Chapter 7
December 23
Wattles Road (AKA: 17 Mile Road), Troy, Michigan
“Joshua?” Peter said after what seemed like hours of silence.
They had been traveling at reasonable speeds, uncloaked, through surface streets for the past half an hour or more. The trip back was indeed a very fast one. Peter had taken almost the exact same path they had followed north, but without doing any investigation, nor any other stops except to say goodbye to Hattie and then Agent Bartholomew once they’d gotten back to the park near Duluth.
Of course the farewells had been sad. And Hattie had actually given Joshua a hug and a kiss on the cheek for good measure. But they were short. Everyone was terrible tired, and considering it was late at night on the twenty-third it was just as well. Josh’s parents, despite repeatedly being “magic’d” according to what Josh learned from Home on the way, were beginning to worry that the following day was Christmas Eve and their son still hadn’t returned home from the Essay-Writing conference. In fact, the pleasant female voice in the cockpit had reported by the time Peter and Josh were in the northern tip of southern Michigan that the agency had had to intercept calls to the school district offices, which were of course closed, twice.
The rouse had so far been successful, but even the agent online at Home was beginning to sound impatient for Peter to get everyone home and wrap up the investigation.
Once Peter had pulled the machine off 17-mile road and onto Josh’s street, he pulled over. There ahead of the CCV, with a light dusting of the flurries that had been going on around them since Minnesota, was the slick black sedan that Agent Samuel had first shown up in at the middle school. It was a welcoming site for Josh. He liked the CCV well enough of course. And he would never have wanted to give up his experience on the adventure with Peter, Hattie and the rest of the group. But it was time for a warm, familiar bed, and some nice hot cocoa on Christmas Eve in the morning.
An agent stepped out of the sedan as they parked. Josh thought the man must have been one of the most severely bearded man he’d ever met, oddly also wearing large sunglasses at night, until the person dressed in a black suit similar to Peter and Agent Bartholomew spoke in greeting to the pair. It turned out she was a woman, or at least a female of whatever she was.
“Thank you Agent Preti,” Peter said, swapping keys. “See you after the break next week.”
The woman hummed something in agreement and went to the CCV. Peter popped the sedan’s trunk and throw in Josh’s belongings including the bag and then motioned him to get in the passenger seat.
“Was that a Sasq…?” Josh started to ask.
“Tsst-tut!” Peter said. “They don’t like you to call them that at all. And with everything we’ve just been through you should recognize that was not one.”
“What was she then?”
Peter smiled kindly. “Nevermind for now. I’m sure you’re going to find out some day.”
They started the car and drove the half a mile down Wentworth Drive and pulled into the driveway of Josh’s home. The snow had melted and iced again and was crunchy under the tires. When Josh and Peter shut their doors lights started coming on inside the house. His parents must not have been sleeping well waiting for Josh to return.
As they walked up the path to the front door, Mrs. Manders with her husband behind her were waiting.
“Oh, Josh! What has taken so long!” his mother asked.
“He made it to final rounds and won the contest, Mrs. Manders. I’m here to present you with his certificate and with the check for winning!” Peter said. “My name is Mr. Samuel. Peter Samuel. I’m with the regional council on education.”
Josh’s mother welcomed them in. Peter mentioned he couldn’t stay long because it had unfortunately ran so late that it was very nearly Christmas Eve, as if Mr. and Mrs. Manders had to be told such a thing. Sitting at the kitchenette table, Peter wrote out a check on the school districts account apparently for $500. Joshua eyed him curiously, not sure whether it was a joke or what.
“Alright then, Josh. Time to get to bed,” said his father.
His parents fussed for a moment over the certificate of achievement and the check that Peter had somehow magically produced. Josh wondered how Peter had accomplished it. Perhaps the lady that brought the car back had left it in the sedan for him to use?
Never the less, Peter took a moment to pull Joshua aside and gave him a business card. On the front was his name and some vague lettering that said IPMA, but definitely did not make it clear who or what that was. It included an email address and a couple phone numbers.
“To keep in touch,” Peter said, smiling and turned towards the door. “I want you to report to me anything you see going on with the Yeti. …Or anything else, too, really.”
“Yeah?” Josh said with a grin. “You’re really not going to wipe my mind?”
Peter laughed quietly while his mother was busy putting the check away in the kitchen. “No. It would be pretty hard to wipe all memory of this whole adventure.”
“Yeah, probably,” Josh agreed absent-mindedly, turning the card over.
“Besides…look at the back.”
Josh did and as Peter stepped outside, he noticed that Hattie had written him a little note. It asked him to write her regularly so they can keep up on their research together. But her name had been signed with a little heart above the “i” as some girls did in his school on all their homework, and a farewell in French that read, “À la prochaine!”
“It means she’ll see you later,” Peter said.
“Oh,” Josh replied. Not sure what else to say.
“You know… because you’re twelve now,” Peter grinned on the front porch step. “It’s okay to kind of like girls now, see?”
“Oh, right,” he agreed non-committal-like again. Then a moment of wisdom hit him. “And…it’s okay to believe in Santa Claus when you’re twelve too?”
Peter stepped off the porch and raised a hand in farewell gesture. “And to believe in Christmas Miracles too. Belief is a very powerful thing, Josh. It can lead to a little faith even. And you’re going to need it if I’m ever going to train you as a partner.”
Josh smiled and raised his hand too. He giggled a little, glad he had made a new friend. Correction, he thought, new friends.
As the black sedan started and the projector headlights cast spotlights on the garage door, Mrs. Manders called to Josh. “Honey, can you come in please. I’ve got some very big news for you too!”
~ The End ~