Misunderstood
It was two in the afternoon. All I said was, “I will be with Ronald and I’ll be out until dark.” What my mother heard was, “I will be with Ronald and I’ll be out at the park.”
These were the days before cellphones and tracking devices. Basically, you went where you went and did what you did, and as long as you came home on time no one was worried. Even though my mother knew I’d be with Ronald and had some trepidations, what could possibly go wrong at the park.
After 3 hours, my mother began to wonder what I was doing for so long at the park. After all, the park was just a block away from our house and there wasn’t much you could do there. Then again, I was with Ronald. My mother sent one of my sisters out to check up on me.
Needless to say, since I never did go to the park that day, I was not to be found. When my sister returned with that news, my mother began to be concerned. Two hours later, while it was still light outside on this summer’s day, panic began to set in.
Since my family didn’t have a car and no one at that time could drive anyway, my mother was unsure what to do. She asked some neighbors if they could help look for me. They got in their cars and drove around trying to find me to no avail.
That’s when she decided to call the police. They arrived pretty quickly and began their own search having been given my description.
As the sun began to set, darkness began to fall, with my parents waiting anxiously by the phone for some news, I walked into the house totally unaware of what was going on.
My mother rushed to me, gave me a big hug, and demanded to know what had happened. Why had I left the park?
“I never went to the park,” was my reply.
“But you said you were going out to the park!” was my mother’s angry reply. “And you were with Ronald!”
“Yes, I was with Ronald, playing ball up on the roof of his apartment. I said I would be out until dark, not at the park,” I answered somewhat emphatically, knowing my mother was not a big fan of Ronald.
My mother realizing her mistake and trying to save some face said, “Well you should have called to let me know where you were.”
Bewildered, I said I would the next time.
I wasn’t around when she had to explain this all to the neighbors and the police. Knowing her, she probably blamed it all on Ronald.
