Missing -Part 1

Philomena Braxton swallowed hard when the officer knocked on her door. It made her nervous enough to see the police behind her on the highway, but at her door? “What could he possibly want?” she wondered as she made her way through toys in the living room to the front door. It embarrassed her how the twins kept leaving their toys all over the house, but the more she tried to get them to pick them up or did it herself, the more they threw them down. Her husband was no help; he always told her to leave them and they would get sick of falling over them eventually and start picking them up. She shook her head as she opened the door.

The officer removed his hat. “Mrs. Braxton? Philomena Braxton?” he asked. 

“Yes, it is,” she replied. “May I help you officer?”

“Ma’am, are you married to Terrance Braxton?”

“Yes, I am. What is this about?” she asked nervously.

“Ma’am, I don’t know if you heard about the police chase this afternoon, but it ended with the offender in the river. We didn’t even know who it was until we got the car towed out. There was a wallet in the floorboard and your husband’s driver’s license was in it.”

Philomena felt her head swim and she had to hold onto the door frame to stay standing. “Terry was out looking for work. I don’t why he would have led you on a chase. He barely drove the speed limit most of the time.”

“I don’t know what to tell you ma’am. We didn’t find a body. My chief thinks he may have been caught in the current and swept downstream. There is a dive team out now looking for him and they’ve brought in dogs in case he made it to shore. We really are looking for him ma’am, but you should know the river eventually does empty out into the Lake Michigan. If he makes it that far he could end up anywhere, even Canada.”

Philomena faltered then and sank to the floor not quite losing consciousness, but she could no longer stand. The officer caught her and helped her to the sofa. He looked around until he saw the kitchen and got her a glass of water.

“Is there someone I can call?” he asked her.

“I can do it. I have them on speed dial.” She reached over and hit a number and reached her sister. “Can you come over?” she said. “Something has happened to Terry.” She was crying now. 

The officer waited until her sister arrived. He left his card and gave them the location of the search for her husband. “If you need anything, just call,” he told her.

The house was filled with people dressed in black. People brought food even after the memorial service. There was no funeral; the body had not been found. The twins stayed in their room uninterested in the toys they had actually picked up without having to be told.

“What will you ever do?” Philomena’s sister Rosalind asked her. “You haven’t worked since the kids were born. You were already about to lose the house.”

“Well, no body; no insurance,’ Philomena said. “I have to go back to work. I don’t have a choice anymore. Maybe I can find something while the kids are in school. I don’t know.”

“You’ll figure it out. You always were the one who could pull through no matter what. Even when dad died you helped mom keep the house and then you put yourself through school.”

“But I left before I finished when I got married. Terry didn’t want me to go back. He said we couldn’t afford it and when I got married I lost all my student aid. I barely got the student loans paid off last year, and then Terry lost his job and we’ve been living on his unemployment benefits. They’re only part of his pay and it doesn’t last very long. He got a job here and there and then got laid off again and he didn't want me to look for a job. I don't know why, but I guess that's beside the point now."

“I know it’s been hard. If you need any help, sis, ask; I’ll do what I can,” Rosalind told her.

“You can barely keep your own family afloat,” she said gently touching her sister’s hand. “I’ve been doing some thinking. I’ll see what I can work out on my own first. I’m going to try to go back to school and finish that degree in business.”

“Good luck Philomena. I have to go. I’ll see you on the weekend. You and the kids are coming over for dinner, right?”

“Sure. Rosalind?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think he’s dead. I mean, I’d feel it if her were dead, right?”

Rosalind hugged her younger sister. “It’ll get better, Phil.” She swiped at a tear as she pulled away and ran to her car.