She's Not Coming Home

by Philip Cox

  ‘That’s right. For the moment, anyway.’

  She leaned forward again, paused a beat, then spoke.

  ‘Look. Today’s Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon. Clear up your things and go now. Come back Friday. That gives you a day to do what you have to do. Yes?’

  Matt nodded, a little taken back. ‘Yes, that would be great.’

  ‘Were you due to work Saturday?’

  ‘I –er, no I don’t think I was -’

  ‘Let’s be as flexible as we can, then. Take the rest of the day off, and tomorrow. Work Friday and Saturday. Then you’ll be up to date, won’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I guess I will. I just -’

  ‘Well, that’s that sorted. Let’s catch up Friday, then,’ she said, swinging her chair and loading up her laptop.

  Meeting over, Matt thought. ‘Thanks,’ he said, getting up and leaving Debra to her laptop.

  As he walked back to his desk, still clutching his raincoat, he bumped into Larry.

  ‘Hey, guy,’ Larry said. ‘Everything okay? José said you had to take care of some business. What’s going on?’

  Matt looked around.

  ‘It’s Ruth,’ he said quietly. ‘She didn’t come home last night.’

  ‘Didn’t…?’

  ‘Just didn’t come home. Saw her in the morning, before she left for work. She sent me a text around five saying she was about to leave, but didn’t show.’

  ‘Jeez. But I don’t get it. She not answering her cell?’

  ‘No. Kept going to voicemail.’

  ‘Any friends or anything? Someone she could have gone to?’

  ‘She has one best friend. Gail. Gail Smith. You might have even met her. I’ve tried her a few times, but she’s gone to voicemail also.’

  ‘What about her work? What do they say?’

  ‘That’s the weirdest thing. Another weirdest thing. I called her office, but nobody knows her there. That’s where I went. I got the T down there; spoke to the office manager who said he had never heard of her. Even using her old name.’

  ‘You’re kidding.’

  ‘I wish I was.’

  ‘What about Nathan?’

  ‘I’ve told him she was working late and had to set off early this morning, but I can’t keep that up for ever.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I’ve ended up calling the police.’

  ‘Jeez. What did they say?’

  ‘Some Lieutenant came round last night. Took some details. Said he’d pass it to the - er, Missing Persons Unit. I got a call from them here this morning.’

  ‘Saying what?’

  ‘Just saying they had her details and were beginning their investigations.’

  ‘Nothing, in other words.’

  Matt shrugged. ‘Early days, I guess.’

  ‘What are you going to do now?’

  Matt nodded over in the direction of Debra’s closed door.

  ‘I had to tell her what had happened. Not every detail, but the gist.’

  ‘What did she say?’

  ‘Told me to go home now. Take the rest of today and tomorrow off. “To do what I need to do,” she said. I need to get home and start calling around.’

  ‘Friends. Her parents? Yours?’

  ‘I’ll keep trying Gail. They’re pretty close. Ruth’s parents both died before we met, and she and mine aren’t exactly close.’ Matt paused. ‘I need to start calling round the hospitals too, I guess.’

  ‘Jesus, Matt.’

  ‘I know. But it’s gotta be done.’

  Larry nodded. ‘Bet you have to work Saturday,’ he said.

  ‘Got it in one. Look, buddy, I’d better get off now. See you Friday. When you see José, can you thank him for covering and get him up to speed.’

  Larry put his hand on Matt’s arm.

  ‘Sure thing, pal. Good luck. See you Friday.’

  *****

  Matt checked his watch as he hurried out to the parking lot. With his extended lunch hour and his conversations with Debra and Larry, it was almost the time he would normally leave when it was his turn to pick up Nathan. Hoping the gridlock from that morning had cleared, he started the Toyota and eased it into the traffic in India Street. As he turned left along State, he felt a pain in his stomach. With all the activity, he had forgotten to eat. Now he was starving. No time to stop: early dinner for him and Nathan.

  As it turned out, he made it back to Beacon Hill earlier than expected, so had time to drive home, park the car, get a candy bar and walk round to Bambinos. The rain had stopped, but it was getting bitterly cold. As he and Nathan walked home, the question Matt had been dreading came up.

  ‘Daddy, is Mommy coming home tonight?’

