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Chapter Forty Seven

An early December morning found Bernice and Sandra sitting at the table in the nook working on plans for their upcoming Christmas benefit. Lisa stood nearby looking out the window where white caps and high winds warned of an approaching storm. A mysterious sense of uneasiness stirred within her. Impulsively, she sat down on the edge of the leather upholstered bench seat and scooted in close to Bernice.
"Bernie, did you know it was snowing back east?"
"Yes dear, I'm aware of that. We watched the news together this morning, remember?" she said casually. "What's the point?"
"I was just thinking. I know you've written letters, but you said you were going to phone your daughter and I can tell it's been eating at you. Remember what the Doc says, 'a restless mind should lead us to the conclusion that our soul is restless'."
Annoyed, Bernice stopped what she was doing and gazed at Lisa. Lisa didn't flinch. "True, she hasn't answered your letters and has been ignoring you for a long time, but don't you think it's time you rose above it?
"Remember how you bugged me to call my mother. It turned out to be the best thing I ever did. And look how you twisted Christine's arm."
"OK! OK!" Bernice said in a huffy voice. "Bring me the telephone." 'I've put this off long enough, I guess it's time I started taking some of my own advice,' she said to herself.
Lisa seized upon the opportunity and scurried away to get the portable phone. Bernice adjourned to the sitting room and as Lisa approached with the phone it started to ring.

"Hello, Chandler House, this is Lisa speaking."
"Is Mrs. Chandler there?" The voice coming through was soft and barely audible.
"May I ask who is calling.?"
"This is her daughter, Sarah."
Lisa was only momentarily stunned, as she was becoming accustomed to such extraordinary coincidences. 'After all there is still a strong psychic maternal bond here,' she casually thought.
"Guess who," she said calmly, handing the receiver over.
"Hello, this is Bernice."
"Hello Mother."
"Sarah! I've been thinking about you. How are you, dear?" she said happily, looking up, amazed, yet still smiling at Lisa.
"Not so good, Mother."
A sudden emotional hoarseness in her daughter's voice revealed Sarah to be in great distress.
Bernice's joy yielded to apprehensive compassion. "You're upset. What's wrong dear?"
"Susan has run away."
"That's terrible! Why did she do that?"
"Scott and I are separated and getting a divorce. And there's been a lot of fighting over community property and custody of Susan. It's been tearing her apart. I guess we didn't realize how bad. She's only thirteen and I'm afraid for her. She's been gone since yesterday."
"Where do you think she may have gone?" asked Bernice, trying to remain composed.
"We think she may be heading your way."
"Do you think she may have gone to your brother's?"
"No, she can't stand him," said Sarah, emphatically. "He's gotten to be such a snob Mother. Not like Daddy at all. I don't know where he gets it."
Bernice gulped, allowing herself to indulge in a moment of guilt.
"She knows about your Chandler house for girls so I'm almost sure she will try to contact you."
"If she does, what would you have me do, dear?"
"Can she stay with you while we sort this mess out?"
"Of course she can. And if she comes home first please tell her that her grandmother would love to have her."
"Oh Mother, I don't know how to thank you. This has been going on for a long time. I would have called you sooner but I didn't want to burden you. And I couldn't get up the nerve to write you, either. Now it's more than me that's at stake."
"Sarah, believe me, I understand. Now I want you to data-fax a recent photo of Susan. I want you to send it to a private detective friend of mind." She gave Sarah Ben O'Reilly's number.
"I better go Mother. I'm sorry, I love you, I miss you."
Bernice could hear sobbing on the other end. She whispered through her own tears. "Me too, dear." She clumsily handed the receiver back to Lisa who had listened to Bernice's side of the conversation with growing concern.
"Sarah is getting a divorce and my granddaughter Susan has run away from home." Bernice's voice was shaky, revealing her dire concern over the situation.
"Sarah thinks she is coming here. Lisa, I've been such a fool. Even though I knew better I spent all that time feeling sorry for myself and guilty when my daughter needed my support."
"You didn't know, Bernie, it will all work out, I'm sure it will." Lisa reached out to embrace this dear friend in distress.
"I've got to call Ben right away and see if he can help." She took the receiver from Lisa and dialed lieutenant Ben.

Four days passed with no word on the whereabouts of Susan. Then, on the afternoon of the fifth day as Bernice was sitting on a blanket on the front lawn baby-sitting one of the house infants she spotted Ben's car rounding the corner coming up the hill. He stopped at the front gates, rolled down the window and spoke into the intercom, which was located on a decorative pillar a few feet from the gates. Someone inside answered and the gates soon swung open.
At the prospect of bad news, Bernice's heart jumped. Ben got out of the car and came limping up the walk.
"Hey, Bernice!" he yelled. "I got a surprise for you." Holding the infant in her arms she proceeded across the lawn to meet him.
"Well, we found her." A broad, self-satisfied smile formed across his craggy unshaven face.
"Ohhh... Thank heavens," she sighed in relief.
"She's a scared kid Bernice, she's been through a lot," Ben said as they met in the middle of the lawn.
"Where is she? "asked Bernice, anxiously. Ben pointed to the car at about the same time Susan sat up from her slumped position in the front seat. Bernice handed the infant to Ben and walked quickly, yet in lady-like fashion, to the car. Susan faced her grandmother through the open car door window.
"Grammie," she uttered in a small voice. Bravely trying to hold onto the little strength that was left in her, she looked at Bernice through frightened eyes.
Bernice felt her own heart break over the anguished look on her granddaughter's face. "It's OK, dear. You're safe here with me now."
Bernice opened the car door and held out her hand. Susan took it and slid out of the car. Bernice pulled her close and hugged her tightly. For the first time in days, Susan released her emotions and cried in her grandmother's arms.
Holding Susan and truly feeling reciprocal love with another family member was foreign to Bernice's memory. She realized, in a few brief seconds, how much she had been missing by reason of her own blindness. But she vowed that this would be a new beginning.
Bernice Chandler's values and priorities had changed. 'I am a transformed person now,' she thought. And she felt a surge of gratitude to Susan for validating and reminding her of that.
"Let's go inside dear," she said, dabbing her granddaughter's tears with a tissue. "We need to get you freshened up and find you something to eat. I bet you're starving."
"I just had some donuts."
"I might have known," chuckled Bernice.
Lisa appeared and took the baby from Ben. After introductions, Bernice took Susan by the hand and they all went into the house. Lisa took their new guest upstairs to get settled in, leaving Ben and Bernice alone.
"Ben, how in the world did you find her?"
"I circulated her photo around LAX. Late this morning I got a call from a cabby friend of mine down there who said he saw her hanging around one of the bus stop areas."
"She had been gone for four days, Ben. What made you think she would come by plane after all that time?"
"You're right, and I don't know, I just had a hunch," he said casually.
"Yes, I've heard all about your hunches." She smiled knowingly. She held this wise and psychically gifted former Los Angles police officer in high regard.
Ben shrugged and humbly grinned back. "Anyway, as I was saying," he continued. "My friend approached your granddaughter and told her that you were looking for her and had hired a private detective to help find her. He called me on his car phone and I talked to her and explained everything. I went and picked her up and here we are.
She said she had been on buses for four days and finally bought a plane ticket in Denver and flew into LA. She didn't say much but it's obvious she had some scary times.
"Well, I'm gonna go say 'Hi' to my niece and then I better get going. Louise says I'm taking her out to dinner, so I guess I am."
"Thank you, Ben."
"Hey, you know you don't gotta thank me."
"I know that," she said, and stood to give this gentle man she had grown to love like a brother a hug that started in the heart.