“You okay, son?” The policeman driving looked at him in the mirror, and he saw the policewoman in the passenger seat turn to look at him. They didn’t smile. There was nothing here to smile about.

Brady clutched the small bag he held on his lap and nodded. He didn’t know what to say. What could he say? These two people had roused him at the motel and Mrs. Hawkins, kind Mrs. Hawkins was crying and it had been so….so awkward. He wanted to cry, but he didn’t know how. He was only twelve, and he had just been told his parents were dead, and he should feel something, shouldn’t he? He wanted to feel something, but there was just nothing there.

The lady policeman was still looking at him. “Brady, we’re going to take you someplace where you can stay for a while until we sort this out. I know this must be really hard for you, but right now we just need to get you to a safe place.”

“Mrs. Hawkins said I could stay with her.”

The two police looked at each other then the lady said, “That wouldn’t be appropriate, Brady. We have to find out who to contact about your parents’ accident and see if we can find a family member to take you to.”

“I don’t think I have any family. They never said anything about any family, except that their parents had died a while back and that’s it.”

“They never talked about sisters or brothers? Aunts? Uncles?”

“They didn’t talk to me much about none of that.” Brady turned and stared out the window, watching the sun begin to come up. He was thinking back, trying to remember, but his parents never much talked to him at all, and certainly not about any family. He knew, because when he asked one time, his mom had just told him they were all dead and gone and good riddance; except for once time. “ My dad said one time that his Aunt Mattie was still alive. I think he said it was his mom’s sister or something.”

“Did he ever say where she lived?” The lady had her notebook and little pencil out.

“Somewhere like in Kentucky? I remember dad said it had a “more” in its name.”

She jotted something down. “That’s good, Brady. It’s a start. If you think of anything else, even something that seems dumb or not important, let me know, okay?”

Brady just nodded and looked out the window again. He was thinking back to the discussion about Aunt Mattie.

“Ma’am?” The lady turned around again. “My dad said she had a little bitty house, said it had been in his family for a long time. Maybe that will help?”

She smiled at him. “Good job. We’ll drop you at Social Services and I’ll start researching what you said.”

It was several weeks later, and Brady was again in the back seat of a car being driven by a person he barely knew. Miss Johnson was his social worker, and he had only seen her a couple of times, but here he was being driven to a place he’d never been to meet someone he had never met because this Aunt Mattie lady was now his guardian and he would live with her. His mind was all over the place, but he appeared calm to the woman driving.

“You okay back there, Brady?”

Her question took Brady back to the night the police had come to tell him about the accident that had killed his mom and dad; different car, different driver, another adult he didn’t know but who was now in charge of his life and who was driving him somewhere to meet yet another adult he’d never met who would continue to have charge of his life.

“I’m fine,” Brady said. But was he really? He had no idea.