  Matt paused. For too long maybe.

  ‘I think she has to work late again.’

  ‘Aw, I wanted to see her. So did Mr Bronto.’ Nathan skipped along, bouncing a brontosaurus along the sides of the houses they passed.

  ‘Tomorrow, for sure,’ said Matt, ruffling his son’s hair. ‘Tomorrow for sure,’ he repeated, quietly.

  Matt rustled up an omelette for them both for dinner, and Nathan had chocolate ice cream for dessert. After a bath, he lay in bed while Matt read him a story.

  ‘If I’m still awake when Mommy gets home,’ said Nathan, ‘can you get her to tuck me in and say good night.’

  With a lump in his throat, Matt leaned down to kiss Nathan.

  ‘Sure will, sport.’

  ‘Night night, Daddy.’

  ‘Night night. Don’t let the bed bugs bite,’ whispered Matt as he dimmed Nathan’s light and pulled the door to.

  Matt slowly went downstairs, thinking over what he should tell Nathan and when. Maybe he should call his own parents for advice.

  First things first, though. He went into the kitchen, tidied up a bit, then picked up the Yellow Pages and the telephone, and sat down at the kitchen table. He opened the Yellow Pages and found the entries for Hospitals. He found the first entry and started to dial. As the number was ringing, the doorbell rang.

  He hung up, leapt off his chair and ran over to the door. His heart was pounding: maybe it was Ruth; maybe she had forgotten or lost her door key?

  He flung open the door, hoping to see Ruth. Instead it was Gail.

  ‘Hey, Matt,’ she said.

  ‘Gail,’ he replied, not knowing exactly what to say.

  ‘You left some messages on my cell,’ Gail said. ‘I was passing, so I…’

  ‘Come in, come in,’ Matt said, opening the door wider.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, stepping inside and going straight into the kitchen. She turned round as Matt closed the front door and followed her. ‘I couldn’t understand what the messages were about. What’s happened?’

  It was then that Matt finally broke down.

  Chapter Nine

  ‘You want to tell me all about it?’ asked Gail, after Matt had pulled himself together.

  ‘Sorry.’ Matt wiped his eyes and blew his nose on a Kleenex.

  ‘Don’t worry about it.’ Gail sat down and smoothed down her skirt. As long as Matt had known either of them, Gail had been Ruth’s best friend. By coincidence, their birthdays fell on the same day. Gail was born one year before Ruth, thirty-one years ago. Physically, they were similar: both around five feet six tall, both with shoulder length dark hair, although Ruth’s was wavy in contrast to Gail’s, which was dead straight. Gail was slimmer than Ruth, who always used to joke about her ‘child rearing hips’. Gail had no children, a fact which never seemed to bother her; she was more accustomed to exotic holidays. Since Matt first met her, Gail had had two partners, the latest of which, Ryan, held a high position with Nantucket Airlines; hence the frequent travel abroad. They had obviously just returned from one of these trips: as she sat down in Matt’s kitchen she crossed her legs and ran a hand down a thin, tanned leg. ‘Your messages,’ she asked. ‘What were they all about?’

  ‘Do you know where Ruth is?’ Matt asked.

  Gail gave him an inquisitive
look and held her palms out. Meaning no.

  Matt sat down and rubbed his face with one hand.

  ‘She’s gone missing.’

  ‘Missing?’

  ‘Tuesday, she left for work as normal. Walked to work as normal. I was here all day; I had some vacation days to take. She sent me the usual text we send to each other when we’re on our way home. I expected her sometime between five thirty and six, but she never arrived.

  ‘I tried calling her and texting her, but she has never texted me back and her phone went to voicemail every time I call.’

  ‘What about at work?’

  ‘That’s a really strange one. That night I tried to call her office using the number she had given me, but it wasn’t a right number. So I called 411, got a totally different number. I called that number the next day, only to be told Ruth didn’t work there.’

  ‘I don’t get it,’ Gail said, frowning. ‘This was Cambridge Pharmaceuticals down on Washington, wasn’t it?’

  ‘U-huh. I even went down there, and they told me the same thing. I even thought she might be still using her maiden name, but no.’

  ‘Matt, I don’t know what to say. I don’t understand it.’

