Covert Rescue Mission –

On an average Sunday afternoon, the family and I went to Boston Market for lunch. As usual, Mason's best friend Bear tagged along. We don't mind because he never fusses about where we go to eat or that Mason is touching him or breathing funny.

We had a delicious baked chicken lunch with the usual comfort food sides and headed out to run some errands...and left Bear sitting in his chair. Because Bear is so laid back, he was left in a restaurant to defend for himself. Poor kid. All he had to do is call out!

We had gotten all the way home before we realized that Bear was missing. I knew exactly where he was. Of course, Mason was in tears. It seriously felt like someone had ripped the heart right from my chest. So, we headed back to Boston Market. Mason, being the intuitive kid that he is, asked me, "What if he isn't there?" Again, a tug at my heart. I had to explain to him that there ARE honest people in the world and that hopefully someone did the right thing by not taking him home, but if he did go live with another family we hope that he's happy.

Boston Market is about a 20 minute drive (with traffic) from our house. That was a very long drive, especially for a little boy worried about his friend. When we arrived, we looked in the seat that we left poor Bear all alone. Bear was no longer sitting there. I felt a twinge in the pit of my stomach. As we walked up to the counter to ask one of the employees about Bear, I saw a very familiar face sitting there. It was Bear. Thank goodness! The look of relief on Mason's face was enough to let me know that he had learned his lesson about keeping track of his things.

Mission successful!