The Missing Boy...part 2

So, this morning Dakota did not show up.  I waited almost an hour, decided he really was not coming, and got into the shower.  (Deep thinking, you know.)  I decided something had to be done.  If I waited until tomorrow, his mom would, presumably, be in Germany, and there would be no way to contact her.

So I left another message on her cell phone and called her office again.  Still no answer.  I wondered if her coworkers were worried about her.  I called her office number again, but changed the last digit, hoping to get the person in the desk next to her.  It worked-- sort of.  I got a guy in her office who said he would pass a message along to her secretary.  (She has her own secretary?)  I waited about half an hour, but with little hope of anything coming of it.  Nothing did.

So I jumped in the car and, with Rachel's help (she had been there before), drove to their house.  Their car was not in its place.  I decided if there was no answer at the door, I would call the police and ask them to find out what was going on.  

I knocked, and got no answer.  I knocked again.  Waited.  Rang the bell.  Waited.  

The door opened!  And there was Dakota!  and a nanny!  I stared at them, and Dakota looked confused.  He said, "Who are you?"  

huh?  

I said, "I'm Rebecca.  Remember, you stayed at my house last week.  And you were supposed to be there this week."  The nanny was looking totally confused.  I'm sure I was looking worse.  Dakota just stared at us both.

It turns out, the nanny had not left (like his mom said she had), she had just taken a week off.  at least according to the nanny.  She claims Dakota's mom knew where she was the whole time, had her cell phone number, and had talked with the nanny several times over the week.  Which may be possible.  But that does not explain why D's mom called Rachel looking for a new nanny to start immediately, said she had fired her old nanny, and then left D's things at our house for the following week, along with a check for the next two weeks.  She made plans for him to stay at our house, paid for the time she would be gone, left his clothes here, and then never came back.

When I asked about the plans for the time D's mom was gone, Dakota and the nanny both said D was staying at Sam's house, and when sam couldn't watch D, the nanny was filling in.  She said these plans had been in place for a couple of months.  

Holy cow.  I don't know what the real story is.  I don't know why she is not returning my phone calls.  And I really don't know if/when she was planning to return for his stuff and her money.  

I left another message-- this one in the form of a note on her entry way table-- saying to call me ASAP.  I dropped of Dakota's bag of stuff, and if she calls, we'll talk about the money.  (Check was deposited the day she wrote it.) 

I hope she sorts out whatever the issues are.   And I am so glad they are both, apparently, alive and well.  At least physically.  

What an odd, odd situation.  

Ok, I'm off to the library.  We'll return the books Dakota checked out to read while his mom was in Germany, along with our books that we've already read.  We're each reading, (besides our usual diet of fiction) at least one non-fiction picture book a week.  I've read about oil production, jellyfish, asthma, the presidents of the US, and how jelly beans are made.  Cool stuff.

Rebecca  =)

Oh, wait!  Special thanks to JaNae M for the tips on how to get a cool background!  You should see her blog.  Maybe someday I'll make time....  =)