  ‘When was the last time you spoke to her, Gail?’

  ‘It was – about a week or so. We talked about the four of us getting together some time, When Ryan got back from Europe.’

  ‘And you’ve not seen or heard from her since then. Not since Tuesday?’

  ‘No. Honestly, Matt.’

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to… It’s just…’

  ‘I know, Matt. I know.’

  ‘Did she say anything to you about us? Anything to suggest she wasn’t happy?’

  Gail shook her head.

  ‘No. Nothing. Nothing at all like that.’

  ‘Gail, you’ve known her longer than I have. How long is it?’

  ‘Since I’ve known her? Ten, twelve years, I guess. Around ten as friends.’

  ‘Can you think of what she might be doing? Where she might go?’

  ‘Sorry, I can’t imagine. It’s not like her.’

  They both sat in silence for a moment, and then Gail said, ‘What about Nathan? How’s he?’

  Matt looked up at the ceiling, in the general direction of Nathan’s bedroom upstairs.

  ‘He keeps asking where she is. The last couple of nights I’ve told him it’s very busy at her work, so she’s having to work late and leave very early in the morning. He seems to have accepted that.’

  ‘For now. You can’t tell him that for ever.’

  ‘That’s what the police said.’

  ‘The police? You’ve called the police?’ Gail seemed surprised.

  ‘Well, yes. I had to. Did it about nine that night.’

  ‘What did they say?’

  ‘A Lieutenant – er, Weber, called round that night. Took a load of information about Ruth. Oh, and a photo of her. Said he’d pass it to the Missing Persons Unit.’

  ‘I see. Right.’

  ‘I had a call from them this morning, saying they had received the report and they were on the case, as it were.’

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Is that you, Mommy?’

  Matt and Gail turned round to see Nathan standing in his pyjamas in the kitchen doorway.

  ‘I thought you were asleep, sport,’ Matt said, going over to him.

  ‘I thought I heard Mommy,’ Nathan yawned.

  ‘No, it’s only Auntie Gail,’ Gail smiled. She stood up and knelt down in front of him.

  ‘Is Mommy home?’ Nathan asked, looking around the kitchen sleepily.

  ‘No, not yet,’ Matt said quietly. ‘She’s still at work. Time you were in bed.’

  ‘Okay, Daddy,’ Nathan yawned. He turned round and started to walk to the stairs.

  ‘I’ll take him upstairs,’ Gail said, standing up.

  ‘No, it’s okay. I’ll only be a minute.’ Matt walked past Gail and put his arm round Nathan’s shoulders. They both slowly went upstairs.

  ‘Do you want to pee first?’ Matt asked as they walked past the bathroom. Nathan nodded. After he had peed and returned to bed, Matt tucked him in and kissed him on the top of his head.

  ‘Sleep tight, sport,’ Matt whispered. ‘Love you.’

  ‘Love you too, Daddy,’ Nathan murmured in his sleep.

  Swallowing, Matt crept out of his son’s room and went downstairs to Gail.

  ‘That’s another thing,’ he said as he rejoined her in the kitchen. ‘Walking out on me is one thing, but she would never walk out on Nathan.’

  ‘Unless she had reason to.’

  ‘What reason could there be? Why would a mother walk out on her child?’

  Gail shrugged.

  ‘I’m sorry Matt; I don’t know. I just…’

  ‘I think something’s happened to her,’ said Matt. ‘There’s no other explanation.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Anything. She would have gone to you if she was just leaving me. But neither of us have heard anything. So something must have happened.’

  ‘So what are you going to do?’

  ‘Well, just before you rang the doorbell, I was about to start calling round the local hospitals. I’m guessing that’s something the cops do, but I can’t just sit here doing nothing.’

  ‘Are you still going to work?’

  ‘Went in today. Had to tell my boss. She’s said to take tomorrow off to do what I have to do, in her words. I go back in Friday.’

  ‘Well, look: if there’s anything Ryan and I can do…’

  ‘There is something, yes.’

  ‘Shoot.’

  ‘I have to work Saturday. Till two. I wasn’t due to be in, so I don’t know what do about Nathan. Are you able to look after him for a few hours?’

