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The girl nods so hard that her wig flops off, revealing sweat-damp blond curls.
Tessa laughs. “Amazing.” She glances at me. “Want me to read that again? I figure we should call the parents first, right? If I were a mom, I’d want to know my baby was safe as soon as possible.”
“Absolutely,” I agree. “I remember the number.” I tap it in, my heart racing as I put the phone to my ear. “Fingers crossed they answer when they see an unknown—”
Before I can finish, the call connects and a panicked female voice asks, “Hello? Who is this?”
“Hello,” I say, in my best “soothing a panicked client who was just served with unexpected papers” voice. “My name is Wesley McGuire. My friend Tessa and I were camping near Mama Maria’s restaurant last night. We pulled out early this morning and just now stopped to load a few things into the back of our vehicle. When we opened the storage area, we found Maddie asleep in our sleeping bags.”
The woman emits a strangled sound of relief. “Oh my God. Is she okay? Is she hurt? What happened?”
“She seems fine,” I say. “But she indicated to us that she can’t speak so we aren’t sure how she got here or—”
“The makeup,” the woman cuts in with what sounds like a cross between a laugh and a sob. “It’s the makeup. She knows she’s not supposed to talk when she’s clowning, and we didn’t take her makeup off last night. She fell asleep in the hammock before we could, so we just tucked her into bed. Then, this morning, she and the other kids were playing hide and seek, and she was the only one who wasn’t found. We ran around the entire campground calling her name, telling her she was the winner and could come out and get her prize, but she never answered.” She laugh-sobs again. “I was afraid she was stuck somewhere but wouldn’t answer us because of the makeup. She’s so young. I was afraid she might not understand that sometimes it’s okay to break the rules.” She sniffs. “Can you put her on the line? Let me tell her it’s okay to talk to you guys?”
“Sure, I’ll put you on speakerphone now.” I do and lean down, holding my cell closer to Maddie as I add, “You’re on speakerphone, and Maddie’s listening. Maddie your mom wants to talk to you.”
“Hey, baby,” her mom says, her voice sending fresh tears springing into Maddie’s eyes. “It’s okay to talk with your makeup on. You’re lost and when you’re lost you have to do whatever it takes to be found. Even break the clowning rules. Okay? So can you tell me what happened? And if you’re okay? Are you hurt?”
“No,” Maddie whispers, her little voice wobbling. “But I want to come home. I’m sorry I did bad hide and seek, Mommy.”
“Oh, you didn’t do bad hide and seek, honey,” her mother says, her voice shaky, too. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Daddy and I should have been keeping a closer eye on you. You’re still too little to play with the big kids without a grown-up around. That’s my fault, and I’m so sorry.”
“I want to be with you, Mommy. I don’t like playing with the big kids,” Maddie says, sniffling. “I want to go home.”
“And we’ll have you home in no time, I promise,” her mom says. “Just let me talk to the nice man who found you and we’ll figure this all out, okay? Just be brave for a little longer, and we can forget that this horrible day ever happened. Can you do that?”
Maddie nods and says, “Yes, Mommy.”
“I’ll take you off speakerphone while we figure things out,” I tell Mrs. Evans.
Mrs. Shirley Evans, I find out, after we’ve spoken for several minutes. She explains that while they’re still at the campground—they’ve been helping volunteers search for Maddie in the grasslands surrounding the site all day—she has a sister who lives close to Denver, about two hours away. Maddie loves her aunt Frannie, and will be good to stay with her until they can get packed up and on their way.
“I’ll explain everything to the police,” Shirley finishes. “But they’ll probably want to speak with you anyway. Can I give them this number?”
I assure her that she can, she thanks me again, and I put her back on speakerphone to tell Maddie goodbye and explain that Aunt Frannie will be on the way to get her very soon.
“And in the meantime, your mom said we could take you for an early dinner at The Burger Palace just over there,” I say, pointing to the brightly colored restaurant across the complex from Trout World. “Does a cheeseburger sound good?”
For the first time, Maddie smiles. “I love cheeseburgers.”
Her mom laughs. “You sound happier already. I knew a cheeseburger would make it all better. Just eat your burger and all your fries and relax with the nice people, okay? And then Aunt Frannie will be there to take you to her house and Daddy and I will be there as soon as we drive from the campground. We love you so much, Maddie, and we’re so glad you’re okay.”
“Love you, too, Mommy,” Maddie says.
I end the call only for my cell to ring a few minutes later, after we’ve tucked Freya into her crate and started across the parking lot. It’s the Sioux Falls Sherriff’s Department. I answer, remaining outside the restaurant to tell my story to law enforcement. The man takes down my statement and explains that Mrs. Evans has waived his offer to have a uniformed officer sent over to sit with Maddie until her aunt arrives.
“She trusts you,” the man says, clearly not thinking it’s the best idea.
“We won’t give her any reason to regret that,” I assure him. “Thanks for your time and feel free to call if I can clarify anything in the future.”
I push inside, pausing as I see Maddie and Tessa giggling together at a table in the corner. They’re bent over one of those coloring pages they give kids at restaurants, scribbling away with mischievous looks on their faces. Maddie looks like a completely different kid than the shattered girl we found in our storage area a half hour ago, and that’s all because of Tessa. I know I wouldn’t have been able to comfort her as well or as easily, no matter how hard I tried.
Tessa has a way with kids. My nephew Chase adores her. He runs to greet “Auntie Tessa” the second she arrives at one of our family gatherings, and that’s not something he does for any of his other aunts, not even Binx, who lets him ride the quarter-operated merry-go-round at the bank where she works as many times as he wants. (And gives him extra lollipops to take home after Mel makes her deposits for the day.)
Tessa’s special to Chase.
And to me.
