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“Hey, sugar. Are you ready for a ride?” Ethan’s deep voice made me sigh with relief, already knowing that he would take care of whatever the problem was. As I whispered into the phone that there was a problem at the diner and Grace wanted him there, her screams just got louder.
Ethan’s voice lost its cheerfulness, and it sounded as if he were moving through a busy office. “Okay, Casey. I’m on my way. Are you or Mom in any danger?”
“No. I don’t think so. This woman, she’s so angry. She keeps screaming that she wants to know where her son is. She’s making the children cry, Ethan.”
“Okay, sugar. I’m in my car. Let me call a patrol car. They should get there before I will. Be right there. Okay?”
I was nodding my head even though he couldn’t see me while my eyes stayed glued to the table. “Yes.”
“Good.” Then he was gone, nothing but silence coming from the phone. I slid it back into my pocket and nervously picked up the two lemonades for the kids, not knowing what else I should do. But I hated how scared and upset they looked and had to do something.
Grace was trying to calm the woman down, asking her if there was anyone she could call for her, but that only seemed to make her more upset. She whirled on Grace and pointed at her face.
“I want my son! Do you think you can make thiswomantell me where my son is,“ she spat out. Her chest was heaving, and her eyes were wild. She looked capable of violence, though she was dressed as if she were heading to a country club. Her hair was in wild disarray, and her face was void of any makeup, and I had the distinct impression that was unusual for her. I could tell she was a distraught mother, but she was taking it out on another mother, and in front of two crying children that looked scared.
I stepped forward as Grace continued to speak calmly. “No, ma’am. I don’t know who your son is, but I’m sure if we all just settle down, we can find out.” Grace placed a gentle hand on the woman, who was vibrating with her fury. “You’re scaring the children, ma’am. I’m sure you don’t want that, do you?”
The woman slapped Grace’s hand away from her. “I don’t give a fuck about anything except what this woman has done to my son!” She whirled back around to the now crying woman who looked helplessly at her kids while trying to calm them down, reaching across the table toward them. The angry woman reached out and grabbed the other by her hair, yanking her toward her. “Did you kill him?” She screamed.
The other woman sobbed hard, reaching up to grab the hand holding her hair. “No! I swear it! He just disappeared! He didn’t come home. I thought he was with his mistress!” Her words were hard to understand between the crying of both her and the little children. I squeezed in between the women and set down the drinks before reaching out my hands toward the kids and gesturing wildly for them to come with me. Without hesitating, the first one slid out of the booth, taking my hand. Once she saw her older sister moving, she followed quickly.
Once I had them both in hand, we backed away, with me shielding the two of them with my body. The older woman spun around, her eyes zeroing in on me. “Don’t you touch my grandbabies!”
Grace stepped in front of us, blocking her advance. “Ma’am, I’m going to ask you to leave,” she said firmly.
“I fuckingdareyou to make me leave!“ the woman roared out. “My son is missing! You aren’t taking my grandbabies, too! They are coming home with me!”
The young mother cried out in denial just as the bell sounded over the door. I turned my head to see two uniformed police officers step inside, followed quickly by a serious-looking Ethan. As soon as I saw him, my shoulders immediately relaxed, and I squeezed the tiny hands holding mine. I turned around to face them and squatted down so we were face to face.
“It’s going to be okay now,” I whispered, wiping at their tears.
“Is Grammy really going to take us away?”
“I don’t want to leave Mommy!” They both wailed at the same time as I continued to try to calm them down, keeping their attention on me instead of the commotion going on just feet away.
“Shh, it’s going to be okay. I promise.”
“I’m glad daddy’s gone,” the older one whispered, breaking my heart. Seeing the defiant look in her eyes and the way she hugged her sibling tightly made me glad he was gone, too.
Ethan had the older woman in handcuffs, trying to talk calmly to her while she continued to rage at everyone. When the young mother was finally able to get by, she sprang to her feet and ran over to us, her knees hitting the tiled floor hard without seeming to notice as she threw her arms around her girls.
“You fucking bitch! I know you killed him!”
“Ma’am, I promise you, we are investigating the case thoroughly. But Mrs. Banks was at a PTO meeting the night Mr. Banks disappeared. She has several witnesses, including the mayor, to corroborate her whereabouts.”
“She’s lying! He hated her, and she knew it! He was going to divorce her and take everything, and now she’s driving his car around town. He wouldn’t want her in his car.” She had begun sobbing. I felt for her. Clearly, she was obviously worried about her son, but her behavior was out of line. I watched the two officers pull her from the diner with a sigh of relief.
I stood up and backed away from the small family as they hugged and calmed each other down. I felt a hand on the small of my back and looked up into Ethan’s worried gaze.
“Are you okay, sugar?” I nodded and swallowed thickly. My shoulders slumped at the sudden end of the conflict.
“Why don’t you go home for the day, Casey?” Grace looked outside and then over to Ethan. “The storm is getting worse anyway. You should probably hunker down for the evening. Just in case.”
Ethan agreed, kissing his mom on the cheek, and led me to the door after I stripped the apron off and handed it over.
“Tomorrow is Saturday, Casey. You don’t have to come back until Monday. Enjoy your weekend, okay?”
“Thanks, Grace,” I said softly, glancing back at the woman and children one last time, and then took the hand Ethan offered before we left the diner and ran through the pouring rain to the shiny black Mustang.
