12

 

The next week flew by.

She and Moses slowly learned how to deal with each other.

He was sweet, but he still couldn’t abide her touching him.

Their days had fallen into a pattern more quickly than she’d thought. Jogging in the park was part of their schedule.

Moses didn’t seem bothered by the fact that it was the same park where he’d been abandoned. He loved the swings.

All in all, they were doing much better together than she’d expected.

With no response to the news stories, there was no mention of him moving to a more permanent placement. That was fine with her.

She sat at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee while Moses ate his breakfast.

Even in the short time he’d been with her, he’d begun to fill out. He looked at his pancake, and then pointed at the syrup bottle. His pancake was already swimming in syrup.

Maven didn’t have the heart to say no. Instead, she picked it up and poured it for him. She wasn’t so sure of her diagnosis of autism any longer. It was still a very real possibility. But she’d seen enough progress to not be sure. In the past few days, he’d begun to speak in single words.

Perhaps he’d not had the stimulation and opportunities to learn normal communication. Or maybe he’d been abused when he did talk. Either way, she was pleased with his improvement. Maybe it was time to touch him and see how he reacted. Perhaps he reacted badly because the only contact he’d ever experienced was painful. But remembering him holding her cheeks and saying, ”I love you, baby” made Maven rethink that.

“Is your pancake good?”

He nodded. More and more he responded to questions with nods and head shakes.

“Want another one?”

He looked down at his last bite as if debating her question. He shook his head, picked up his fork, and took the last bite.

Standing up, Maven picked up the syrup bottle. “After I clean up, then we can go to the park. Does that sound good to you? Lizzie will be there, too. You like Lizzie, right?”

Lizzie and jogging had become part of the routine.

He nodded with a smile. “Lizzie. Park.”

 

~*~

 

Lizzie was already at the park when Maven and Moses got there. She waved at them.

In spite of the heat, both Lizzie and Maven wore running suits instead of shorts. They’d agreed modesty was a good thing at their age.

“Hey, slow pokes, where you been? I’ve already done one circuit without you lazy people.” Lizzie bent down to Moses. “Are you ready, little man?”

He nodded.

“Get set, ready, go!”

Maven chimed in, “Bang.”

They all started running, Maven and Lizzie jogged at a slow speed, but Moses ran as fast as he could.

Maven wasn’t worried.

He knew the routine, he would go to the swing sets and wait for them or he’d run back to see why they were so slow.

“You are that child’s miracle, Maven. I can’t believe the difference in him. He behaves almost like any child would now.”

“Thanks, but it hasn’t really been that difficult. He learns faster than I’d expected.”

“So, do you still think he’s autistic or is it trauma-induced?”

“If I had to guess I’d say trauma or abuse certainly played a large part in his lack of communication. He’s saying a few words now, and he usually answers my questions with a nod or a shake. Great improvement in such a short time.”

“I agree.” Lizzie increased her speed. “Come on, step it up, old lady.”

“No. I like this speed.”

“No pain. No gain.” Lizzie yelled over her shoulder.

Maven increased her speed. “And I can’t believe you called me old. You’re older than I am.”

“Prove it.” Lizzie ran faster.

As they neared the swing sets, Maven searched for Moses.

Her heart skipped a beat.

A man was standing beside him and looked as if he was talking to Moses.

Moses jumped off the swing and backed away from the man.

The man moved toward him.

Maven raced toward them.

The man reached for the boy’s arm.

Even from her distance, she could hear his scream. Maven ran faster. “Lizzie.”

“I see them.” Lizzie yelled as she sped up. The distance between Maven and her lengthened as Lizzie sprinted towards them.

Still screaming, Moses ran towards Lizzie. The man started after him, but when he saw Lizzie running towards them, he turned and ran in the opposite direction.

Moses ran past Lizzie to Maven. He launched himself into her arms, screaming and sobbing, trembling and obviously terrified.

Maven sat on the grass and cradled him in her arms. “It’s OK, sweetie. You’re safe. I’m right here.” She kept her gaze on the parking lot, but couldn’t see Lizzie, who’d run off to try to catch the man.

Maven rocked Moses. “It’s OK, you’re safe. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

A few minutes later, Lizzie reappeared, out of breath. “I couldn’t find him.” She gasped through the words. “Not sure if he got in a car and left or he ran into the woods. I wasn’t about to follow him in there.”

Moses was still whimpering, but calmer.

Maven covered Moses’s ear and pressed him close so he couldn’t hear. “You don’t think he was going to hurt him, do you?” she whispered.

With hands on her hips, Lizzie still stared off in the direction of the parking lot. “I’m not sure.”

“Maybe he was just being friendly, but Moses isn’t good with strangers,” Maven said. “He probably just started running after him to calm him down, but when he saw us decided to leave.”

“That fast?”

“Well, come on. He was a man in a park and a kid was screaming. I can’t blame him for leaving even if he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But what if he did or he planned to?”

Maven’s stomach lurched. Why would anyone want to hurt Moses? Of course, someone had abandoned him. “Should we call the police?”

Lizzie nodded and pulled out her cell phone.

“We’re going home,” Maven said. “You can handle this. Moses needs to get back to his room and calm down. If they want to take a report from me, they can call or come over to the house.”

“Good idea.” Lizzie squatted down to eye level with Moses. “You did good, little man. I’m so proud of you for running to Maven. That was the right thing to do.”

He nodded, but said nothing.

“Can I give you a hug, Moses?” Lizzie held her arms out to him.

He stared for a moment, and then stood up.

Maven’s eyes filled with tears as the two hugged. Such a precious child. What a difference a week could make. Maven stood up as well.

After the hug, Moses moved back to Maven.

She held out her hand. “Let’s go home, Moses.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and then slipped his hand into hers.

Maven bit back tears as they walked through the park hand in hand.