A 2 A.M. Act of Kindness

I checked my son’s phone location at 2 a.m. and my chest tightened. Eli.

14 years old. School day. Lights supposed to be off. But his room was

empty. Sneakers gone. Jacket missing. Bike not in the garage.

I opened his phone. Location: Active. One dot. The hospital. I didn’t call.

I didn’t text. I drove. I walked through the sliding doors, heart racing.

Then I saw him. Sitting in the waiting room. Next to a woman holding a sleeping

toddler. Eli had his hoodie draped over the child like a blanket. He saw me and stood

up fast. “I was going to wake you,” he said. The woman’s car had broken down.