On the Road with Merry: the First 7 Stories

by

M. H. Wilkie

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Copyright 2015 M. H. Wilkie

All rights reserved.

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ON THE ROAD WITH MERRY

1st Story

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The Lost Boy

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Sketch of the

Paul Revere House

by the author

The Lost Boy

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Merry's step was light as she left her cozy Air BnB apartment and strolled across to Quincy Market. The sun warmed the red bricks of Faneuil Hall and lightened the grey stone of the market building itself.

As she arrived in the rotunda of the market, a good looking man in his fifties looked up from his coffee and smiled. Tall and slim, dark hair liberally streaked with grey, blue eyes surrounded by laugh lines that went into overdrive when he smiled, he was the object of several interested female glances as he stood up to welcome Merry.

Hello there, said Jake with his attractive smile. Did you sleep well on your first night in Boston?

I did, she replied, even though it took me a moment to reorient myself this morning!

Looking around the lovely old brick walls and fantastic domed ceiling of the rotunda, Merry breathed it all in.

Such a beautiful old place, isn’t it? I love the buzz of the food vendors — it gives it such a great atmosphere.

They almost pulled it down in the seventies you know, said Jake, but fortunately cooler heads prevailed and it was spruced up and turned into the vibrant people place it is today. And it’s not all for the tourists, he laughed. Even seasoned Bostonians like me love to come here and eat food you’d find nowhere else!

She'd met Jake yesterday at Faneuil Hall and found they shared an interest in history. Merry rather surprised herself by accepting his invitation to coffee, and he had regaled her with the stories his Dad had told him during his childhood here in Boston. It certainly brought the history to life, and time had passed quickly. Before they parted, Jake suggested they visit the Paul Revere House together, which was the plan for this afternoon.

The old 'Meredith' would never have considered even getting into conversation with a stranger, but here was Merry happily embarking on an afternoon's adventure with a man she barely knew. What would her students think if they could see her now? They'd be cheering me on, of course!

Although her disillusionment with teaching over recent years had led to her taking early retirement just a few short weeks ago, she was close to her students. When she told them about her grand adventure of driving across America solo, they had enthusiastically encouraged her to blog along the way. That way we can pretend we're travelling with you! True to her promise, she had enjoyed her nightly post to On the Road with Merry. In fact, the discovery of their affectionate nickname for her had prompted her to morph from Meredith into Merry, and she seemed to be taking on the characteristic with the name!

So are you ready to tackle the Freedom Trail up to Paul Revere's house?

Definitely. I wore my comfortable walking shoes to be ready for the cobblestones and hills!

OK then, Merry, said Jake, standing up, let's drop by and visit old Paul!

***

As they wandered into the charming courtyard in front of the Paul Revere House, they received an unexpected welcome. A small blond, curly haired child about two years old appeared, stopped in front of them and stared wordlessly up at the two tall strangers, thumb in mouth in the way of small children.

Well hello there, said Merry, smiling down at him. Are you the official welcomer here? The child didn't respond except to continue his blank stare.

I wonder who is with him, said Merry looking around and seeing no adults. They waited a few minutes, wanting to be sure the child was safely back with an adult before they left him.

Maybe we should look around a bit, replied Jake reaching out for the little boy's hand. Receiving no response, he suggested Merry pick him up as a strange man might be a bit frightening for the little guy. That disconcerting, silent stare continued as Merry did as Jake suggested.

At the ticket booth, they asked if anyone was looking for a lost child. The teenaged attendant looked vaguely behind her as if the child's mother might have materialized inside the little booth without her noticing. She shook her head, showing no interest.

Well if anybody does show up, said Jake, please tell them the boy is safe. We'll see if we can find them inside the house and then check back here.

The atmosphere inside the historic house was all Merry could have wished, but the unexpected appearance of this little boy meant she couldn't give it her attention. Instead of strolling through the rooms drinking in the atmosphere and reading the fascinating inscriptions, she and Jake walked purposely from room to room looking for adults the child might recognize.

What's your name? she asked the little boy with an encouraging smile. No reply. He didn't cry or show any signs of distress, just that silent stare.

They searched every room on both levels of the house twice with no success. They inquired of the few other visitors they met, but nobody had seen anyone looking for a child.

