Years ago Anna married and moved across the country to Florida. It was a strategic move that benefited their financial circumstances. By the time they divorced, Anna had a good government job with benefits and stability. She was now nearing her 40's and finally rooted. We encouraged her, even begged her to come home where she has family but for the first time in her life (by my reasoning) she was finally standing on her own. She went several years without a steady beau. She lived alone, not relying on roommates to make ends meet and she grew tremendous spirit. Yet at times, I could hear the sadness. I worried.
I was never quite clear where Anna worked. She kept telling me it was the prosecutor's office but when I would ask "District Attorney?" she would respond "No... I think I work for the State." That is Anna in a nutshell "I think..." So when Dad asked about her, and I was already beginning to wonder why my texts had gone unanswered (stupid me I never did just call ) I jumped to a lot fear that is based on my expertise in domestic violence.
- Who is this new boyfriend she's only known for a few months? I only know his first name.
- She sure moved in quickly by my standards
- She talks about him like he is "too good to be true."
- Communications are now cut off.
- What if she never updated her emergency contacts after the divorce? I assume her ex is still on the form since they are amicable and he is local.
Dad and I emailed back and forth a couple times about how to track her down. We'd lost contact with her ex, who was my first choice and we still didn't really know where she works. That was on Friday just before our Labor Day weekend. Tracking government offices would have to wait until Tuesday.
Yesterday morning as, as soon as I was able, I began searching. Let me back up a moment and mention that by the end of the weekend I was under a lot of unrelated personal stress. Okay, so I began by Googling for the District Attorney nearest where she lives. DOH! There is no such thing as a District Attorney in her area. The closest I found was the Public Defender. They would know who to hook me up with. I called and explained my urgent need to contact my "missing sister" and was transferred to the City Attorney. They never heard of my sister but transferred me to the Broward County Clerks Office. They never heard of my sister and by now I was starting to panic.
"I don't know. She works for the District Attorney... or your equivalent in the clerk's office. She's missing! We haven't heard from her in weeks... she calls our dad every week!" At that point whoever I was talking to went into calm-down mode. I was sobbing "hff FFF fff FFFF" you know... huffing and unable to breathe sobs. The clerk figured out that I needed the STATE attorney's office.
One thing I did know was that Anna had recently been promoted from "front desk" to some other division in the actual office. She is never clear about details with us. So the front desk clerk answered and I began again, by first asking for her by name. That drew a blank. I kept at it in-between huffs. I gave both her married and maiden name in case the phone tree hadn't been updated. Again, I was met with a very calm and understanding voice who assured me she would find my sister. DOH! "The only Anna I can find is Anna..."
"Wait, I think I know who you are talking about." A glimmer of comfort. Several huffs and stopped breaths later she told me "OH I found her! I am going to transfer you straight to her desk!" My baby sister has her own phone line?
"State Attorney's Office, this is Susie" WHERE THE HELL IS MY SISTER? Now I was beginning to fear the worse... had she not been to work for a while and they didn't know who to contact? Could she really be missing?
After sifting through my now hysterical crying, Susie assured me that Anna was just away from her desk and that she was fine. Susie even went on to tell me that she'd met James and he was a "great guy." I left a message Anna to call me or Dad. But the story doesn't end here.
After learning that Sis was OK, I went back to desk to immediately email Dad. DOH! Right there in my in- box was an email dated a day earlier with his message that Anna had finally called him for the holiday and he'd gotten her new number, address and full name of the boyfriend. Should I be laughing or crying? While I was composing myself, and my email, Anna called me.... now frantic herself because the message she received was "your sister called here. She was crying hysterically!" Now I'm back in tears... well, no... I was still in tears before she called, huffing in sobs while my Baby Sister, sounding more mature than she ever has, is trying to calm me down enough to learn that Dad is fine, I am fine and assuredly she is fine.
One day, maybe, I will tell you all what F.I.N.E. really means.
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