across from Cindy. Linden covered them both with blankets and then sat on the couch too. He raked his hands through his hair, feeling helpless. A moment later, Kat pulled herself up and walked over to sit between them. She rested her head on Callie’s lap as fresh tears rolled down Callie’s cheeks. Callie reached out to stroke the noble head in her lap, and Kat stayed there all night.

It was dark under the trees, but out in the clearing the sky was filled with stars and the moon shone brightly. Henry couldn’t hear the voices anymore, and he couldn’t hear the owls either. The only sound he heard was the wind in the trees. He pointed to the moon and whispered, “Good night, moon.” He lay down on the grass and looked at the patterns the stars made. His eyes moved from one to another, his mind following the invisible angles until his eyelids grew heavy and fluttered closed. Springer rested his chin on Henry’s chest and never moved.

44

T
he telephone rang before dawn, startling Linden into consciousness. He sat up, looked around, and felt his stomach twist into knots as the events of the day before hit him. The phone rang impatiently, and he got up to answer it before it woke Callie. The early-morning light illuminated the kitchen as he listened to an officer on the other end of the line say they would be out within the hour to resume the search. Linden nodded and hung up. Then he gazed through the window at the sunrise reflecting on the misty river and whispered, “Oh, Henry, where are you?”

Finally, he turned determinedly from the window and pulled down the attic stairs, hoping they wouldn’t squeak. He’d seen a party-size perk pot when he dug out the child carrier, and he knew that coffee would be welcomed by the early volunteers. He carried the cumbersome pot down the stairs, rinsed off the cobwebs and dust, filled it with cold water, opened a new bag of coffee, guessed at the measurement, and plugged the pot in on the porch. While it sputtered to life, he carried out sugar, milk, spoons, cups, and napkins.

The volunteers began arriving well before seven, and they were immediately given bright orange vests and instructions on staying safe. They were also told that there was a good chance Henry was with a big yellow Labrador retriever named Springer and they should try calling the dog’s name because he could very well lead them to Henry. Linden stood by, listening and desperately wanting to join the search, but not wanting to leave Callie alone. Cindy came up beside him, wearing a vest. “I’m going to look,” she said. Linden nodded. “Thanks, Cindy.”

Callie stood near the ambulance, holding a cup of the hot coffee and answering the same questions all over again. Finally, the officer left her alone and she sat down on the bumper. With trembling hands she sipped her coffee and watched Reba nursing her new calf in the early morning sun.

45

H
enry opened his eyes and looked up at the azure-blue sky. The rain was gone and the darkness was gone but he was not gone and Springer was not gone. He sat up and noticed the bag of cookies on the ground. He pulled the bag open and Springer perked up, his tail slowly thumping. Henry reached into the bag with his small hand and took out several broken pieces and gave them to Springer, and then he ate one and gave Springer the rest. He looked around and saw several smooth stones lying near his feet and reached down to touch one. He picked it up and held it right in front of his eyes. Then he put it down again. He picked up another one, studied it, and placed it on top of the first one. He continued to reach for stones until all the stones within reach were in a small pile. He got up then and walked around, gathering more stones and making the pile bigger. Springer lay with his big head on his paws and followed Henry’s every move with his eyes. Finally, Henry added one last stone to the top of the pile and wandered off to start a new pile. The big yellow Lab pulled himself up and followed.

46

“
C
allie?” a voice called from the driveway.

Callie looked up from the cup in her hands and saw Dr. Franklin, wearing jeans and a pressed oxford shirt, walking toward her. She stood up quickly, spilling the cold coffee on her sneakers. She looked down but seemed too lost to care. Out of habit, she reached up to smooth her hair and then tried to muster a weak smile. “Dr. Franklin,” she said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I came as soon as I could,” he said, giving Callie a hug.

“You didn’t have to,” she said.

“I heard about Henry on the news and I called the hospital right away to check on your dad. The nurses said he wasn’t aware, and I hope you don’t mind, but I asked them to try to keep it that way. Such news can be devas ...”

Just then, two boys came running out of the woods, racing each other through the meadow. “They found him!” they shouted. “They found Henry!”

Callie heard their shouts and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She ran toward the boys with tears spilling down her cheeks. Voices began to echo in all directions as the news spread. “They found him! They found Henry!” Callie’s heart leapt at the music of the sound. Moments later, the search and rescue dogs bounded playfully out of the woods with Springer in the mix, and a crowd gathered around Callie, everyone wanting to witness the happy reunion. Finally, a group of smiling, orange-vested volunteers came out of the woods, and an older gentleman wearing a dark blue Jaffrey Volunteer Fire Department T-shirt and red suspenders emerged carrying Henry. Callie brushed away her tears and walked toward them with her heart bursting. The fireman lifted Henry into her arms and she held him close, breathing in his wonderful, warm little boy scent. She opened her eyes and looked at his sweet face, and hugged him tightly. “Oh, Henry, I love you so much,” she whispered.

