A local woman missing- Mary Kubica

Who would care for her special needs? Would she be
institutionalized?
At some point I must have drifted off to sleep. Because when I
wake up, Josh is gone. Beside me, on the nightstand, is a tepid
coffee. The bedroom smells of his cologne.
He was here. But now he’s not.
I get out of bed. I go downstairs to see if he’s there, but he’s
already left for work. Back upstairs, in their bedrooms, Delilah is still
sound asleep but Leo has begun to stir. Delilah won’t be going to
school today. I debate keeping Leo home. There’s really no reason
for him to go to Charlotte’s if Delilah and I are home.
But he’s been having such a hard time at Charlotte’s of late. It
would be confusing to him if I were to keep him home. Tomorrow
he’d cry twice as hard. And besides, Charlotte promised me that that
Brody boy wouldn’t be there. The thing Leo hates most about
Charlotte’s is gone. I can’t just keep him here to catch Delilah’s
germs.
I go into Leo’s bedroom. He’s out of bed, playing with his toys on
the floor. I sit down beside him and pull him into my lap. “Hey, baby,”
I say, kissing the top of his head. His hair is mussed up. He smells
like sleep.
We play with his toys together for a while. It’s a firehouse playset.
He’s the fireman while I’m the Dalmatian. There’s a fire on the other
side of the bedroom. Our fireman and dog hop in the toy fire truck
and Leo pushes it across the floor to put the fire out.
After a while, I say to Leo, “Miss Charlotte called last night. She
said you’ve been having trouble with another boy at her house.” I
pause, wait for Leo’s reaction. “A boy named Brody.” Leo’s whole
body stiffens at the sound of this boy’s name. His face turns red, his
eyes fill with tears. I wrap my arms around him. “I wish I had known
that this boy was being mean to you, Leo. I would have liked to
help,” I say. It isn’t an indictment. I’m not blaming Leo for not telling
me about the abuse. But I want Leo to know he can tell me anything.
“Miss Charlotte says that Brody won’t be coming back to her house
to play. It’s just you and the other kids from here on out. How does
that sound?” Leo shyly smiles. He likes the sound of that.