The Harbour...Chapter 28: The Search
Maya sat on the sofa next to Carolyn’s mother Chaya, who had driven over as soon as she heard what had happened. Caitlin was curled up next to Myrtle on the other sofa, and Carolyn paced the room.
Chaya and Myrtle made idle conversation in an attempt to keep the girls calm. but they were clearly distracted.
Carolyn had called her father Michael.
He had then called her three brothers who lived in the Harbour.
Manny, a night owl, was up watching TV.
Rob was just getting ready to close his restaurant.
Marc, the surgeon, was up late going over some patient records in his office at home.
They had jumped into their cars and fanned out across the city to search for Joel, while Chaya had headed straight to her daughter’s side.
Marc had called his best friend Joey D’Angelo, who was Christophe Harbour’s Chief of Police.
Marc and Joey (Marco’s older brother) had been friends since they were teens. They had roomed together during university and again for a couple of years after they graduated.
Joey immediately understood the dilemma. The fourteen year old son of a Simmiewood celebrity running away from home would be breaking news, and could potentially put Joel in danger. He promised to have two patrols cars discreetly dispatched to do a search of the city, one starting in the newer neighourhood where Carolyn lived and the other in the older part of the Harbour.
He issued Joel’s description to all other units even as he arranged to send out the specially assigned cars.
Carolyn’s dad had told her to stay with the girls in case Joel came home or called.
“We’ll find him” he assured her, but she didn’t feel assured.
Joel had not been gone more than an hour, but it felt like I lifetime. Her stomach was twisted in knots and her heart was thundering in her chest as she paced the floor whispering a feverish prayer that her baby would not get hurt. She heard Caitlin whimper and she stepped towards the sofa and stroked her hair. She was too emotional to speak.
The phone rang and they all jumped. Carolyn was across the floor in two quick steps. She read the call display even as she grabbed the phone out of the cradle.
Before she could say anything, she heard the soft, deep voice on the other end:
“He’s with me. He’s okay.”
A wave of relief washed over her, and her knees buckled. She sat heavily on the antique ottoman near the phone.
“He’s safe,” she whispered to the others, her voice shaking.
Chaya inhaled sharply.
Caitlin gasped.
“Praise the Lord!” Myrtle cried.
Maya burst into tears.
“He just got here. We haven’t talked much, but he told me he didn’t tell you he was leaving,” he said, his voice steady and calming.
“Thank you,” she whispered, the tears spilling down her cheeks. “Thank you. I’ll come right over.”
“No, no Carolyn. Let me talk with him. Calm him down. He’s upset. I’ve told him he can stay here tonight if he wants, but that I had to call you. Can you sit tight for a bit, and I’ll call back after I’ve spoken with him?” he asked.
“Of course,” she croaked, choking back a sob. “I’ll be up.”
“It’s going to be alright,” he said soothingly. “Hang in there for a bit. Let me just see what’s going on with him.”
Brandon rested the phone back into the cradle, and moved to the fridge where he filled a glass with water. Taking a deep breath, he padded back to the living room, his sandaled feet making a ticking sound on the worn hardwood floor.
He paused and smiled tenderly at the boy curled up on the couch, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. His thick hair had fallen across his eyes.
“In this lighting he looks like his father,” Brandon thought.
He rested the glass of water carefully on the coffee talk and sat gently on the sofa next to him.
Joel stirred, and sat up rubbing his eyes.
“I’ve made a real mess of things, haven’t I grandpa?” he said, his voice cracking.