She looked around at all of the volunteers, and then with Henry hitched up on her hip—because she wasn’t letting go of him anytime soon—she went around and hugged every single one. At last, she came to Linden, who had been standing apart from the others, and she hugged him the longest. Then she knelt down in front of Springer, looked in his deep brown eyes, and whispered, “Springer, you are a hero!”

Henry laid his hand on Springer’s head and whispered, “Springer, Hero.” Callie could hardly believe her ears, and when she looked up at Linden, he just smiled.

An EMT gently touched Callie’s shoulder, and Callie turned to look at her. “Henry looks fine, Miss Wyeth, but we need to take him to the hospital to be checked out. It’s procedure.”

Callie nodded, and Dr. Franklin came up beside her. “I’ll follow you, and then you can take Henry to see your dad.” Callie agreed and climbed into the back of the ambulance with Henry.

47

“
W
ell, look who finally came to see his papa,” Ben said when Henry appeared shyly in his doorway. “I heard you’ve been causing some excitement.”

Henry reached for Callie’s hand, and she nodded as they walked across the room. Henry ran his other hand lightly over the soft blanket, and Callie lifted him onto the bed. “Guess what?” Ben looked up questioningly, and Callie grinned. “When I was thanking everyone who helped look for him, I knelt down in front of Springer and told him he was a hero ... and Henry repeated it!”

Ben looked at Henry. “You did?” Henry nodded slightly, and Ben beamed. “That’s wonderful! Just think, someday when he’s giving you back talk, you’ll have to remember how glad you are now!”

Callie laughed and then nodded at the empty bed. “Where’s your neighbor?”

Ben smiled. “He went home.”

Just then Dr. Franklin knocked on the door. “Am I interrupting?”

“Not at all,” Ben said.

“I’m not here officially,” he said, pulling his stethoscope from around his neck and putting it in his ears, “but I thought I should check your blood pressure after so much excitement.” Ben held out his arm, and Dr. Franklin slid on the cuff. He listened, watching the gauge intently, and then slipped the cuff off again. “It’s a little high,” he said, trying not to alarm them. “I’m just going to have the nurse give you something to get it down, and I’ll check it again in a little while.” He pulled the stethoscope back around his neck. “Sometimes after surgery it takes a bit of adjusting to get the right dose.” He looked at Callie, his kind eyes seeming to read her thoughts. “Don’t worry.” She nodded, but this time his words didn’t fill her with the same sense of peace.

“Maybe we should go and let you rest,” she said quietly.

“That might be a good idea,” the doctor said with a nod. “Besides, I also came to see if you’d like a ride home.”

“You don’t need to do that,” she said. “I can call someone.”

“There’s no need. I go right by.”

“All right,” Callie said. “That would be a help.” She looked at Henry. “Hen-Ben, can you give Papa a hug?” Henry leaned over and gave his grandfather a gentle hug. Callie smiled and lifted him down and then hugged her dad too. “Love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, honey.”

48

“
I
want you to call me if you need anything,” Dr. Franklin said, pulling a piece of paper from his shirt pocket with his home phone number on it. “Day or night,” he added with a gentle smile.

Callie nodded. “I can’t thank you enough.”

He looked over at her. “Callie, you should know that your dad’s heart is still very fragile and, although he probably feels better than he has in a long time, he needs to be very cautious and not rush things.”

Callie nodded again. “Or
do
dumb things like getting out of bed without help.”

“Exactly,” the doctor said.

“He’s stubborn, though.”

Dr. Franklin smiled. “I know. That’s another reason he reminds me of my own dad.”

They pulled onto her road, and Callie saw her car already parked in the driveway. Beside it was Linden’s truck. Dr. Franklin turned his old Subaru around in the driveway. “Looks like you have company.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Thank you again,” she said, lifting Henry out and waving as he pulled away. She watched him hesitate at the corner and was puzzled when he turned to head back the way they had come.

Linden was sitting on the steps, but when Callie came up the driveway with Henry asleep on her shoulder, he stood to meet her. “Callie, I’m so sorry all this happened.”

Callie shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Linden. It just happened. Out of the goodness of your heart, you were trying to help me.”

“I should’ve been watching him.”

Callie shook her head again. “You can’t think that way. What if I blamed myself? I knew you had your hands full but I left him with you anyway. Maybe it’s
my
fault.”

Linden closed his eyes and shook his head in dismay. “It’s definitely not your fault.”

Callie stood in front of him and smiled. “He was found—that’s all that matters.” She paused. “But the whole time he was missing, I kept praying that if he was found ... if I was given another chance to be his mom ... I would do a better job. I would be more patient, I would learn all I could about autism, and, like
you
said, I would try to make a difference in other people’s lives, maybe
little
people’s lives.”

She felt tears stinging her eyes. “The only thing is ... I don’t know if I can do all that and work on rebuilding our relationship too. I’m sorry, Linden. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I need time to figure this out. I need to be there for Henry—and my dad—before I can be there for anyone else.” Linden pushed his hands into his pockets, and Callie couldn’t help but see the sadness in his eyes. “You’ve done so much for me this last week. I can’t believe it’s only been one week. It feels like an eternity. But I hope you know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done.”