Thursday, November 03, 2005

       BUD

       He was such a little boy.  He was only three or four, but he had lots of spirit and spunk.  He seemed to always be doing something and getting himself into trouble or other mischief.

       Bud and his mother lived in a nice trailer house on the edge of town.  There were lots of fields around where they lived.  And there were all kinds of animals in the area.  There were tame ones, and then there were wild ones.

    Mrs. Olsen and Joey had both a dog and a kitten living with them.  The dog’s name was Duke, and the kitten’s name was Fluffy.  Duke and Fluffy were good friends, or as good as a dog and cat can be.  There were times when Duke and Fluffy would play, but then there were times when they would fight tooth and nail.  They got into terrible fights, but not too often.

        Their best friend was Bud, and he liked playing with them, too.  They would play and roll back and forth for a long time, sometimes wearing each other out with their playing.  Then they would find a nice cool place to lay down.  It was so nice having friends.

One day, Bud found out him and his Mommy were

moving to a new town.  He wouldn’t be able to take Duke and Fluffy with him because they belonged to Farmer Jim.  Also, the place where they would be living didn’t allow pets. 

Bud didn’t want to move, but his mother said they had to.  He wouldn’t have any friends.  He would have to keep Mommy company so she didn’t get sad and lonely.

        Mommy told Bud they would be moving to a new State where they would be close to Grandma and Grandpa.  Grandpa was sick, and they would need to help take care of him.  They wouldn’t know until they got to there place just how sick Grandpa was, but it would be fun taking care of him.

        Mommy and Bud would be leaving in a week or so.  Bud hoped Grandpa wasn’t too sick, and soon he would be able to play with him.

        The two weeks they had to stay at their apartment sped by.  Bud had to tell all his old friends that he was leaving and hoped he’d see them again.  He had no idea how long they would be gone. 

But soon the day they were leaving arrived.   They loaded their car with all their things, and telling their friends good-bye, they started on their journey to Grandma and Grandpa’s.

Mommy and Bud were on the road for a week before they got to Grandma and Grandpa’s place.  The place was so quiet, not like it used to be.  Bud asked his mother if anyone was home?

“I’m sure someone’s here.  They didn’t tell me they were going away.”

Mommy and Bud got out of their car, and looked around. 

 “Mom, Dad,” Mommy called.

There wasn’t any answer.

“Mom, Dad,” She hollered a little louder.

Still there was no answer.

“Bud, you come close to me.  We’ll check in the house,” Mother said.

It seemed to Bud that they were being awfully quiet.  Every once in awhile, Mommy would holler out.  But there was no answer.

“Bud, let’s go look in the Living Room and see if they left us a note.  I did tell them we were coming.”

In the kitchen they did find a note.  It said,

“Sally, I had to take your Dad to the hospital for some tests.  I shouldn’t be too long.  Make yourselves to home when you get here.” 

Bud went outside to look around.  There were so many neat things to see at Grandpa’s.  He looked in one direction and saw butterflies.  They didn’t see many of them when they were at the other place.

        Bud went to look at the fishpond.  Sure enough, there were some fish here.  I wonder if he and Grandpa would go fishing.  I hope Grandpa isn’t hurt bad.

Old Rinny came and jumped up on Bud.  Bud squealed in delight.  He hadn’t thought about old Rinny before.  Maybe he would be his new friend.  But he had been his friend for a long time, ever since he had come to see Grandpa and Grandma.

        “How are you boy?  Is anyone else home?  Or are you alone?” Bud was babbling to Rinny and petting him at the same time.  Bud put his arm’s around Rinny’s neck and hugged him.

“Mommy?” shouted Bud.  “Mommy, Rinny found me.” “Mommy----“

“ Where’s Mommy?  Rinny found me,” said Bud excitedly.

Things seemed really quiet.

“Mommy-----“ “Grandma” “Where are you guys?”

Bud began to be a little afraid.

“Mooommmmy”, he hollered  “Grandmaaaa.”  Where could they be?  “Moooooommmmmyyyyy,” he shouted.  “Grannnnnnnnmmaaaaaa.” Then Bud sat down with his arms around Rinny’s neck and he began to sob.

