A waitress in an ice cream parlor at a mall is shocked to see two children still sitting in a booth hours after her shift started and realizes they have been abandoned. Children are precious, and yet so many people seem to think they are an inconvenient nuisance and a disposable one. At least that is how Tommy and Claire’s parents treated them. Pretending they were giving them a treat, the heartless pair abandoned the two children that they were supposed to love and protect in a crowded mall. Courtney Murphy first noticed the two kids when she served them two huge banana splits that had been ordered and paid for by a tall blonde woman in sunglasses. Courtney thought that the sunglasses were a bit weird since they were inside a mall. But hey, she’d seen weirder.
It was a Saturday and the ice cream parlor got crazy busy. That was why Courtney only noticed that the two kids were still sitting in the same booth three hours later near the end of her shift. She walked over and asked, Hi guys, can I get you anything else? The little boy, Tommy, said politely, No, thank you. The little girl, Claire, looked up at Courtney and her eyes were full of tears.
I want to go to the washroom, but I can’t go alone and Tommy can’t go with me and I really need to go. Where’s your mom? Asked Courtney. Mom and dad went shopping to get us extra special presents, he said. That’s why it’s taking so long. I see, Courtney said. Then she went to the back of the store and said to her colleague, Listen, some creeps dumped their kids here for us to babysit. I’m taking the little girl to the toilet. Can you take over for me for a minute? Courtney took little Claire to the washroom so she could have her pee, then helped her wash her hands.
How old are you? She asked. I’m four, Claire said proudly, and Tommy is six. He’s my real brother. Of course he is, Courtney said. What other brother is there? Foster ones, Claire said. There were a lot of them at the foster home. You are in a foster home? Asked Courtney. I thought you were waiting for your parents. Oh, we are, Claire said. We were in a foster home, then mom and dad adopted us. I see, Courtney said, leading Claire back to the ice cream parlor where Tommy was waiting.
Listen, guys, my shift is ending now and you two can’t stay here. I’ll wait with you outside in the food court for your mom and dad. No, cried Tommy, we have to wait here. Daddy said so. Look, Courtney said, my boss doesn’t let people leave their children here. We will sit at that table over there. That way, when your mom and dad arrive, we will see them, okay? Tommy reluctantly agreed, and the three of them sat at the table in a plain view of the ice cream parlor. After a while, Courtney got the children burgers and French fries and they played I Spy. The hours went by, but Tommy and Claire’s parents didn’t show up.
Finally, it was nine PM and the mall was about to close. Courtney was sure the kid’s parents weren’t coming back. She walked a few steps away from the children, so they couldn’t hear her and called security. Hi, she said. This is Courtney Murphy from Ice Cream Bananarama. I have two kids here whose parents seem to have just dumped them. What should I do? Security told Courtney they were sending someone right over and advised her to call the police.
The police came and along with them came a lady from child services. Courtney told her story and the police and the social worker tried to get Tommy and Claire to go with them. Tommy started screaming and clinging to the table. Mommy and Daddy said they’d come back. We have to be good and stay here. We have to. He was so distressed that eventually the police had to call an ambulance and they took the two children to the hospital. Courtney went along with them hoping a familiar face would make things easier. In the ambulance, Claire and Tommy clung to her.
When they arrived at the hospital, the social worker requested that the children be seen by a doctor to make sure they were okay. The doctor gave Tommy a sedative. Then he took blood and examined the two children. He gave Tommy a clean bill of health, but he frowned when he examined Claire. A few hours later, he came back and he looked very grave. Are you these children’s Guardian? He asked the social worker sitting next to Courtney. When the woman confirmed, he said, The little boy is healthy, but I’m afraid the little girl is very sick.
She needs immediate treatment. Sick? Asked the social worker. What’s wrong? She has leukemia, he said. You didn’t know? No, the social worker said. These children were abandoned at a mall this evening. They told me they are adopted, Courtney said, and their brother and sister. The social worker logged on to the database and discovered that Tommy and Claire had been adopted, but they were supposedly living in a town 200 miles away. They dumped them here hoping we’d never find out, the social worker said. But why? Asked Courtney. Why would they do that? The doctor was shaking his head sadly.
They probably found out about Claire’s illness, he said. They probably weren’t prepared to accept the burden, financial or otherwise. Burden? Cried Courtney. How can anyone think those sweet kids are a burden? That night, Courtney couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about Tommy and Claire. The next day, she went to visit them in the hospital. Listen, guys, she said, I’m still at college and I can’t give you a home, but I’d like to be your big sister. What do you say? You won’t run away? Asked Tommy fearfully. Never, Courtney promised. I’m on you like flies on maple syrup.
And she kept her word. Five years later, when Courtney finally graduated from college and got a good job, she adopted Tommy and Claire, who had fortunately overcome her illness. They were a family forever.
