The Wayward Gifted - Broken Point (32 page)

Sam stared at Dotsie. Dotsie bit her
lip.

“Sam, your dolls talk to you, don’t
they?”

Sam stood stunned.

“They’re from the anagrammatic
universe. You know that—right?”

Sam’s jaw dropped.

“Sam?”

Sam stared at Dotsie. She wanted to choose
her words carefully.

“You don’t believe me?”

Sam stood silently and considered
Dotsie’s words.

Dotsie became fretful, “Oh, I’ve done
it now—great. You think I am crazy. You think I am just a crazy kid with
a brain tumor who’s having hallucinations. You’re thinking I’ve had too much radiation,
and too many medications. You think I have no idea what I’m saying to you. You
think this is some crazy thing that I’ve made up. I understand. I’d think the
same thing if I didn’t know the things I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said
anything. I thought you knew.” Dotsie turned and looked at Toriah, “I feel
stupid. I’m so embarrassed.”

Sam spoke to Ed, “She knows.”

Ed stood and smiled, “Sam, this is our
lucky day.” He jumped up and did a happy dance.

Dotsie let out a sigh of relief. “I
thought you were thinking awful things. You know, when I saw you in the lobby
yesterday I felt certain that you knew. But just a minute ago you had me
scared. What were you thinking?”

“I was surprised. I needed to let it
sink in. You’re the only person I know who knows this. Dotsie, It’s a relief to
talk with someone who understands. There’s so much going on. Between Steuart
and Trista, I have a lot of worries.”

Sam looked at Trista and picked her up.
Dotsie looked at the doll, “They did a good job. I can’t tell that she was
injured.”

“She hasn’t spoken a word since we got
her home.”

“I don’t understand. You said your
mother had an accident with her?”

“Mother didn’t want us to have the
dolls. We were instructed to put them out of her sight unless we were taking
them to Dr. Klesel’s office. I was at the hospital with Steuart when she came
home and saw Trista on my bed. It was a hard day with Steuart having surgery
and all. I’m not sure exactly how her head exploded, but I think Mother may
have lost her temper.”

“That’s terrible. Poor Trista.”

“I shouldn’t have left her alone.”

“You can’t blame yourself.”

Sam nodded, “I guess it doesn’t matter
if it’s my fault or not. First, Trista, and now, Steuart.”

“What’s happened to Steuart?”

“He’s in Bellamy.”

“Are you serious? Steuart went to
Bellamy? How did he do it?”

“Two days ago we made a trip over. He
stayed behind.”

“You’re telling me that you’ve been
there too? What’s it like?”

“It’s pretty. It’s similar to Maybell,
but also different. We made a mistake trying to come home.”

“It’s not an exact science,” Ed
interjected, “Timing is everything.”

Sam shook her head. “It’s not. It seems
that Steuart and I were out of sync when we began to transport. I ended up back
home at Atchison Point.”

“Where’s that?”

“Home? It’s a long way from here. It’s
on the bay. I still don’t understand what happened.”

“What do you know?”

“First, we tried to transport together.
I ended up here. Steuart wasn’t with me. I got Ed to go back with me. He and I
traveled together thinking that Steuart would still be at the tree house. He
wasn’t. I transported home alone so that Ed could stay behind and look for
Steuart. That’s when I ended up at my grandmother’s house. She lives more than
a thousand miles away.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“This is a nightmare. My mother’s going
nuts. She thinks Steuart was kidnapped. She’s waiting for a ransom note or
something like that. She thinks I’m responsible because I was with him.”

“You need to find Steuart.”

“Ed found him already.”

Dotsie looked at Ed, “Where is he?”

“The Minor Protection Agency. I found
him, but wasn’t able to bring him home.”

“Harrumph,” Toriah spoke, “Forgive me
if I come across in an indelicate way, but Ed, I understand why you were unable
to bring the young lad home.”

“Why’s that?” Ed asked.