A return visit to the ticket booth yielded no results.

What on earth do we do now? asked Merry with a frown. We can't just keep wandering around here. We don't even know who we're looking for.

Looking down at the little boy, Jake said, He doesn't seem very upset, does he? It's a bit of mystery.

After talking it through for a moment, they decided they had no choice but to call the police. Jake pulled out his iPhone and explained the situation. Ten minutes later two police officers, one male and one female, arrived.

Hi, said the man, I'm Officer Graham, and this is my partner, Officer Robinson. What seems to be the trouble here?

As Merry and Jake brought the two up to date, Officer Robinson crouched down in front of the little boy and tried to engage him, without much success. Even ruffling his hair, which usually brings either positive or negative reaction from little children, had no effect. He continued to stare, thumb in mouth.

Together, Jake and Officer Graham had another walk around the house, while the two women checked the courtyard, with no result.

Well, I guess we'll have to take this little guy down to the station, said Graham. We'll make sure the right authorities take over and look after him until we find his mom.

Afternoon had melted into evening as they searched for the little boy's mother, and neither of them felt like continuing with their sightseeing plans. Merry accepted Jake's invitation to an early dinner, if somewhat reluctantly. Over desultory conversation, they agreed to call it a night and Jake walked Merry back to her apartment.

I don't think I'll sleep tonight, said Merry. In fact, I don't see how I can relax until I know what happens to that poor child.

As Jake felt the same way, they agreed to meet up at the market early the next afternoon and see what they could find out.

Reluctant to share this worriesome story, Merry went to bed without posting to her blog.

***

Jake had brought his car next day, correctly assuming Merry wouldn't be up for a sightseeing walk along the Freedom Trail. Without much hope but not knowing where else to begin, they headed once again for the Paul Revere House. Jake was lucky enough to find a parking spot close by, and they entered the little courtyard for the second time. Again, the sullen girl in the ticket booth was singularly unhelpful, and seemed oblivious to the drama that had unfolded right before her eyes the day before.

They decided to split up for another look around, albeit it without much hope of finding anything. Jake took the house, and Merry began a careful search of the courtyard. It certainly was an interesting place. The house didn't look like anything special. In fact, its dark wood walls and wide overhang made it look quite forbidding. She had heard that Paul Revere had sixteen children, and she wondered if they had all lived in this house at the same time — if so it must have been bulging at the seams! She made up her mind to come back after this sad episode was over and enjoy it properly.

She realized with interest that she was assuming the puzzle would be solved and that she would be the one to solve it — hopefully with Jake's assistance. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, she had found she enjoyed his company very much yesterday and hoped they would still have an opportunity to spend some normal time together while she was in Boston. It was quite some time since she had felt drawn to a man, and the feeling was not unwelcome.

Indulging in pleasant speculation, she rounded a corner wall and heard a muffled sound. Her heart gave a little leap as she crept around a gnarled old tree and found a young woman — just a girl really — huddled on a bench, crying. Approaching carefully so as not to alarm the girl, Merry squatted down beside her.

Hello, she said. Surprise and apprehension showed on the girl's tear-stained face as she looked up and saw Merry, and quickly looked down again with renewed sobs. Her blond curls, reminiscent of the little boy's hair, fell over her face.

My name's Merry, she said with a smile. What's yours?

She had to strain to hear the girl's whispered reply.

Julie.

Hello Julie. I'm guessing you are the mom of the little boy my friend and I found here yesterday. Am I right?

Julie nodded wordlessly. This would be hard going, but Merry's long experience teaching teenagers told her how to strike just the right encouraging tone.

Yes, whispered Julie. I saw you find him yesterday. I hid outside the gate till the police took him away and I knew he was safe. This confession brought on renewed tears and sobs. Merry put her arm gently around the girl's shoulder and was making comforting noises when Jake appeared after his fruitless search of the house.

Taking in the situation at a glance, he sat down on the bench beside Merry, offering silent support.

Now that she had started speaking, Julie's story poured out in a torrent of words mixed with tears and sobs.

Bobby was two years old. When she told them she was pregnant, her family, who were particularly concerned about their social standing, sent her packing. They didn't approve of her boyfriend or her situation, so she and Mike had moved into a rooming