They had never come back.
Frank was in the park until closing, when a police officer checking for delinquents found him shivering under the slide. When he was brought to the station, he provided the number his mother had given him when asked where he thought his parents were. A sleepy Donna picked up at eleven-thirty, and once she had been relayed the story, she agreed to let him spend the night at her house. As soon as he woke up the next morning, Josh, who was very excited to see him, dragged him into his room to play Legos.
The very next week, Frank was starting his venture through the foster home system. He didn’t mind the system itself so terribly; being passed from home to home every few months wasn’t traumatizing. However, he remembered, it was the lack of his parents that killed him. Granted, he was about eleven before the realization dawned on him that his parents weren’t going to take him. They probably don’t even know where I am, he remembered thinking, as he sat on his temporary bed, arms curled around his knees. He wasn’t crying-merely pensive.
Shortly thereafter, he was placed in a new home; Donna’s. She had remarried, and decided that because Linda had wanted police to call her, she also wanted her to take care of Frank. And so, she and her new husband, Harold, became Frank’s legal guardians.
“Are you my surprise?” Frank blinked, and found himself twenty-four again, sitting on the curb with a little girl, who was now peering at him closer than she had before.
“What?” She rubbed her hands together.
“My surprise Mom said I could have. Are you it?” He smiled.
“No, I’m not.” Tara shrugged and resumed kicking the cement.
“That’s okay. I would prefer a Poptart anyway.” In addition to feeling a little put out that a Poptart was preferred over his presence, Frank got an idea. He wasn’t going to just leave her there, because he hadn’t liked being abandoned, and something told him she wouldn’t like it any better.
Thinking fast, he said quickly, “I’m not your surprise, but I’m taking you to get your surprise. Guess what it is?”
She looked excited. “A Poptart?”
“Exactly.” Tara squealed.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” She jumped up and started bouncing around, giddy. Frank couldn’t help grinning and stood up. Immediately, she grabbed his hand and tugged to start him walking.
“There’s a Rite-Aid somewhere past this corner, I got Dora Band-Aids there once! Have you ever watched Dora? I watched it once and I learned how to say ‘hi’ in Spanish, can you say ‘hi’ in Spanish?” She babbled on as she led him down the sidewalk, fellow pedestrians giving the two amused smiles as they passed.
*_*_*
An hour, a hot chocolate/coffee trip, a snowball fight and a box of strawberry Poptarts later, Frank and Tara were at a playground, Tara on a swing and Frank trying to call Josh, who was his best friend turned housemate.
“I know you’re home, Josh, your shift ended an hour ago,” Frank said impatiently when their voicemail picked up. “If you don’t answer the phone, I’m hiding your Folgers again.”
There was a click. “Please, spare my coffee! Sorry, it’s Telemarketer Day or something, every single last call has been an offer for cable or garden gnomes. What’s up?”
“Um…I wanted to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“Can I have a girl spend the night?” He braced himself. Sure enough, there was a period of silence as he imagined Josh holding the phone away from his head to laugh.
“Why…why do you need permission?” he gasped once he had more or less composed himself. “Go for it, dude. Wait, unless you don’t want me to be there? In that case, I can stay at Tyler’s.” Frank rolled his eyes at the heavy implication and shook his head.
“No, you can stay. It’s not that kind of a night.”
“Can I make fun of you now? Honestly, dude, I think you may be a girl repellant.”
Frank pursed his lips. “You know what? On second thought, you go ahead and stay at Tyler’s.”
Josh laughed. “Aw, you know I’m teasing. So, who is she? Is she cute? Because between you and me, I haven’t exactly been prolific in the female department either.”
“Yeah, she’s cute. But you’re being creepy.”
“Noise, noise. Hey, before you come home, get Febreeze. I’m running out of clean clothes.”
“You know, they invented this thing called laundry awhile back. It’s great. I use it all the time.”
“They also invented this thing called laziness awhile back. Please? I promise, I won’t let Bunny into your room anymore.”
