One Crazy Evening

It started out like any other evening, but then things changed. I had been left home with the girls and Kris went to aerobics. When she came home through the door, she said, "We have Company." It was a little 7 year old neighborhood boy. She had found him crying on the corner. He said that he had been left all by himself with no supper. He was beside himself and scared.
I cooked him a grilled cheese sandwich and the plan was that I would take a note down to his house informing his parents where he was. He went with me. On the way, I had a bad feeling that this was a straight up not good situation. When we got there, lights were on, I could hear the television, but when I yelled, no one answered. Then some boys across the street yelled that Terry could stay with them. He and I walked over there. I talked to their mother and she informed me that she had been taking care of Terry for the past several nights. Unsolicited. I left Terry there and walked back home. Still worried, I called my Dad who is the Middle School guidance counselor. The more I talked with him, the more serious the situation came to seem. A 7 year old, left all by himself. I finally decided that, and he agreed, that I need to call the police. I didn't want to have the police show up at the neighbors who had him, so I walked down there, talked some more with her. She agreed that I should call Children's services, and so I took Terry back with me to our house again and called the police. They came and I went with him to the station. I ended up giving my story to the Child services worker who came about a half hour later. At the end, I could hear his parents yelling in the lobby that they had a right to their kid, and telling their story. Apparently, he had been left with his two older brothers who had then ditched him. They also said that they had talked to the neighbor who had taken care of him over the weekend it that it was OK that he stay with her. The officer with us in the back said that I had better leave through the back door. He also said that I had done the right thing. No matter what the problem was this evening, this family needed child services to be watching things.
So now, I'm pretty sure we have some neighbors upset with us. Although looking back I'm not sure that there is anything that I would have done differently. I may go down to his house in the next couple of days and try to talk to his parents, but I feel quite a bit nervous about that. Please pray that they are understanding. Also pray that this little guys situation would improve. His life seems to have been totally wretched.