Two police came—one was a policewoman. (I wondered if they were actually Mounties, but I didn’t ask. They weren’t wearing red coats, though, so probably not.) The policewoman asked ten million questions, but I just said I took a bus. I kind of thought they didn’t really believe I got across the border that easy, but I just said, “Well, I did.” I was a bit cleaned up since my arrival, so I guess it was kind of believable. I never told them about my dad following me and they never thought to ask that one.
After the police left, my mom made us some dinner—just spaghetti with sauce from a jar, but then she took out a block of hard cheese from the fridge and grated it, instead of shaking it from a can! It tasted pretty good. Of course, I was completely starving by that time.
We were kind of shy with each other at first and didn’t talk much. I guess it was all too new for both of us. I started to dry the dishes after she washed them, but she said, “No, no, just leave them. They’ll dry.”
“Um .. m ...” I was having trouble calling her Mom or Mother or whatever. “I know it’s long distance, but I’d kind of like to phone my friend Brian back in Dallas to tell him I made it.”
“Sure, sweetheart. Don’t worry about the cost. Talk as long as you need to.” She even left the room so I could talk privately.
Brian himself picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Brian, it’s me, Chris.”
“Chris! How are you? Where are you?”
“Um … I’m in my mother’s apartment in Kingston.”
“Wow, what took you so long? I thought you’d be like two days! It’s Wednesday already!”
“Well, some of the plans didn’t go so smoothly ...” I didn’t really want to get into all of it. “So how’re y’all doin’ down there?” (Whoa, Texas much?) “Did anyone notice I was gone?”
“I think your father must have called you in sick to school, because nobody seemed too worried. Man, everyone is going to freak out when I tell them what really happened!”
Suddenly, I didn’t want to be on the phone with Brian. I could picture the way everyone would be amazed by the story of me seeing myself on TV and taking off, but having just lived what happened next was exhausting. I knew they would think it was cool, but I knew if I ever heard such a story, I would understand it in a way they couldn’t. And I still had a lot to figure out.
“Brian? It’s long distance, so I can’t really talk long. I just wanted to let you know I’m okay and to say thanks for your help. I’ll get you your money back when I can.”
“Take your time.”
“Thanks. Say hi to everyone from me. In Canadianese.”
Brian laughed.
“I’ll write you a letter soon, once I know what’s going on.”
“Okay. Take care, buddy!”
“You, too.”