        “Oh, Rinny, they left us all alone.  Good thing we got each other.”  And tears were falling from his eyes.  He was a big boy, and big boys didn’t cry.  He held tighter to Rinny.

        “Mommyyyyy-----------“

Still there was no answer.

“Mommyyyyyy.  Where’s you at?”

“Oh, Mommy.  Is you lost?…….  Mommmmmmmmy.”

Each time Bud called his Mom, another tear fell.  Soon there were streams of tears falling off his cheeks.

        “Oh, Mommy, don’t leave me here.  I want you, Mommyyyyy.”

        “Bud, Where are you?” hollered Sandy.

        “Mommy?  Come here, Mommy.”

        “Where’s here, Sweetheart?”

“Oh, Mommy, I’m with Rinny”

“Sweetie, I’m on the porch.  Why don’t you come to me?” asked Sandy.

“Here I come, Mommy----------“ and Bud ran the few feet to his Mommy.  “I’m glad you didn’t leave me,” sobbed Bud as he grabbed his mother around the legs.

“Where were you, Mommy?  I couldn’t find you,” Bud said as he rubbed his eyes.  “Why didn’t you come when I called?”

Ï was right here picking weeds in the flower bed.”

“But I couldn’t see you, Mommy.”

“Well, just open your eyes, Dumplin’.”

 “My eyes was open, and I still couldn’t see you.”

  Ï’m here now”, and she hugged Bud a little tighter.  “Let’s go in the house and I’ll make you some cocoa.”

Ökay.” sniffled Bud.

2

While Bud and Sandy were drinking chocolate, Bud asked his mommy where Grandma and Grandpa were.

“Grandma had to take Grandpa to the hospital for some tests.  She should be here any minute,” said Sandy to Bud.  “When they come back, then we will know what is wrong with Grandpa.”

“But, Mommy, will Grandpa be able to be here with us?” asked Bud.

Ï won’t know anything until Grandma gets home, Sweetheart.”

“Maybe we won’t be able to see him.” Bud said looking up at  her.

“Did Grandpa run away from home?” Bud asked.

Öh no, Bud.  He’d never do that.  He loves Grandma too much.”

“Does Grandpa love Grandma like I love you?” Bud asked his Mommy.

Ï’m sure he does.  And he wouldn’t do anything that would hurt Grandma.  They have been married for a long time.”

Ïs Grandma your mother? Mommy.  How could she be your Mommy when you are my mommy,” asked Bud.

“Yes, Bud, Grandma is my mommy.  Grandpa is my daddy.  That makes them your Grandma and Grandpa.  Do you understand?”

Ï think  so. . . .  Maybe. . .”  said Bud.  “But how can they be my Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Go outside and play.  But don’t go far from the house.  I’d hate to have my little boy lost?” Sandy said as she looked for the phone book.  

As Sandy was looking for the phone book, someone drove up outside.  She waited to hear footsteps on the porch, and hoped it was her mother returning from the hospital.

Sandy poked her head up from looking for the phone book, and saw her little brother, Adam, getting out of his car.  Sandy gave him a smile as she hurried to greet him.

Ädam!  What are you doing here?”

         Adam grabbed Sandy and lifted her off the ground and twirled her around. 

Ït’s so good to see you, Sandy.  It seems like it’s been years since I seen you.”

“What are you doing here, Adam?  Did Mom call you, too.  Is something really wrong with Dad?”

“Hasn’t anyone told you, Sandy?”

“Mom just called me and told me to get up here fast.  Is something wrong with Dad?  Mom?  You can tell me.”

“Mom should be here soon; she will talk to you then.”

 “But, Adam, we’ve never had secrets from each other before.  You could tell me now.”

“Mother asked me not to tell you until she got home.  She said she would tell you then.”  Adam thought for a moment, then he put his arms around her and gave her a hug.

Ï’ve missed you, Sandy.  We’ve got to get together more,” Adam told her.  “You just don’t know how important your family is until you see them again when there is a crises in the family.”

“What kind of crises do we have in the family?”

