Rita left the library in a rush, her mind still reeling from the information she and Kelly had found in the archives. Suddenly she felt the weight of intuition bearing down on her shoulders. Any child could be in danger. Although it seemed that the only targets so far were younger, still Brian was in that age group. “No need to panic,” she told herself. These are the kind of things that happen to other people. Not to you. Although, she added, that is exactly what the other people say too. She pushed her ancient Dodge to its max speed, determined that minutes could make the difference in her children’s futures.
At the school Rita arrived just in time to see the bell ring and the children file out. Being a small town, Oyster Ridge had only one school that served to the educational needs of the 215 local children. Seeing their mom arrive, Judy waved goodbye to her friends and headed towards the car. Rita scanned the crowd with a rising sense of panic for her son’s bright orange backpack and yellow hat he had insisted on wearing that morning. She spotted him standing next to his teacher, Mr. Jack Morrin. Mr. Morrin was one of the most eligible bachelors Oyster Ridge had to offer and Kelly had made many attempts to set the Rita up with him on a blind date but Rita had politely declined the offer. She hadn’t felt ready and to be honest with herself, the man was just a little too good looking. He had the trim, but athletic build, of a man used to outdoor activities mixed with the educational aura of a middle and high school history teacher. Many a female vacationer had attempted to grab his attention for a summer fling but he had seemed impervious to all of them. Rumors had circulated more than once regarding his possible past when he had first arrive 10 years earlier, but they had quickly died down when it seemed he had adapted to well to the simple lifestyle of Oyster Ridge. Rita always felt uncomfortable around him but attributed it to the simple fact that she was uncomfortable around all men. She managed to pull of a smile as he saw her and waved a friendly hello. He bent down and said something to Brian who quickly nodded then bounded her direction with his lunch pail in one hand and orange back pack in the other.
“Guess what mom.” Brian said with an air of victory in his prompt.
Rita swallowed down the morning’s grisly contemplations and focused the rearview mirror on her sons freckled splashed face, currently sporting a broad smile that reminded her all too much of her ex-husband.
“Mr. Morrin says I can do my colonialism report on Australia! Isn’t that so cool?” Brian’s fascination with Australia had not lessened over the years, as Rita had hoped, but rather had grown to a fanatical obsession. Brian was sure the day would come when his father would come home to find his son all grown and an expert on the country he had called home. Rita had never found the heart over the last two years to tell Brian the truth about her father or Australia. She figured the day would come on its own. Two years later it had still not arrived.
Jack Morrin waved goodbye to Brian as the old blue dodge slowly worked its way back out of the parking lot. One of his favorite pupils, the boy showed a strong affinity for world history and mathematics and enjoyed staying after classes to talk and share with the teacher his thoughts and ideas from the school day’s lessons. Matthew had to admit he had grown fond of the boy but couldn’t find the strength to ask out his mother after she had rejected so many of Kelly’s attempts to set them up on a blind date. Not that she wasn’t attractive or approachable but rather, that he had spent so many years keeping people at bay he wasn’t sure how to break the habit. He watched the rust spotted tailgate disappear before he turned back to his classroom. He still had a lot of work to do and the night, for him, was only just beginning.
Jack wasn’t the only person watching as Broman’s left the school grounds. From across the parking lot another set of eyes watched as Rita loaded Brian and Judy’s work into the back of the car. They watched as her son told her his good news and as she attempted one more time to keep the truth from escaping her lips. They watched as Judy pulled out her cell phone yet again to respond to a text message. Probably from a new boyfriend, they thought. Girls her age were always talking with their new boyfriends. Both of the children were so pure, so innocent. They deserved to be saved. But the older one would be a bit of challenge. The older they got, the harder it was to make them understand why it had to be done. So many years ago they had learned that. Dear old Bobby, so uncooperative, had to be strung up in the fishing line before he learned his lesson: the body must die so that the innocence can be saved. Maybe it would be Brian’s turn this year; his turn to be rescued before he learned the truth about his neglectful father who had been the reason for Rita to return to her roots. This quiet town, this sleepy little town was the perfect place with a constant supply of those waiting to be saved.
They watched until the car was out of site then turned back to their reading. They still had a lot of work to do and the year, for them, was only just beginning.