Emma wondered why her new best friend wasn't in school and hadn't been for several days. Emma was a precocious five year old who delighted in being a "big girl", attending school with her very own book bag stuffed with crayons and drawings. She approached every day as an adventure. Nobody would willingly miss such a treat, she reasoned and so at the end of the day when her mother, Jane Woodruff, had helped her into the backseat and securely strapped her into her car seat, she wasted no time in asking.

"Mommy, why isn't Sue Ann in school any more? I asked the teacher but she didn't know."

Jane, a single mother, tried hard to give her daughter her wholehearted attention to make up for the keenly felt absence of a second parent, however, this day her mind was on the errands she had to finish before they could get home and she missed Emma's question.

"What did you say, dear?" she asked now.

"I said," Emma answered emphasizing the word 'said' with the long-suffering patience only a five year old can produce, "Why isn't Sue Ann in school any more?"

"I don't know, honey. Maybe she has the flu," her mother answered.

"Can we call her? I can bring her toys to make her better if she's sick."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Emma. I'll call when we get home," Jane promised. "But now we need to get you to dance practice."

After class, they stopped off at McDonalds for takeout and by the time they got home, Sue Ann had been forgotten.

Still, the next day in class, Emma saw that Sue Ann still hadn't returned.

So once home, after consuming her snack of cookies and milk, she looked up at her mother and reminded her that she hadn't called Sue Ann's mother.

"You're right. I guess I just got busy," Jane said, thinking it was the understatement of the year. "I'll call right now."

Jane didn't personally know Sue Ann's mother but she had a class list so was able to look up the number. Finding it, she picked up the phone and dialed. After listening for a while, she put down the receiver and turned to Emma.

"They're not answering and apparently they don't have an answering machine. It just keeps ringing. I'll try again later."

And she did try, several times the next day, but still received no answer.

When she picked Emma up after school, the first question out of her daughter's mouth was, "Did you find out about Sue Ann?"

"I'm sorry, no. No one ever answered the phone."

"Mommy, I'm afraid something bad has happened to Sue Ann. Can we go by her house?"

"Not now, honey. Let me see if I can find out where she lives."

Surprisingly, the address was listed in the phone book and Jane decided that it might be best if she checked out the situation during the day before inquiring at the school, so she drove to the house the next afternoon. Although only a few blocks away, on the other side of some railroad tracks, it was a part of town that she had never visited — rundown and interspersed with car repair garages and empty lots. Still, she managed to find the address despite the lack of house numbers on some of the buildings. The house was extremely neglected, in need of paint and repair. The front yard consisted of dirt, weeds and a few broken toys. The porch sagged alarmingly and Jane picked her way up to the door with careful steps. At the door, Jane looked for a doorbell, but finding none, knocked lightly. The house seemed quiet and deserted and, despite Jane's knocking, which became increasingly louder, there was no response. She tried the doorknob and found it to be securely locked.

That day after school, she was ready with an answer when Emma again asked about Sue Ann.

"I went by the house but there was no one there. They must have moved."

"No Mommy, Sue Ann wouldn't have moved without saying goodbye," Emma said through tears.

"She might not have had a choice. It could have been very sudden, but I'll see if the school knows anything, OK?" Jane promised. She hated to see Emma so upset and knew the little girl wouldn't let it go until she had some kind of answer.

True to her word, the next day Jane approached the school administration office.

"My daughter is concerned because her friend Sue Ann Carmody hasn't been in school lately. Have you any information about her? Perhaps they've moved away?"

The woman behind the desk rummaged through a cabinet and pulled out a file. After looking over the paperwork, she admitted that Sue Ann had indeed been absent for a week now and there had been no notification of a move.

"It isn't too unusual for people to just leave without letting us know. It's just kindergarten, so they don't see it as important. Not like 'real' school. I'll look into it. Have you tried phoning?"

"Yes, and I even drove by the house but there was no sign of anyone."

"I see they live in a rather poor neighborhood. Maybe they were evicted."

"You'll let me know what you find out, won't you? Emma is really very upset about this."