“When Mother gets home from the hospital, she will tell you.  I told her I wouldn’t mention it to you.  She does want to talk with you about it.”

“C’mon, Adam.  What is going on?”  Sandy asked.   She didn’t want to be on the outside of the family.   She was a part of it. 

Ïs something wrong with Dad,  Adam?  You can tell me.  We don’t have any secrets from each other.”

“Mother told me not to say anything, Sandy.  Dad isn’t doing very well.”

Öh, Adam, how bad is it?  Is Dad going to get better?”

“Sandy, Mom will have to talk with you when she gets home.  She shouldn’t be too long now.  If I tell you anymore, she might get mad at me.”

Öh, Adam, our family is beginning to fall apart.  I never thought anything would happen to Mom and Dad,” wailed Sandy.

“You had better hold yourself together so you can take care of Bud.  Where is Bud now?”

Ï’m sure Bud and Rinny have just run off for a little while.  You could go out and call them,” said Adam.  “He was just outside.  Isn’t he still there?” he asked.  Ï’ll  go out right now and give them a call.”

Just then they heard a car pull into the yard.  They both ran out to see who had driven up.

Jeff jumped out of his car and came to them and gave them a big hug. 

“Adam.  Sandy.  It’s so good to see you.” Jeff said.  “Where’s Mom?”

“She hasn’t come home from the hospital yet,” said Adam.  “We were hoping that she was here when you drove up.”

“How’s Dad doing now,” inquired Jeff.

“What’s wrong with Dad?” asked Sandy.  “Ädam won’t tell me.  He said Mom would tell me when she got home.  Do you know, Jeff?”

3

The kids heard another car drive up. 

“Here’s Mom now”, said Jeff. 

Sure enough.  There was their mother’s car with their brother Jim also pulling in.  Sandy ran over to her mother’s car and asked how her father was doing?

“Oh, Mom, it’s so good to see you,” said Sandy.  “It seems like it’s been longer than it has been since we were here.  How’s Dad doing?  What happened to him,” she said.

“Hello, Jim, Adam, Jeff and Sandy.  Since you are all here, let’s go sit in the living room and I can tell you all at once.  Isn’t Bruce here, yet?” Mom asked.

“Hasn’t Bruce arrived?” asked Adam.  “I saw him on the road outside of town.”

“He probably went to see your father at the hospital,” Mom said.  “He said something about picking some chicken up for supper, too.”

“How will he know how much to get?” asked Adam.      

 “We didn’t see him on our way in, and he doesn’t know both Sandy and Bud are here?”

“He knew the whole family would be here,” commented Adam.  “I’m sure he will have plenty of food for all of us.”

“What has happened to Daddy, Mom?” asked Sandy.

With a resigned look on her face and after everyone was in the living room and sitting down, Mom began to tell the family what had happened.

“In the last few months, your father hasn’t felt well.  We been in to Doctor Dan first to see what was wrong and to try to fix him up.  Your father didn’t want me to tell you kids about the problems he has been having.  First, he fell and broke his leg, then last week, he had a stroke.  You know how your father gets when he is laid up for one thing and another.  He gets downright cranky at times.  He got a walking cast on his leg so he’s been going off to work at the office.  Well, the doctor wanted him to take it easy and not do anything for awhile.  He even suggested we take a little vacation and go off to see you kids.  But you know your father, he wouldn’t have any of that and he went to work.”

“Last week Dad went to work, but didn’t come home for lunch.  I didn’t hear from him all morning, and he hadn’t called me either.  I just figured he was down at his office and forgot the time.”

“When suppertime rolled around and there was no sign of him, I called the office, but there was no answer.  I was getting a little worried by this time.  He has been so good about letting me know what was going on.  And he was only a phone call away.  But the phone didn’t wring and I hadn’t heard anything from him.  It got dark outside, so I got in my car and went to his office.  I looked in the window and tried the door, but it was locked.  And I didn’t see your Dad in there when I looked in the window.”

“I went back home, but I was really worried now.  The lights had been on in the office.  Your Dad’s car wasn’t on the street.  I called the sheriff to see if he could go down and check things out.”

