Dottie

Music drifted through the air. I swayed gently in the middle of the room, savoring every piano note and drawn-out lyric. I’d been busy for weeks, and had a packed schedule for the upcoming months, so that was the last time I’d have a night to myself for a long time. I didn’t really plan for it to happen, I had obligations for that night, but everything had been canceled or rescheduled, leaving me with an opportunity in my lap. I liked being alone. Being surrounded by people all the time was stressful, but I never got the opportunity to be alone often. I was determined to take advantage of the opportunity.

I spun in circles, watching the room revolve. There wasn’t anything specific I wanted to do. There were books I hadn’t read, an entire album from my favorite artist that I had yet to listen to, I was a few episodes behind on all the shows I watched, and there were recipes I wanted to try. The loose plan I’d made was to listen to the music, make dinner, watch the shows while I ate, then read before bed. My friends would have called it boring, and my sisters would have come to drag me out to some restaurant I’d never heard of, but they were all too busy to judge.

The last notes of the last song rang out, and I restarted the CD. I turned it up loud enough that I could hear it all over the house and went to the kitchen. The recipe I wanted to try wasn’t fancy, it was simple and cheap. It was essentially a recipe for making boxed macaroni and cheese more interesting. It only took fifteen minutes to make, which was ideal. It meant that I could get to my shows sooner. I was draining the noodles when the doorbell rang. I paused, thinking I’d imagined it, but the melodic chime rang out again.

I shut off the music and peeked out the window. Standing on the porch was a child. I opened the door and the little girl lit up. She couldn’t have been more than five. Her thin hair was held in a loose braid, and the hem of her dress was stained with mud.

“Um, hello?” I glanced around the street behind her, trying to spot an adult or older child. There was no one.

“Hi! Have you seen my puppy?”

I bristled. As a little girl, I was warned constantly of the tactics that people would use to lure me away from safety. Asking for help finding a puppy had been one of them.

“No,”

“Okay!” The girl hopped off the porch and started to skip away.

“Wait!” She turned to look at me with her big brown eyes. “Come back.”

She sprang back up the steps. “Did you see him?”

“Not yet. Sweetie, are your parents with you?”

“Nope,”

“Do you live around here?” She shrugged. “Do your parents know you’re out here?”

“I don’t know.”

I scanned the street again, searching for signs of a trap. The sun was going down, and I couldn’t let a little girl wander around in the dark alone. She didn’t seem worried at all, but, in my experience, little kids didn’t usually grasp how much danger they could be in.

“What’s your name, honey?”

“Dottie,”

“Okay, Dottie, do you want some mac and cheese?”

She took a step forward, then hesitated. “I’m not supposed to take food from strangers.”

“Alright, well, my name’s Emily. Would you like some mac and cheese?”

“Yes please!” Dottie darted past me and into the house.

I was simultaneously relieved and horrified that that was all it took to get her in the house. It was convenient that I didn’t have to follow her around the neighborhood, and that I was able to keep her in one place while I figured out where she was supposed to be. But someone else with less pure intentions could have lured her in just as easily.

“Your wall is pretty.” Dottie was staring with wonder at the front wall.

In a fit of boredom when I’d first moved in, I’d gotten a bunch of free paint from a garage sale and painted on the wall. Splotches of random colors gave the wall a watercolor effect.

“Thank you.” I touched her shoulder as I walked, indicating that she should follow me. “Let’s eat.”

She followed me into the kitchen and hopped into a chair at the table. I scooped the macaroni into two bowls and got two spoons. I slid a bowl and spoon over to her, and she shoveled noodles into her mouth.

“Dottie, how long have you been looking for your puppy?”

“Since playtime.”

“When’s playtime?”

“After snack time.”

“When’s snack time?”

“After quiet time.”

I sighed and took a bite of the noodles. That line of questioning clearly wouldn’t get me anywhere. I watched the little girl frantically eat. I couldn’t tell if she hadn’t eaten in a while, or if she was just a quick eater.

“Where do you live, honey?”

“I’m not supposed to tell strangers where I live.”