"Of course, Mrs. Woodruff. As soon as we know something, we'll let you know," the woman said, turning back to her desk.

Somehow Jane didn't think any more information would be forthcoming, either now or in the future, and she left the office unsure of what to do next.

That evening after dinner, Jane again drove to the house, this time with Emma safely ensconced in the back seat. The house looked the same as it had before and Jane got out of the car hesitantly. A young boy appeared around the corner, maneuvering a skateboard over the broken sidewalk with an expertise Jane envied.

"Hi," he said. "You lookin for Sue Ann?"

"Yes, I am," Jane answered. "Do you know if they moved away?"

"I don' know but that's their old car back there. It don't run very good but if they moved, I think they'd have took it."

For the first time, Jane noticed the beat up Chevrolet parked towards the back of the building. That is strange, she thought. Maybe I should call the police. Still, the idea of calling in the police on such a slim suspicion bothered her so she decided to sleep on it and decide what to do the next day. She got back in the car and noted that Emma was dozing off. Just as well, she thought. Emma would probably insist that she try to get in the house. She was a very determined little girl once she set her mind to something.

The next morning Jane was still in a quandary as to what to do. She sipped her morning coffee and considered her alternatives. Take the easy way out and tell Emma that the school had found out that Sue Ann had moved away too hurriedly to say goodbye. Call the police and risk making a fool of herself over an innocent situation. Try the house one more time, maybe look around a bit.

Abruptly she stood up and grabbed her purse and car keys. Once again she drove to the strange neighborhood. In the morning light, everything should have seemed innocent and normal, but somehow the house and surrounding yard exuded a sinister air. Jane felt as though she was being watched. Making a slow turn, she scanned the area but saw no one and heard nothing, not even the rustle of small animals or the song of birds. Shaking off the eerie feeling, she straightened her back, told herself to stop being silly, and approached the front porch.

She tried the front door once more and got the same lack of response, but this time, she walked along the side of the house, standing on tiptoes trying to see into the windows. They were all curtained or shuttered, so she could see nothing. With increasing foreboding, she approached the back door and knocked again. Nothing.

And then she heard a slight noise inside.

Probably just a rat, she thought to herself and shuddered at the sudden image of rats plural running across the floorboards.

"Sue Ann? Sue Ann, are you in there?" she called out on impulse.

To her surprise, the door slowly opened and a golden haired angel of about five peeked out around the door.

"Yes," she said.

"Sue Ann?"

"Yes," she repeated. "But I'm not supposed to answer the door to strangers." She started closing the door again.

"I'm not a stranger," Jane said hurriedly, putting her hand out to stop the door. "I'm Emma's mom."

"Oh," Sue Ann said opening the door wider. "Then that's alright."

Behind her, Jane could see trash and dirty dishes piled on counters and a kitchen table covered with food wrappers. Dirt and crumbs littered the floor and an overwhelming smell of rotten meat wafted out. Flies circled the room lazily. Sue Ann's face and clothes were dirty and her hands were smeared with what looked like strawberry jam.

"Where's your mommy?" Jane asked.

"I'm the Mommy now," Sue Ann answered.

"I see that," Jane said. "But where is your Mommy?"

"Oh. She's asleep on the couch."

"Could you go get her?"

"No. I can't wake her up. I already tried."

"Can I come in and try?" Jane asked.

"Okay," Sue Ann said and opened the door for her.

Once inside, the smell was so terrible Jane grabbed a Kleenex out of her purse and held it over her nose. Fearing the worst, she walked tentatively into the darkened living room. She heard them before she saw them. Hundreds of flies. They were swarming over a body slumped on the sofa. Gagging, Jane ran from the room pulling Sue Ann after her. Using her cell phone, she called the police and then sat down on the porch with the little girl and held her sticky hand while they waited.

Six months later, Emma returned from her first day in the first grade and announced that Sue Ann was in her class.

Jane surmised that Child Protective Services had probably placed Sue Ann in a foster home nearby.

"That's wonderful, Emma," she told her daughter.

