Every year about this time, Bill and I take Dave, Jll, and Allen out to dinner for their birthdays. We did so last Sunday. Dave and Jll picked us up about 6:25, and as we drove the short distance to Bonefish Grill, I asked who was babysitting the kids since Adelaide was out of town. Jll told me that Dagny and Magnolia were by themselves for about 15 minutes or so until Alastair got home from some activity. Her mother lives across the street, and she was “on call.” Jll had explained to them that their brother would likely come in through the garage, so she told them not to worry if they heard the garage door open.

About 7:10, Jll’s cell phone rang. It was Magnolia. I could tell from listening to Jll’s side of the conversation that Magnolia and Dagny were concerned because Alastair apparently hadn’t come home. Jll told them that she would call the woman who was supposed to drop Alastair off at 6:45 and find out what was going on. I was surprised to see that as she disconnected her phone, she was chuckling.

She explained to us that she would be willing to bet that Maggie and Dagny were upstairs in her bedroom watching television, and that Alastair was sitting downstairs in the family room watching television himself. She confirmed that he had, in fact, been dropped off as expected at 6:45. Jll called Maggie back to tell her that her brother was snug as a bug in a rug downstairs.

We all had a good laugh, and continued eating. About an hour later, Jll’s phone rang again. It was Jll’s mother. This time, as Jll disconnected her phone, she was laughing out loud. It apparently took Alastair about an hour before he began wondering about his sisters (who hadn’t gone downstairs to check to see if he was there), and telephoned his grandmother to see if she knew their whereabouts.

It obviously didn’t occur to any of them to go to the top or the bottom of the stairs and hollar, “yoo hoo, is anyone there?”

As Jll said, “It isn’t like we live in a mansion!”

I still laugh when I think about the case of the missing siblings.

Have a great weekend.