  ‘Shit, Matt. Any other time I’d say yes. You know that. But this Saturday I’m due to go down to -’

  ‘Don’t worry. I know it’s short notice. I’ll take him in with me. Sit him in the staff room with a couple of DVDs.’

  ‘No, it’s all right. We’ll rearrange. We’d love to have Nathan.’

  ‘Great. Thanks. I’ll give you a call Friday to arrange. Is that okay?’

  ‘Absolutely. No problem.’

  Again a few moments’ silence, then Gail spoke.

  ‘I’ll be off now, Matt. Speak Friday, yes?’ she said as she stood up.

  ‘Sure. Thanks for calling in.’

  ‘No problem. Let me know if you hear anything, won’t you?’

  ‘Of course.’ Matt walked Gail over to the front door. She paused just as he was about to open it.

  ‘Do you mind if I use your bathroom first?’ she asked. ‘Cold night.’

  ‘Sure, no problem,’ Matt smiled. ‘You know the way.’

  He wandered back into the kitchen while Gail went upstairs. Tidied a few things up until he heard the toilet flush and Gail come downstairs.

  ‘I hope everything… Well, you know what I mean,’ she said quietly, kissing him on the cheek.

  ‘Thanks.’

  Matt stood in the doorway and watched Gail walk down the street to her car. He stayed there until he saw her tail lights turn right at the intersection. Closed the door and returned to the kitchen. He picked up the phone and sat back down.

  ‘Right,’ he quietly said to himself. ‘Hospitals.’

  He began to dial the first number.

  Chapter Ten

  Thursday morning and again Matt woke to find his arm stretched over the empty space that was Ruth’s side of the bed. He shot up, sat bolt upright in bed as his brain again processed the fact that Ruth was not there.

  He looked over at the clock: just after seven. At least he had slept last night. Time to wake up Nathan and get him off to kindergarten. Then spend the day doing whatever he had to do, to quote Debra Grant Barber. Whatever that meant, he thought. Well, at least the calls to the hospitals produced nothing. Assuming she was not in a hospital outside Massachusetts. If she had gone out of S
tate… He rubbed his stubbly chin as he sat on the edge of the bed. Maybe he should also try places in Connecticut, or Vermont, or Rhode Island. Something to think about.

  He decided he would try to hurry Nathan through the getting up, eating breakfast, and setting off routine: maybe if he was in a rush he would not think about where his mother was. Foolish.

  ‘Has Mommy left for work?’ Nathan asked as Matt poured him a bowl of cereal.

  ‘Yes, sport, she has. Still very busy at work,’ Matt lied as he sat down to eat his own breakfast. He waited for a follow up question. To his relief, none came.

  As he dropped Nathan off at Bambinos, Nathan asked one more time, ‘Daddy, are you picking me up tonight, or is Mommy?’

  Matt ruffled his son’s hair. ‘Not sure yet, pal. Depends on how much Mommy has on at work. Probably be me.’

  ‘Will she be at home soon?’

  ‘Soon. You’ll be able to see her at the weekend. Only two more sleeps.’

  ‘Okay. Bye, Daddy.’

  ‘Bye, sport. Love you.’ Matt leaned over to kiss Nathan goodbye. He watched his son get safely inside, then turned and walked back home. Picked up a copy of that morning’s Globe on the way. As he walked home, he decided if Ruth had not returned by Friday night, he would tell Nathan the truth then. Or maybe he would give it until Saturday evening, after he picked him up from Gail and Ryan.

  Back indoors, he scanned the Globe for any reports of traffic accidents, or anything at all that mentioned Ruth. He found nothing.

  After clearing up the breakfast things, he decided to take a walk down to Boston Common. Maybe retrace Ruth’s steps; take the route she would have taken. He felt he needed to think things through: something he could not do indoors. He needed some open space.

  He strolled down to Beacon Street, crossed over the road, and entered the Common. He headed over to the Frog Pond. In its original state, it was the home of tadpoles, a mini nature reserve and somewhere he would like to have taken Nathan; a few years back it had been converted into a concrete wading pool. In the winter months it would be transformed into a skating rink. He sat down on a bench nearby and watched two teenagers skate around the rink. One kept falling over, to the great amusement of the other, a girl wearing a pink scarf. Matt wondered why they weren’t in school.