"And you know what?" Emma said.

"What?"

"Her new mom wants to know if we can have playdates," Emma announced proudly. Playdates sounded so much more important than just ordinary playing.

"Would you like that?" Jane asked, thinking of all that Sue Ann had gone through; first, the death of her mother by persons unknown, which she had been too young to fully realize, then the impersonal housing in a county-run group home. And now, a new place and a new family. She would be glad to help normalize the little girl's life if she could.

"Yes. Her mom is going to call you," Emma informed her. "Sue Ann has a new last name too. It's Whitman."

"That sounds great," Jane said, meaning it. The poor little girl deserves a good home, she thought.

Several days later, Marsha Whitman did indeed call.

"I was hoping you and Emma could come over for a playdate some time next week. We could have coffee while the girls play and I can tell you all about Sue Ann coming to live with us. Would Tuesday work?"

"That would be fine. Tell me where you live and what time."

When Tuesday arrived, Emma was beside herself with excitement, jumping around the room and trying to rush Jane out the door.

"Come on, Mommy," she whined. "I want to see Sue Ann's new house."

Jane herself was admittedly curious about the circumstances so she hustled them both out to the car.

The house was an upper middle class McMansion with a neatly kept yard. A far cry from Sue Ann's old home. When she answered the door, Jane immediately liked Marsha Whitman. She was a pretty woman whose looks were beginning to fade as if she had spent too much time in the shadows. But her smile of greeting animated her face with warmth, erasing any negative first impressions.

After the girls were involved in a game, Marsha and Jane sat down at the kitchen table and Marsha told Jane how thrilled she was to have Sue Ann in her life.

"Bob and I always wanted to have children but were never able to. So when we were asked if we wanted to be foster parents to Sue Ann, we jumped at the chance. She is just the sweetest little girl, very bright and cheerful. We've filed adoption papers, so we registered her in school with our name to make things simpler in the future. Bob adores her and she is so cute following him around like she does. I don't think she ever had a father figure before. And when he's away on business trips, it makes such a difference to have her here."

"I know what you mean," Jane said. "I don't know what I would do without Emma. It's been hard raising her alone — I'm divorced — but she certainly livens things up." She smiled at the sound of the two little girls giggling in the other room.

After that, Jane and Marsha spent an hour or two a week comparing notes and becoming friends while Sue Ann and Emma played house. Sue Ann was always the Mommy and Emma played different roles depending on the game — the big sister, the best friend, the neighbor. Bob was noticeably absent and Marsha said he often went out of the country for extended periods of time since he was in the import business.

One Monday Emma came home and told her mother that Sue Ann wasn't in school that day.

"She probably has the flu. It's going around," Jane said. "I'll give Marsha a call tomorrow."

When Jane called Marsha the next morning she got the impersonal voice of the answering machine. Probably at the doctor's, she thought.

A couple days passed before Emma timidly brought up the subject again.

"Mommy, Sue Ann isn't back in school," she informed Jane. "You don't think something bad happened again, do you?"

"No, of course not. Still, I'd better give Marsha another call," Jane said.

Picking up the phone, she dialed the number but again got the answering machine. She tried several more times, leaving a message each time, but did not hear back.

Stifling a feeling of alarm, Jane dropped Emma off at school the next morning and, skipping a second cup of coffee, headed for her car. Driving rapidly to Marsha's house, her stomach began to turn flip-flops. Really, she lectured herself, you are over-reacting. Maybe the phone is out of order. Maybe they had to take a sudden trip out of town, a family emergency. It would all prove to be nothing more than that, she assured herself. The house looked deserted, but the car was in the driveway and, even more disturbing, several days' worth of newspapers were piled on the front porch.

Jane raced up to the front door and started repeatedly ringing the doorbell. Please answer, she thought.

"Marsha. Are you in there?" she called. Alarm turning to fear, she pounded on the door still calling out Marsha's name.

To her relief, she heard the lock turn inside and the door began to open.

Sue Ann stood there looking up at her.

"I'm the Mommy now," she said, smiling.