Bunny was Josh’s cat, and she liked to use Frank’s pillow as a litter box on a semi-regular basis. “Fine. We’ll be home in an hour.”
“Go get her, Tiger!” Frank shook his head and hung up. Sometimes, it was hard to believe Josh was a year older than he was.
“Was that my mom?” He started and glanced up to see Tara standing over him expectantly.
“No, it was-“ He stopped himself. “Your dad. He said he wanted you to stay at my house tonight.” As he expected, she frowned.
“Are they coming to get me there?” He nodded.
“They also wanted me to tell you they love you.” She beamed and nodded.
“I know! ‘Kay, can we go home now? It’s cold.”
As he drove back to the house he and Josh shared in Hoboken, he wondered what exactly Josh was going to say when he realized who the “girl” he had brought home was.
*_*_*
She was asleep when he at last broke through city traffic and pulled up in the driveway. With a small smile to himself, he opened his door, retrieved Tara, and carried her inside.
Josh was sprawled out on the living room sofa, a Mountain Dew in hand, watching Cartoon Network on their small TV. When Frank opened the front door, he glanced up and grinned.
“Hey! Oh my God, you’ll never believe what happened at work toda-“ He stopped word, and stared at the little girl Frank had draped over his shoulder. “Who is she?”
“This is the girl I told you about,” Frank said plainly. He strode to their guest bedroom, and set Tara down on the twin bed. Princess Tara. When he went back to the living room, Josh had turned off the TV and was standing with his arms crossed, staring him down with an uncommon glare.
Frank swallowed. “What?”
“You know, I kind of was thinking the ‘girl’ you were talking about earlier was going to be about twenty years older.” His voice was steely, clearly displeased with Frank’s houseguest. “What the hell, Frank? Who is she? Why did you bring her here?”
“I can explain,” he tried.
“I’m listening.”
Frank struggled to find words. “She…well…I couldn’t help it.”
Josh scrutinized his friend. “You didn’t steal her, did you?” Frank fervently shook his head, eyes wide.
“No, no, no. God, no. You think I’m actually capable of child abduction?” He took a deep breath. “Josh, you remember when we were kids? That night I stayed over?”
Josh gave a slow nod.
“Same story.”
His friend’s mouth formed an “O” as he sank onto the couch. “Oh. Oh, wow.”
“Exactly.”
“But…but why did you bring her here? Why didn’t you go to the police? I’m sure they know more than we do about this kind of thing-“
“Josh, having been in her shoes once, I know the last thing she would want is to be carted off to the police station.” He sighed. “It sucked for me, and I didn’t want her to have to endure the same.”
Josh was silent for awhile, staring at the blank television screen for a good two minutes before speaking again. “We’re taking her to the police first thing tomorrow.”
“Of course.” They both were quiet after that.
“Did you remember to get Febreeze?” Josh asked, after a sound from the refrigerator broke the silence.
“Oops.”
“Frank!”
As Josh stormed off to grab his car keys, mumbling something about picking up random kids and having an attention span the size of a flea, Frank ambled back to the guest room to look after Tara.
She was a peaceful sleeper, he noted, as the beam of light that spilled through the open doorway illuminated her face. It’s going to be hard to hand her over tomorrow.
He knew what was going to happen after he gave her to the police. They would spend a few hours searching for her parents, and wouldn’t find anything. She would possibly spend the night at a relative’s, or maybe in the police station. Then, they would put her in a foster home. And the cycle would begin.
She was going to realize the truth in what her parents had done. It would take a while to understand why, and it would be painful, but it would happen. At least he wouldn’t have to see her endure that aspect.
Somehow, he felt at peace, like he’d settled a score with the universe. The world had taken care of him, and here he was, returning the favor. Tara would probably forget about him as she grew up. But he knew, he probably wouldn’t forget her. They had too many similarities.
As he shut the door, he wondered if his promised surprise had come. It might’ve just been waiting some twenty years, in the shape of a soul like his that was waiting to get hers.
THE END