“Comedians are not always diplomatic. I
believe that I might be able to help.”

“Thanks. I wondered how long it would
be before you took charge.”

“I have no desire to take charge.
However, it does appear that you might benefit from an extra hand.”

“Old man, we need all the help we can
get.”

Sam agreed, “He’s right.”

“Sam, why did you and Steuart go to
Bellamy?” Dotsie was curious. “Tell me about it?”

“It was an accidental trip. We didn’t
intend to travel. We were playing.”

“But you knew how to get back?”

“We figured it out, but as you can see,
it wasn’t a complete success. Ed has been helping me.”

Ed turned towards Toriah, “I didn’t
give her the information.” He looked at Dotsie, “It’s against
the Code of the Guide.”

Toriah nodded, “True. True.”

“They found their way over and Sam
found her way back. At that point, I realized that I had to step in and help.”

“The code has provisions for
emergencies,” Toriah interjected.

Ed continued, “Steuart needs to come
home. He’s too young to be alone.”

“Who went with you?” Toriah asked Sam.

“No one. We did it accidentally. We weren’t
sure about what we were doing. And now, I’m here—and Steuart’s there. My
mother’s upset with me. She doesn’t understand what’s happening.”

“I can imagine,” Toriah said.

Sam continued, “I can’t explain this to
her. She’d think I made it all up. Last night I heard her tell my grandmother
she wishes she’d never adopted me.” Sam began to cry, “I feel completely lost.
Steuart’s stuck in Bellamy, Trista’s not responding, and my mother hates me.
This is all my fault.”

“Sam,” Dotsie said, “you’re not
responsible for what happened to your brother or Trista. You can’t blame
yourself. You’re such a nice person.”

“Nice people are the ones you don’t
know. You and I’ve just met.”

Dotsie touched Sam on the arm and
nodded, “Nice people are the ones who share their hearts and invite you inside.
That’s what you did the first day you visited me at the hospital.”

“We have to go back and help Steuart,”
Sam looked at Ed. “I don’t know how we’re going to get him out of that place.

“That’s where you come in,” Ed turned
towards Toriah.

Toriah listened.

“I can help too,” Dotsie said.

Ed smiled at Dotsie and then turned to
speak with Toriah. “If you’re available, we’d appreciate your help. As you’ve
said, a comedian is not always able to handle the most delicate of issues in
Bellamy. I know Steuart’s exact location, but I worry that we may be running
out of time. He may be moved before we can get to him.”

Toriah nodded, “Children adopt out
quickly.” He took a deep breath and let out a huge sigh. “My dear man, it would
please me greatly to be of service to you and your lovely hostess Sam, as well
as her young brother Steuart. However, I am currently in the employ of the
lovely Miss Caples and absolutely unable to leave her at this time. While I
would like very much to help you, I must decline. Please understand and accept
my most sincere apology. Miss Caples is my first responsibility. I hope you
understand.”

Ed, Toriah and Sam looked at Dotsie.
Toriah continued, “As you know, Miss Caples has extenuating circumstances of
her own and has been through a difficult situation recently. Her health is not
the best. Although she is in remission, she depends on me. She depends on my
daily companionship. I fear that were I to leave she would be most unhappy. I
am needed here.”

“I have the solution,” Dotsie looked at
Toriah, “TT, I don’t want you to leave me. I want to go too. I can help.” Ed
and Sam exchanged glances. “I can be helpful,” Dotsie said. “I’m ready for the
adventure.”

“No, Dotsie, you don’t need to do
this,” Sam said. “Traveling can be dangerous. It sounds like fun, but too many
things can go wrong. You have to think about your health. I don’t think this is
a good time for you to go.”

“There may never be a perfect time for
me. Now is as good as any—I’m in remission. I feel great. Is there ever a
perfect time for anything?”