“I’m not a stranger, remember? You know me.”

“Oh.” Dottie twirled the end of her braid around her finger. “I live across from the park.”

“Which park?”

“The one with the tall slide.”

“Right. What color is your house?”

“Blue,”

That didn’t help, not in the slightest. I didn’t even know how far my search radius should be. Should I call the police? Could they help?

“What are your parent's names?”

“Momma and mommy.”

“Do you know their phone number?”

Dottie paused, looking thoughtful. My heart lit up. If she knew their phone number, I could return her quickly. Her moms were probably worried sick and frantically searching for their daughter.

“It’s three.”

My hope of getting her home quickly crashed to the ground. There was no one for me to call, everyone was busy, and would probably be as confused as I was. Dottie seemed completely at ease with me, which was nice. At least I didn’t have to deal with a frightened child.

“Dottie, what’s your full name?”

She scrunched her nose at me. “You mean the name the doctor uses?”

“Yes, that one.”

“Dorothea Andrews.”

I mentally filed the name away. I wasn’t entirely sure what I could do with it, but it was something.

“Does the doctor call your moms by another name?”

“Uh-huh. She calls momma, Regina, and mommy, Ana.”

Ana and Regina Andrews, great, what can I do with that?

“Can we go look for Rolly?”

I almost said no. I almost told her that we needed to stay at my house. But her big eyes looked so sincere. She cared about her puppy, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that we probably wouldn’t find it.

“Of course.”

I put the bowls and the pot in the sink. Dottie sat on the couch while I got flashlights, pepper spray, my keys, and my jacket. I decided against putting her in my car, and we started walking down the street. She slipped her hand into mine, and her flashlight bobbed along as she skipped. I didn’t know what to say to her, what else to ask. She didn’t seem to know any information that would help me track down her moms, or even get her to the appropriate neighborhood.

I could picture her moms searching frantically. Their little Dottie, who loved her puppy, was gone. Were they even looking for her? I shook my head. Of course, they were looking for her. Who wouldn’t want her back?

“Alright, Dottie, we’re gonna take a detour, okay?”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to see the police.”

“Are we gonna ask them about Rolly?”

“Absolutely.”

We walked to the station. The sun was gone, and nighttime had fully claimed the sky. Dottie seemed aware of the dangers that the dark could hold. She gripped my hand tightly and stopped skipping, instead, pressing herself against me as she walked.

She sat in a chair at the police station, and I explained to the officer behind the counter what had happened. He asked me all the things I had asked Dottie, and I gave him all the answers that Dottie had given me. He looked up her name and told me that she’d already been reported missing and that he was going to contact her moms.

“Emily?” Dottie had been silent the whole time and I flinched when she spoke.

“Yes, Dottie?”

“Am I in trouble?” She wrung her little hands and gave me a look filled with genuine fear.

“Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“In the movies, people that get taken to the cops are always in trouble.”

“We’re just here so they can call-“

The door flew open, and two women sprinted toward us. They scooped Dottie up and fretted over her. They spoke loudly and cried and examined her and held her close.

“Momma! Momma! Let go!” Dottie wriggled until she got put down. “I didn’t find Rolly.”

“What do you mean?” One of the women, I assumed Regina, spoke. “Rolly’s at home.”

“Yay!”

“Honey,” The other woman, Ana, knelt in front of Dottie. She cast me a look that was almost a glare. “What happened? Why are you with this woman?”

“I left the gate open, and I thought Rolly got out. I didn’t want you to be mad, so I went to look for him, but I didn’t find him, but I found Emily, and she gave me mac and cheese and brought me here.” She paused and looked at the floor. “Are you mad at me?”

“Of course not.” Ana pulled her in for a hug, and Regina turned to me.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

The two of them attempted to pay me for helping Dottie get home. After some banter, and me slowly running out of ways to politely turn them down, they gave me five dollars for the mac and cheese, and their phone numbers, in case I ever needed anything.

I went home and stood in the middle of my living room. I needed to be up at six, and it was already eleven. All my precious free time was gone, but I was okay with that. There would be other nights to spend by myself.