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“But I brought a picnic and a blanket so we can eat on the beach and find some shells.”
“Yay!”
The sound of roller coasters and the smell of carnival food greet us as we walk toward Luna Park. Lexi skips between us, holding our hands. Her random squeals when she sees a new ride she wants to try only adds to my own excitement.
***
It’s hot for November. Dozens of rides later, we’re ready for lunch. Aiden volunteers to go back to the car to get the blanket while Lexi and I hang out at a restaurant on the boardwalk. I’m sitting down enjoying a Dr. Pepper, and Lexi is skipping around.
Can I please have some of that energy?
People walk up and down the boardwalk in droves. This is the place to people watch. To our left there’s a group of people dancing to the restaurant’s blaring music. Lexi joins them and they all cheer her on. I laugh as she tries to mimic some of their moves, like the robot and the running man. I look down at my watch. Why is Aiden taking so long? I’m hungry. He needs to hurry his ass up. I glance in the direction he’ll be coming from. No Aiden. I sigh. I should have gone.
I look back to my left at Lexi.
Where did she go?
“Lexi,” I call out. I’m sure she’s behind someone and I just can’t see her. I wait a few seconds before calling her name again, but I still don’t see her.
I jump out of my seat as my eyes dart from spot to spot. Panic shocks me momentarily so I have no idea what to do. My throat constricts as I stand frozen in place. Finding my voice, I yell out “Lexi” over and over and run to the people who are dancing. “Where…little girl. Where did she go?” My words come out jumbled. I hold my hand to her height. “Did you see where the little girl who was dancing went?” My voice is rushed. The people shake their heads and look around too when they sense my panic.
“Lexi!” I scream. I grab my phone and try to call Aiden, but my mind and fingers aren’t working on the same wavelength. I keep hitting the wrong buttons. Frustrated, I shove my phone in the back of my pocket and continue to look in between people. There are so many people here. Where can she be? I scream her name again. And again.
My heart drops into my stomach each step I take. Every scream I yell. Every second I can’t find her. I’m so frantic my eyes can’t stay in one place for more than a second. By now I have more people’s attention. A few men come up to me asking what she looks like, what’s she wearing. I squeeze my eyes shut. What is she wearing today?
“She’s wearing…” Fuck! Why can’t I remember? “Oh! She’s wearing black shorts and a turquoise blue shirt. Her hair is in a ponytail. Blondish brown. She’s five and her name is Lexi.” Her description rolls off my tongue as my memory clears the panic for a second.
When I hear “Addison,” I spin around, hoping someone found her. Then I remember I didn’t give anyone my name. Aiden. I run toward him, and my heart plummets. I lost Lexi.
“Aiden, she’s gone,” I cry and then quickly spin around to keep looking for her. “I only took my eyes off her for less than a minute and she wasn’t there.” I can’t breathe. I grab my chest.
“Where was she last?” When I don’t answer him, he yanks on my arm to get my attention. “Addison, where was she last?” I point to the spot where she was dancing. “It’s okay. We’ll find her. You go that way, I’ll go this way.” He points in the direction he wants me to go. I nod my head and start walking and looking. But what if we don’t?
I find my voice again, but my frantic cries grab the attention of more and more people. Soon there are at least a dozen people searching for Lexi. I hear my name again, and I turn in the direction it was called from. Aiden is yelling and waving his hand.
Please tell me he found her. He gives me the thumbs-up, so I take off in a sprint.
Relief spreads over my body the second my eyes lock on to her. I fall to my knees and grab her in a tight embrace. “Lexi! Where did you go?”
“I just went in the ice cream shop,” she says quietly. I pull back and look at her and then up at Aiden. He’s holding an ice cream cone; it’s dripping down his hand.
“How did you get ice cream?” I ask slowly, looking back at her. She looks down and her shoulders drop. I grab her hands, squeezing them so she looks at me. “Lexi, it’s okay. I just need to know how you got the ice cream.”
“I was looking at all the flavors and the worker asked me if I wanted one.”
I take a deep breath, trying to keep my emotions at bay. “Lexi, you know better than that.”
When she looks back at me and notices my watery eyes, her huge eyes fill with tears and her top lip starts to quiver. “I’m sorry, Addie,” she cries, wrapping her little arms around my neck. “I didn’t mean to make you mad. I’m sorry.” Her back shakes with sobs. I pick her up and hold on to her tight.
“I’m not mad, sweet girl. I was just really scared because I couldn’t find you.”
I watch Aiden walk to the trashcan as he throws away the melted ice cream. A police officer intercepts him as he’s coming back. I don’t want Lexi to hear Aiden talking to the officer, telling him what happened, so I walk her back into the ice cream shop.
Lexi’s face is still tucked into my neck. I can feel the wetness and heat from her tears on my hair. “Lulu, do you want another ice cream?” I ask softly, feeling bad she’s so upset.
She looks at me with red-rimmed eyes and nods. I order her another ice cream while I tell her to sit down at the table so I can have a chat with the worker.
I narrow my eyes at him while I decide what to say. His eyes dart to Lexi and back to me. He must know immediately that I’m not happy. He can’t be older than eighteen.
