based upon a true story
So it happened like this. He went out in the backyard with his friend where we have one of those bounce-screens that you can throw a baseball against and have it bounced back to you to catch. Jimmy likes to play on that, plays on it all the time. But this morning was different. For some reason, when his friend threw the ball up to the screen, Jimmy wasn’t looking and the ball bounced back and hit him in the eye.
I didn’t know it right away. Apparently he and his friend were having a great time, and like what happens with boys, at first they were throwing it nice and easy against the screen so that it was easy to catch. But they got a little bit excited, started throwing harder, and maybe competition kicked in so that one tried to best the other by throwing it harder and eventually they were throwing it really hard. It was one of those hard throws bouncing back that hit Jimmy in the eye.
I knew something was wrong when both boys came running in the house, Jimmy’s friend first holding the door for Jimmy. Jimmy had his hand over his eye and by the time I saw it, it was already swelling and all red. I told him sit down, and they both did, and I went to the freezer and got some ice which I put into a dish towel. At first I held the towel on Jimmy’s eye. But I still had to pack his lunch, and his sister was there sitting at the table in her high chair. Poor little thing, she had no idea what was about to happen to her or why. Just an innocent. We were all so innocent.
I shouldn’t have sent Jimmy to school. I should have kept him home, packed up his sister and taken them the doctor. But after having the ice on it for about 15 minutes, Jimmy said he was okay and that he wanted to go to school.
Stupid me. I sent him and his friend off on the school bus.
Then nothing. I did my regular day, took care of my daughter, took care of the house, ran errands, did all I usually do. Everything was fine. Just fine. No calls, nothing out of the ordinary.
About the time for the school bus, I began fixing Jimmy’s snack. My daughter was with me in the kitchen. No big deal. I made peanut butter and jelly for both of them, and she was eating hers in her high chair when the bus came. But there was no Jimmy.
Imagine.
So I called the school.
That’s when I learned that Jimmy had gone to the nurse and the nurse had called in the principal and the principal had called CPS. CPS came to the school at dismissal and took him. I wasn’t told, I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t called the school.
About four o’clock in the afternoon, CPS came with the police and took my daughter.
I was already frantic. I didn’t know what to do or who to call. I tried to show them the bounce-screen and explain what happened, but they flashed some paperwork in my face, didn’t listen to a thing, didn’t look at what I tried to show them, left me a carbon and absconded with my daughter.
