Sahm I Am - By Meredith Efken Page 0,39
officers wanted to keep all my stuff I bought as evidence, but they settled for photographing everything instead. By this time, I’d been interviewed by several TV reporters and it was well past 5:30. The girls were getting really fussy and hungry, and I could just imagine how irate Tom would be by now, waiting for us in the café all by himself.
But just as I was beginning to think we’d never be allowed to leave, there came Tom, practically running toward us, pushing everyone out of the way.
“Dulcie!” He grabbed me and gave me such a tight hug I could hardly breathe. “You okay?”
McKenzie piped up, “Mommy killed a bad man who tried to take all our presents, just like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and lots of police and fire trucks came. And now they’re just standing around talking. I’m hungry, can we eat soon?”
“I didn’t kill him.” I corrected her. “I…made him go to sleep for a while.”
“You won’t make me go to sleep that way, will you?”
Even Officer Grumpky smiled at that one.
“Never, sweetie,” I told her. Then I asked Tom, “How did you know where we were?”
He shrugged. “Some firefighter came and told me.”
It had to have been Eric—come to think of it, I had mentioned we were supposed to meet Tom in the Crayola Café. How kind of him to find Tom for me!
One of the reporters stopped Tom and asked him what he thought about his wife helping to capture one of the busiest thieves in KC. Tom grinned at me and replied, “My wife’s throwing arm is almost legendary. You don’t want to get in the path of any of her projectiles.”
Oh, great. The reporter lifts her eyebrows and says, “I take it you speak from personal experience?”
I’m standing there thinking, Please, oh please, don’t mention the episode with the apple and the black eye!
Tom puts his arm around my shoulders and squeezes. “Only the sort that comes from playing softball with an apple.”
Whew! Sometimes, I just LOVE my husband. (Well, actually, I love him all the time…but you know what I mean.) Anyway, the reporter gave us a weird look but didn’t ask any more questions.
It was nearly 6:30 by the time we finally got to the restaurant. And when we returned to the hotel, there was a message on our answering machine from Brenda Walkers, with Newsline, asking me to call her! It turns out, they were in KC this week doing a news story about shopping mall theft during the holidays, and had spoken with the police and some of the victims of the man I caught. So tomorrow morning I’m supposed to have an interview with her in the meeting room here, and they’re planning to air the show in two weeks!
Plus, one of the mall executives walked up to us at dinner and told me that Hallmark was offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of anybody in connection with parking lot theft, so I also got that and a whole bunch of gift certificates for various shops and restaurants!
We watched the local news at 10 this evening, even let McKenzie stay up for it. She thought it was so cool to see us on TV. I thought it was pretty cool myself.
Sorry for the LONG e-mail, but I just had to tell you all what happened. Besides, I’m too wound up to go to sleep. Tom’s already snoring away in bed. How DO guys do that?
Dulcie
* * *
From:
Zelia Muzuwa
To:
“Green Eggs and Ham”
Subject:
Re: [SAHM I AM] Turn on your TVs! (warning, LONG post!)
* * *
No fair, Dulcie! When Griffith stuck his head in the kitty post, we only made local news. Where was Brenda Walkers THEN? :)
With media envy,
Z
* * *
From:
Connie Lawson
To:
SAHM I Am
Subject:
Re: [SAHM I AM] Turn on your TVs! (warning, LONG post!)
* * *
Dulcie, I am SO glad you are all right! You and your children could have been seriously injured. If it had been me, I would have let him take the bags. No amount of purchases are worth risking your life for. What if he’d had a gun?
But this is a good time to bring up the subject of shopping mall safety. I’ve attached a list of good rules we all should follow when out shopping, especially during the holiday season. I trust you all will take this lesson to heart and practice common sense.
And I’m sure that Dulcie and her family will be thanking God with greater