A New Bicycle
Two boys were coming from behind a neighbor's home one afternoon. It was a new neighbor. Lovely woman with two small children of her own. I had met her. I thought she was a nice lady. I like her children.
Nobody was home at her house, no lights were on. The two boys had a bicycle. I had seen the bicycle behind the house in the past. I thought it was a bad idea to leave the bicycle out like that even though the yard is fenced in.
On this day the fence lock was missing. The smaller of the two boys, who appeared to be about six looked at me and said, "We're getting my brothers bike, he left it here."
"Oh...what is your name?" I asked him.
"M." he answered "My brother's name is N."
"Where do you live?"
"Over there." he pointed his pinkie at a house two doors down.
"Does Mrs. V know you've left your bike in her yard?"
"She said it was okay, she knows."
Two days later I knocked on Mrs. V.'s door. I asked her about the bicycle. She told me how much her daughter had cried when she saw that the bicycle was missing.
I walked her to the house where the boys live. They live in a basement apartment. The little guy M. was coming up the stairs. I asked him what he had done with the bicycle.
"My brother gave it to his friend L. "
"Can you get the bike back? It belongs to Mrs. V.'s daughter and she is very sad because it is missing."
"Unh unh, L. gave it to......"
A series of possessions followed. The crucial element being that the bicycle was hopelessly gone. Less likely to appear than Elvis at the mall or Jimmy Hoffa in a tutu. I asked if his mother was home, I hoped she would take charge of the situation.
"She workin'."
Mrs. V said she'd come back later.
A week had passed. Mrs. V. was coming home from work when I next saw her. Her kids were with her. She told me she had decided to report the bicycle to the police since M. confessed and she had a witness. She said that the boys mother had been no help.
A few days later, I saw the boys at the corner store. I asked if they had gotten the bicycle back to Mrs. V. The bigger boy assured me that they had. Then I ran into Mrs. V.
"Yes the police came right after I called them and they went to talk to the boys. They told the police that they had given the bicycle to you. The policeman said he could not do anything because the boys didn't have the bike anymore."
Nobody was home at her house, no lights were on. The two boys had a bicycle. I had seen the bicycle behind the house in the past. I thought it was a bad idea to leave the bicycle out like that even though the yard is fenced in.
On this day the fence lock was missing. The smaller of the two boys, who appeared to be about six looked at me and said, "We're getting my brothers bike, he left it here."
"Oh...what is your name?" I asked him.
"M." he answered "My brother's name is N."
"Where do you live?"
"Over there." he pointed his pinkie at a house two doors down.
"Does Mrs. V know you've left your bike in her yard?"
"She said it was okay, she knows."
Two days later I knocked on Mrs. V.'s door. I asked her about the bicycle. She told me how much her daughter had cried when she saw that the bicycle was missing.
I walked her to the house where the boys live. They live in a basement apartment. The little guy M. was coming up the stairs. I asked him what he had done with the bicycle.
"My brother gave it to his friend L. "
"Can you get the bike back? It belongs to Mrs. V.'s daughter and she is very sad because it is missing."
"Unh unh, L. gave it to......"
A series of possessions followed. The crucial element being that the bicycle was hopelessly gone. Less likely to appear than Elvis at the mall or Jimmy Hoffa in a tutu. I asked if his mother was home, I hoped she would take charge of the situation.
"She workin'."
Mrs. V said she'd come back later.
A week had passed. Mrs. V. was coming home from work when I next saw her. Her kids were with her. She told me she had decided to report the bicycle to the police since M. confessed and she had a witness. She said that the boys mother had been no help.
A few days later, I saw the boys at the corner store. I asked if they had gotten the bicycle back to Mrs. V. The bigger boy assured me that they had. Then I ran into Mrs. V.
"Yes the police came right after I called them and they went to talk to the boys. They told the police that they had given the bicycle to you. The policeman said he could not do anything because the boys didn't have the bike anymore."
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