“I tried the office number again, but the line was still busy.  It was busy when I called earlier, too.”

“The Sheriff went over and checked the door.  It was locked as Sandy had said it was.  So he went to the back door, and found that it was slightly ajar.  There was a car by the back door, and he thought he heard someone trying to yell at him.  But the sound wasn’t very loud, and it sounded a little muffled.  He went over to the car and walked around it.  Now he could hear that muffled sound even more loudly.

He walked around the car, and when he got to the trunk, the voice became a little louder.  He put his ear against the trunk and could hear the sound of someone or something moving around. 

Guy, the Sheriff, hurried to the front, and found the door unlocked.  He reached in to pop the jockey box and sure enough, there was the button to open the trunk.  He hurriedly pushed the button, and the trunk lid flew open.

Bill was trussed up lying on his back.  His mouth was covered in duct tape.  He was trying to get anyone’s attention with his struggles.  Guy yanked the duct tape off his face.  Then he took his pocketknife out of his pocket and cut off the bands on Bill’s arms and legs.

“I thought no one would ever come,” Bill said.  He rubbed his wrists, and felt his face gingerly.  “I think you pulled all the whiskers off my face.”

“There is no easy way to take duct tape off a persons face.  I’m sorry,” Guy said.  “What happened?  What are you doing in here?”

“Well,” Bill said, “A person came up behind me and put my arm up behind my back…you know, like you do when you’re wrestling with someone.  Then the lights went out, and here I am.”

“When did this happen, Bill?” Guy asked.

“It was still light outside, and I was getting ready to go home.  So it must have been around 5.”

        Guy looked at his watch. 

        “It’s nearly 9 now, so you’ve been in there for a few hours.  Do you have any idea who did this to you?”

        Bill shook his head.  “No, Guy, I can’t think of any enemies that I have.  I had the feeling that someone was watching me, and the next thing I remembered is that I was in the dark with duct tape around my arms and legs.  I tried to move, but the quarters were cramped.  I had no idea where I was. I didn’t even know I was in town.”

        “Bill, did you do anything different today, see anyone you didn’t know?” 

        “I can’t think of anything that was different?  The same old people were hanging around as usual,” Bill said.  “At this time of year, there are always tourists around.  That’s where we get the extra money that sees us through the year.”

        “I haven’t seen any other people around town, either.  And the town has been quiet today.”  Guy thought for a few minutes.  “Are you sure you didn’t tie yourself up and fall into the trunk?”

        “Hey, Sheriff, that’s not funny.  “You know I failed my knot tying when I was in Scouts,” Bill replied.

        “I was just joking.  Sorry,” said Guy.

        “I know it, but who would do this to me?” Bill wondered out loud.  “It doesn’t make any sense.”

        “Have you considered that someone is playing a joke on you?”

        “This isn’t funny though.  What would have happened if I were claustrophobic or if I had died?” Bill said. 

        “I’m sure you would have had a nice funeral.  You have a good family, and they love you,” Guy sarcastically commented.

4

Bud and Rinny were having fun in the field.  They would run, and fall down wherever they were and roll around.  They were having so much fun that they lost track of time and distance.

Bud looked up, and he couldn’t see his home.  He couldn’t see anything that looked familiar.  He started to cry.  He grabbed Rinny by the neck and told him,

“I think we are lost!  I don’t see Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  Can you find our way home, Rinny?”

        Rinny started leading the way home.  Pretty soon Bud called out:

        “Slow down Rinny.   My legs won’t go that fast.”

        Rinny came back to Bud.  He ran around him and tried to show him the way.  He tugged on his coat, but Bud was so tired he had just sat down.  Now what would Rinny do?  He barked at him as if telling him to get up and get moving.

        “Stop it, Rinny, I’m going to close my eyes and take a little nap.  Then you can guide me back home,” said Bud.  Almost immediately, Bud was sound asleep.  So Rinny laid down beside him and rested, too.

        While Bud slept, he dreamed he was floating over the world on a cloud.  The cloud was shaped like a horse, but you didn’t rock back and forth like a horse.  You just floated around.  And like a magic carpet, you would go up and down and all around.  You got to see mountains, rivers, big rocks and little rocks, too.  There was a volcano and it was exploding.  Now there’s a waterfall.  I guess the clouds can take any form you can think of.  They even look something like Rinny or a fish or whatever. 

