Hiding (Part Two)

Last night Lisa and I went to Jade Palace to get spring rolls and talk to Chu. "This is really keeping me up at night," I told her. "Are you sure Chen is working 20 of the 24 hours?"

Chu took our order and said "have a seat," pointing to the orange formica tables. They are always empty because everyone orders take-out. When the food was ready she sat with us for a minute and spoke quietly.
"Chen is not working 20 hours. She has a boyfriend and she is living with him, she works a little bit." Chu is stunningly beautiful with a broad face, black hair pulled back and clear skin.

"This has just gone from bad to worse," Lisa blurted. "People get in trouble treating their dogs this badly."

"My God," I said, "We must do something."

"The apartment is a sty and seeing it made me sick," Chu continued. "The kids are lonely," she whispered.

"I'll bet they are. I can't imagine staying inside 365 days and only seeing your mom for just a few hours a day. They probably aren't even eating real food," I said.

"I've seen cookie packages and Cheez-its in the trash," Lisa added.

"Does the boyfriend even know Chen has kids?," I asked Chu.

"Yes."

"So the boyfriend is not interested in caring for the kids?"

"NOPE!" Lisa said sarcastically.

"Chen isn't and neither is her boyfriend," Chu said.

"Wow! Okay Thank you, Chu, you've been very helpful. We'll keep you posted," I said.

"We must save them, they deserve a right to play and eat and learn and read and be LOVED. They deserve a right to a happy childhood, to daylight!" I said, as we walked back to Lisa's apartment.

"Here, would you like an order of spring rolls," Lisa said offering me the Styrofoam package.

"No, thanks," I said.

"That's okay, my son will eat them, they won't go to waste." Lisa paused. "I'm a mother, I can't stand this. I'm calling Child Services. I am calling the hotline right now." Lisa turned and went up the front steps into her apartment house. The steel door banged shut.

I walked the two blocks home. Nothing seemed as important as this right now. I collapsed on the couch, staring at the ceiling mesmerized by the slow spin of the ceiling fan. I fell asleep.

My phone vibrated on the coffee-table waking me up. "I called!" Lisa had written. "Shoot me if it was not the best thing we could do for these kids!"

"I am proud of you, Lisa," I wrote back. "You've got guts!"

The next day at breakfast I received another text from Lisa. "The hotline lady told me that the more calls they get the faster they can get to the problem. Will you call?"

"Yes. I will call." I texted back.

"Chu might be too afraid to call. She's worried about the language barrier," Lisa wrote. "Tell her they have translators!"

"Chu has given us a lot of good info," I texted. "That counts!" I took a deep breath and dialed the number Lisa had given. "Child Services," a voice answered.

"I have a neighbor down the street and there are three kids who have lived there for a year but we believe they haven't left the apartment. They have never been to school. The mother stops by for a few hours a day but is apparently not really living there."

"Do you know the full name of the mother and names and ages of the children?" the hotline lady asked.

"No I don't but I can find out and call you back."

"Okay, just ask for Jenny."

"Thank you. I will text my friend who lives in the same building as the family, she's in touch with the woman closest to the family. I'll call you right back."

I texted Lisa, and she gave me Chen's name and address. "But I do not know the ages of the kids," she wrote. "Just that the oldest is 12." Then there was a pause between texts. "Chu told me the rent has not been paid this month. God knows what Chen's thinking. I hope Child Services rescues the kids before their mother makes any more so-called decisions."

I called Jenny back. "Here's Chen's full name and address but I do not know the ages of the kids," I told her. "Just that the oldest is 12."

"Is there anything more that you'd like to tell me?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, my friend, the one who lives in the same building, called Child Services about this also. And the woman close to the family had heard that their rent has not been paid this month."

"Okay. And you said your friend phoned about this yesterday?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, yesterday afternoon."

"I will find that call and compile the information."

"And one more person might be phoning today," I offered.

"Okay we'll process this right away. Thank you."

"Thank YOU!"


Hiding (Part One)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding.html

Hiding (Part Three)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding-part-three.html

Hiding (Part Four)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/07/hiding-part-four.html