“You have a serious condition,” Ed
looked at Dotsie. “We’d be responsible for you. Neither Sam nor I would be able
to forgive ourselves if something happened to you. It’s difficult enough trying
to rescue Steuart.”

“I’m not your problem. I’m responsible
for myself. I can help.”

“Dotsie, what would your parents say?”
Sam asked.

Dotsie became quiet for a few minutes,
“My father’s not here. He passed away before I was born. My mother is away at a
medical conference this week. She’ll be gone until Sunday. I’m here with Anita.
I can go with you and be back in Maybell before Mother gets home. I can tell
Anita that I’ve been invited to keep you company.”

“I appreciate that you want to join us,
but we can’t let you take the risk,” Sam looked at Ed.

“Oh, I understand. You want to take my
doll away from me and you want to go off and have a big adventure while I stay
here and die? Is that it?”

“No. I have to find my brother and
bring him home. I also want to see if there’s anything I can do to help Trista
while we’re in town. Steuart and I didn’t plan all of this. We stumbled upon
anagrammatic travel. Ed and Toriah may understand what they’re doing, but I
don’t.” Sam shook her head, “Nothing is exact. Things happen. That’s why
Steuart is where he is right this minute.”

Dotsie rolled her eyes. Sam continued,
“Things go wrong. Things go right. You don’t know what’s going to happen. I
ended up traveling to my grandmother’s house—all the way down south. I’m
not happy about traveling now. If we weren’t in the middle of a crisis, I’d
stay home. I’m going because I have an obligation to bring my brother home. I
have to rescue him. You don’t have to do this. What if you go over and get sick
while we’re there? What if going causes you to go out of remission?”

Dotsie insisted. “Like I said, I’m
responsible for myself. I feel well and I can help. I’m helpful, and I’m smart.”

“You’re also stubborn,” Ed said softly.

Toriah folded his arms and looked
sternly at Dotsie, “That is the understatement of the day. Are you up to this
Miss Caples?”

“Does it matter?”

 
“I understand. You mean well. It’s okay,”
Sam said.

“Thank you for understanding. We
appreciate your understanding.” Ed walked towards Toriah, “We’ll be back with
Toriah as quickly as possible.”

“Who are
we
?”

“Sam, Toriah and myself.”

Dotsie folded her arms and shook her
head, “Absolutely not—I need to be with TT. If I don’t go, he stays here
with me.”

“Look kid,” Ed insisted, “If anything
happened to you, we would never forgive ourselves. Sam would never get over it.
The kid has a huge heart and even though you’ve only known her for a short
time, you’ve found a place inside. Sam would never be able to handle it if
anything happened to you. Do you understand?”

“I understand much more than you
realize. I can take care of myself.”

“Then there’s no problem. You’ll be
fine for a short while if Toriah takes off with us.”

“No! Absolutely not.”

“She should go,” Sam looked at Ed.
“Dotsie should go.”

“What?” Ed turned to Sam, “I thought
you said...”

Sam looked at Ed and then turned to
Dotsie. “You should go,”

Dotsie smiled.

“Traveling is an adventure. It’s
different from anything you’ve done before. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen.
We have no way of knowing.” Sam shook her head, “but I think you should come
along. We need your help. I’d like for you to join us on our journey. Will you
help us find Steuart?”

Dotsie hugged Sam, “You bet I will.”

“We can’t lose much more time. It’s
getting late. We can’t go today. We can go early tomorrow morning. How early
can you meet us at the tree house?” Sam looked at Dotsie and Toriah.

“I have breakfast at eight. I can get
out of the house anytime after that and not look suspicious.”

“Ed and I will wait for you and Toriah
until nine. We’ll all go as soon as you arrive.” Sam drew a map showing Dotsie
the location of the tree house. “It’s not hard to find. Wear simple looking
clothes. You’ll want to blend in when we get to Bellamy. The temperature is
similar to what we have here.”

Ed looked at Sam, “We need to go now.”

Dotsie smiled, “Thank you Sam.”