        Oops, there is a snake.  It’s so long.  It’s big around, too.  It looks like it just ate a big animal.  You can see the animal moving around in him.  And there’s every color under the sun, too.

        Oh, look, there’s a boat, too.  Why would you need a boat in the sky?  Pretty soon Bud knew why.  They were going on a long ride over to those . . . What are they?  Monkeys and lions and tigers, too.  All kinds of animals you can think of.  And there’s a big whale dancing around.  What’s that he’s dancing with?  A kangaroo.  This is so much fun.  I’ve never seen all these animals in one place.  Oh, there’s a penguin winking at me, too.  Bud clapped his hands in time with the music.  Where the music coming from?

After an hour or so, Bud woke up.  He stood and stretched.  He could remember some of his dream.  He was so happy.

“Oh Rinny, I’m so glad you waited for me.  It’s really getting late, so we had better hurry home.”  Bud and Rinny started for home.

“Rinny, I wish I had brought a coat with me.  It’s starting to cool off.  I don’t feel good.  Let’s go get something to eat.”

5

The sheriff radioed in for an ambulance to take Bill to the hospital.  When he was put in that trunk with that cast on, he didn’t have much room to move around.  And when he stood up,

Bill almost fell over.  If Andy hadn’t had a hold of him, he would have.  Andy would feel better if Bill were checked over.

        He thought and thought but couldn’t think of anyone big enough to push Bill into that trunk.  It’s true that with his cast on, Bill was a little lopsided.  But who would want to push him into the trunk.

        No one was in town who would even looked like they were big enough to do such a thing.  Even with all the tourists around, Guy couldn’t think of anyone that he had seen who might do that.

        “Bill, did the person who put you in the trunk talk to you,” said the sheriff.

        “I don’t remember the person saying anything, he just grunted.”

        “Grunted, huh?  He must have thought you were heavy---“

        “I just remembered something, Guy.  There were two men there and they said something to each other.  One said to the other, ‘Ask him if he has any money.  I need a fix.’  I think that what he said.  The other one said, ‘Oh, shut up.  Let’s get him in the trunk.’   Then the one said, “But it’s been a long time since I had any.  I can’t wait much longer.’”

        “Did either of them have a strange accent?” Guy asked.

        “No, they both sounded almost like they could be one of the locals.  You know we have all kinds of accents in town—you know like we talk her in town.  But neither of them sounded anything like I had heard before,” Bill said.  “But they did have those kinds of masks on that cover your face but your eyes and mouth.  So they did sound a little strange.”

        “Did they come in the office and ask you anything?  Did they want directions or anything?” the Sheriff asked.

        “I was in the back when they came in getting my jacket so I could go home.  I didn’t even hear them come in.  When I got into the office, there they were.  They seemed friendly enough, asking about my leg and everything.  They wanted to know which of the places in town had the best food and all that.  But they didn’t ask directions.  They did ask about a hotel, though.”

        “Well, that’s something.  So where did you tell them to go eat and sleep.”

        Bill said, “I mentioned to them that they could get a good meal at the hotel and then turn in there.  “Thanks,” they said and made as if to go.  Then they came after me, trussed me up, and put me in the trunk.  It seems as if I’ve been in there for hours.”

        Just then, the ambulance drove up.  They put Bill into it, and with a good-bye wave to Guy, they drove off down the street. 

        Before they left, Bill asked Guy if he would call Doris and let him know where he was.  So Guy ran over to the house to let her know and saw all the cars around the house.

        Guy rang the doorbell.  Jim answered the door.

        “Hello, Guy.  I didn’t know you knew I was in town.”

        “I didn’t, Jim.  May I speak with your mother?” Guy asked.  “We had to take your father to the hospital by ambulance and he wanted me to let her know.”

        “Sure, Guy, I’ll get her,” said Jim.

        Jim went and got his mother, telling her that the sheriff was at the door for her.  He came back with her.