Page 41 of Miracles and Marriage

The child gave a kind of hiccup and looked about to cry.

“She’s lost.”

“Oh, dear,” Zoe said.

Cal was hard-pressed to keep from smiling. It was this little tyke who was lost.

“Maybe we can find your mother. Where did you see her last?”

“I dunno,” he said.

He stepped closer to Cal, looking at him trustingly.

“What’s her name?” he asked, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on the child’s shoulder.

“Mommy.”

“I should have guessed. Shall we try this store first?” he asked.

The little boy looked at the door and wrinkled his nose.

“It smells in there.”

“A clue,” Cal said, straightening to his full height. “Maybe he was inside and didn’t like the smell.”

The store in question was a candle shop, with many different fragrances all competing on a whiff of air.

He felt a tug on his trouser pants. Looking down he smiled when he saw the earnest look on the boy’s face.

“If you carried me, I could see better,” he said.

Cal exchanged amused glances with Zoe, then hoisted the boy up. They entered the shop. It was much larger inside than it appeared from the sidewalk. There were many aisles, with shelves so tall people were concealed.

A woman near a register by the door glanced at them as they entered. Probably thought they were a family on an outing, Cal thought. If everything went well, in another year or two, that’s exactly what they could be.

“We have a missing boy, here,” Cal said to the clerk. “We are looking for his mother. Anyone report a missing child?”

“Oh, goodness, no. Where did you find him?”

“Right outside. He says this place smells, so we thought he might have come from here.”

Just then a loud shriek sounded, followed by “Justin” being called very loudly.

The little boy broke into a smile.

“That’s Mommy.”

Two seconds later a frantic woman ran toward the front of the store, checking her speed when she saw her son.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, rushing over. “You scared me to death.”

“He was outside,” Cal said, transferring the child to the frantic mother’s arms. “Lucky he didn’t wander farther away.”

“I can’t believe he left. I know he’s tired of shopping. It’s okay, honeybun. Mommy’s finished for the day. Let’s go get some ice cream.”

She looked at Cal and Zoe relief clearly visible.

“Thank you for getting him. I don’t want to even imagine if he had wandered down the street.”