“How did it get here?”
He looked at the boxes, then at the neighbors. His face turned pale.
“Mom, we need to call someone. Maybe the police. This is scary.”
“I know. We’re not going to touch anything else until I know who did this.”
—Wait! There’s a note— said Eli.
I looked again. They had slipped a folded sheet of paper under the umbrella strap.
—Read it —she whispered.
My hands were trembling as I unfolded it.
“Or,
I promised I’d return it. I didn’t know I’d be coming home with so many people.
Thank you for protecting me when I felt invisible.
Jenelle.
“That’s the lady,” Eli said. “She said her name was Jenelle.”
Before I could answer, a silver car pulled up beside the curb. A pregnant woman got out slowly, one hand resting on her belly.
“That’s her, Mom.”
I walked towards her with Darren’s umbrella pressed against my chest.
“Are you Jenelle?”
She nodded. “Carina, I’m so sorry.”
I felt a knot in my stomach again. “How do you know my name?”
“Someone commented on my Facebook post. They said they were my neighbor.”
I looked back at Sarah, who suddenly seemed very interested in the sidewalk.
Then I turned to Jenelle. “Did you write about my son?”
Her expression darkened. “I wrote a thank-you post.”
“No. My son is twelve years old,” I said. “He gave you something that was important to both of you. Now people are filming it like it’s a spectacle.”
“I didn’t give you your address,” Jenelle said quickly. “I swear. I only used your first name. No school. No street.”
“So how did they find us?”
“The Route 47 bus stop,” he said. “I mentioned it in the post. Mr. Collins recognized Eli and offered to return the umbrella. I didn’t hear about the boxes until this morning.”
“You started it, and strangers finished it.”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “And I should have thought it through better before I started.”
Eli stepped away from behind me. “Is your baby okay?”
Jenelle’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes, honey. It’s okay. I just had an ultrasound, and the doctor told me to watch her movements carefully. I was scared.”
He nodded. “Good.”
continued on the next page
