“I was waiting to call you to see how it went,” he said immediately after I said, “Daddy.”
“It went well, Daddy, but she’s gone.”
“Gone? What’s that mean?”
“She snuck out last night, and she’s gone.”
I could almost hear him try to swallow. “Are you sure?”
“I checked everywhere in the house. She took her bag, too. She’s gone.”
“You looked outside?”
“She’s gone, Daddy. She’s gone! Aren’t you listening?”
“Okay. Keep your mother calm. I’ll call Dr. Alexander immediately,” he said. “She’ll be calling the police, for sure. Expect them. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
After I hung up, I stood there trembling. Irene and my mother stepped into the kitchen and looked at me.
“Daddy’s calling her doctor, and then the police will be called.”
“Why did she do this?” Mother asked. “Now they’ll never let her come home for Christmas.”
Neither Irene nor I could respond to that.
“She’s just very confused,” Irene finally said. “It’s been overwhelming. Let’s all just stay calm and wait to hear what the doctor and the police do. I imagine your father will be here.”
“Yes,” I said.
“Come along, Keri,” Irene told Mother. “I’d like you to sit. I’ll get you some water, and we’ll all wait together.”
“Where could she go?” Mother asked as we all went into the living room. “Kaylee?”
“I don’t know, Mother. We’re not exactly walking distance from a train station or a bus station.”
Mother sat, and Irene went to get her a glass of water.
“She’s just confused. I’m sure,” Mother said. “When do you think she left?”
“Sometime during the night. After I fell asleep, for sure. I didn’t hear anything.”
“No. I didn’t, either.”
The phone rang. I hurried to the one on the kitchen wall. Irene waited with Mother’s glass of water. It was Dr. Alexander. Her first question was Haylee loaded. I had to remind myself that Haylee was her patient, not me.
“Did something happen, Kaylee? Something to upset her?”
“No. She was a big hit, Dr. Alexander. She and I played duets on the pianos. She talked a lot. She made my mother very happy. Nothing nasty was said. We had a great dinner. We began by promising not to talk about the past. I tried my best to stay cool and not say or do anything that would ruin the evening. I was worried for my mother more than I was for Haylee. Too bad Haylee wasn’t.”
“Did she mention a boy named Cedar Thomas?” Dr. Alexander asked.
“Yes. She likes him a lot.”
“Cedar Thomas escaped two days ago,” she said. “Did she mention that?”
I wasn’t simply shocked or surprised; I was angry at myself for being taken in by Haylee again.
“No. She had me convinced she was returning to be with him. She even moaned about not being able to wear the clothes she wore last night because he would like them so much. I didn’t have the slightest suspicion that she would do this. You know what I do think, Dr. Alexander?”