The girl had grown rather attached to Mrs. Patterson and the old woman had allowed Amanda to come over, keeping her company out on the front porch where she sat in the evenings watching the neighbors mill about. She knew everything and everyone knew her, but it was her locally famous meatless meatballs that she was the most known for. Her family had owned and operated a small, yet very busy diner for most of her life and now that she was retired, it had closed down and sold to a gentleman that turned the building into an ice cream shop. She'd always loved the diner and prided herself on preparing the best dishes in town and all admired her for it. Sometimes she missed it, but at least she could still cook and share her best selling dish for the few friends that she would call upon when she was feeling lonely.
Turning the oven off, Mrs. Patterson left the meatballs to cool as she made her way to the front door. The smile returned when she spotted the newspaper in the porch mailbox where the paperboy would place it as he went about his bike deliveries though the tight-knit subdivision. Jimmy was a responsible twelve year old and she was happy to have him back on the paper route, even though the only reason for his return was the absence of the new papergirl......the missing Amanda.
"Tisk, tisk!" she mumbled to herself as she stepped out to sit in the porch swing, ready to enjoy the paper. Her faded blue eyes dropped to the bold headline on the front page, LOCAL PAPERGIRL STILL MISSING. "No new leads..." her voice trailed off as she read further on, nodding in agreement with the police that Amanda Parker's disappearance could, somehow, be linked to her paper route. After all, she'd went out to make the deliveries on her bike and hadn't been seen since.
It appeared no one knew what to think since nothing had been found, not a clue as to exactly what had happened to the girl. "Perhaps a neighbor had something to do with the child's disappearance." the newspaper suggested, "Had it been an abduction? A kidnapping? A murder? Nobody knows for sure."
She shook the horrible image from her head and went about skimming the rest of the newspaper before she stood and made her way carefully back to the kitchen and began placing the cooled meatballs into a covered dish. She'd decided to make a visit to the Parker house that evening to bring them something wholesome to eat. She wouldn't be surprised if the young couple hadn't eaten a bite since Amanda went missing, being so distraught over their daughter's absence.
'It's a shame,' she thought to herself, 'such fine parents they are too!' Placing the last meatball into the dish, she sealed the lid and made her way over to the neighbor's house with the container in hand. She was greeted at the door by Mr. Parker and once inside, Amanda's mother, Ruth, welcomed the older lady in with a hug. Mrs. Patterson softly pat the sniffling young mother's back, insisting everything was going to be alright in a soft, soothing voice until Mrs. Parker pulled back and gave an attempt of a smile to her kind, grandmotherly neighbor.
"Thank you, Mrs. Patterson." Her voice was small and wavering, but her sweet smile was genuine as she took the dish from the old woman's wrinkled hands. "Your meatless meatballs?" Ruth asked and was rewarded with a comforting smile and a nod.
Andy Parker, took the dish from his wife's hands and carried it to the kitchen. He went about absentmindedly setting the table for three and stopped after a few moments, finally realizing that his Amanda wouldn't be home for dinner again tonight....maybe never again! The thought pierced his heart, but he knew he had to be strong for his wife and right now, setting the table was a much needed distraction for him as he waited for his daughter's return. He knew the police were doing all they could and he just had to have faith that they would bring his little girl home safely.
While her husband was warming their dinner, Ruth hugged her little girl's sweater to her chest as she spoke to Mrs. Patterson. "We don't know what to do. I feel so helpless sitting here when others are out looking for Amanda, but the police told us we are needed at the house in case she comes home or if someone calls..." she choked on a sob and looked pleadingly to the old woman seated beside her on the sofa. "I just want my baby back."
"Shhh, child, the police are doing all that can be done." Mrs. Patterson's voice was firm and then softened as she pulled Ruth against her for a hug, "You and Andrew must be strong for one another."
"Dinner's on the table." Andy announced from the dining room. The ladies stood and Mrs. Patterson shuffled ahead of Ruth, but turned in time to see the child's mother wad Amanda's sweater up, carelessly pitching it behind the sofa before strolling past the old woman to the awaiting meal.
Now that Mrs. Patterson was back home, she sat reflecting over her dinner with the Parkers. The conversation was strained, almost non-existent and she blamed herself, but she just couldn't get the image of Ruth tossing away Amanda's sweater away so callously. She'd been hugging it prior to that, so why the sudden change? Had it all been an act for sympathy? She sat rocking in her chair for quite some time before she stood to go to bed.
The next morning, the old woman was up early and anticipating Saturday's newspaper and again, it was tucked into her porch mailbox, just as she instructed Jimmy, the paperboy to do. She smiled to herself as she shuffled over to her porch swing and sat down ready to enjoy a quiet read. Again, the front page was covered with articles of the missing girl, but none offered any more information than the previous ones. She sighed and went about skimming the rest of the paper, only reading the bits and pieces that drew her interest. Once finished, she folded it carefully, laying it down so she could began her daily observation of the neighbors milling about.
Just as with every Saturday, most all fathers in the subdivision were out mowing their lawns, even Andy Parker. Mrs. Patterson was very relieved to see him moving on with his life even though his daughter was still missing. After all, he was still a young man and he needed to keep himself busy, so he wouldn't drive himself frantic with worry. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of Ruth's behavior from last night, but decided to let it go. Who was she to question how a distraught mother should react under the horrible condition of losing a child?
Laughter drew her attention away from the Parkers lawn and over to several boys playing football in the front yard across the street. She recognized her paperboy among the crowd and smiled as she watched him catch the football and run between a couple of boys to an imaginary line in the grass before tossing the ball to the ground and yelling 'Touchdown!' as he did a little dance. A few of the boys ran up to cheer alongside him before they all made a small circle to discuss the next game strategy.
Jimmy was a good boy and did as he was told. He always put her newspaper where she'd instructed him to. Everyday without fail, when he was the paperboy, her newspaper was always in the porch mailbox and she didn't have to risk the steps to find it. Many children didn't realize how important it was for an elderly person to be able to get to their paper, tossing it wherever it happened to land and just going on about their paper route, not caring that an old person like herself could get hurt searching through the bushes for it.
Amanda wasn't like Jimmy at all. When she'd taken over the paper deliveries, she would just throw the papers into the yard, not bothering to take the time to see if the older neighbors could reach or even find their newspapers. Mrs. Patterson couldn't begin to count all the times she'd told the little girl, while she was over visiting, to put the newspaper in the porch mailbox. The woman let her know how important the news was to the older generation, sometimes, it's the only thing still linking them to the outside world. Didn't she see what that meant to her?
Well, Jimmy understood that and Mrs. Patterson was happy to have him back as her paperboy. Sometimes, a person has to make changes themselves to get things done right and if Amanda had to be taught a lesson then that was what had to be done. After all, the results were well worth it. Of course, Mrs. Patterson's famous "meatless meatballs" were a lie now, but something had to be done with all that young, tender meat in her freezer....
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