So SS asks DW if he can hang out with his buddy TNMD after school (TNMD = They’re Not My Drugs).

DW was hesitant at first because she is now wondering if TNMD is someone SS should be hanging out with in the first place. I told her that she should have said no, but DW allowed it because he had to be back for 5:00pm anyways to have supper and go to the child psychologist appointment.

Normally SS is not allowed to do anything after school, until his homework is done, but SS said he had no homework (of course he doesn’t! This kid NEVER has any homework and DW always gets shocked and horrified when his report card comes in). So DW felt like being nice and let him go hang out with BFF TNMD.

Big mistake.

Turns out SS wasn’t going to hang out with TNMD. He went to hang out with Vicky; his girlfriend.

5:00pm rolls around and SS hasn’t come home. Tardiness is a regular occurrence with this kid. Nothing unusual there. Annoying, yes; but not unusual.

Fifteen minutes passes (5:15). No sign of SS. DW is starting to get angry. DW calls, texts, calls again, leaves VMs. No response.

5:30. They have to leave now or else be late. DW is now furious. She calls again. She calls TNMD’s mother. TNMD’s mother says she’ll try to reach her son but she is confused because TNMD did return home from school alone and then left again.

That’s when DW flies into sheer panic mode. Where the heck could SS be? She calls me. I had just arrived at the grocery store and was in the parking lot. DW is totally freaking out. Especially after hearing about what happened to TNMD yesterday, she is getting these images in her head of TNMD dragging SS to a drug deal somewhere and the deal went wrong… I tell her to relax (and resist the urge to say “I told you so!”). I volunteer to go looking for them. I don’t know where they have gone but I can think of a couple of places. DW says she’ll try Vicky’s Mother.

Another half hour passes. I arrive home.

Jigs up. Vicky’s mother had just called to say that Vicky confirmed that she is with SS. Vicky’s Mom actually got Vicky to pass the to SS to tell him that DW was looking for him.

SS finally returns home.

DW screamed and screamed and screamed…She screamed so much I thought the whole block could hear her. DW called the child therapist to cancel the appointment, but the therapist said not to worry, she can see them an hour later as she has an opening.

SS began his usual water-works act, saying it wasn’t his fault. His cell died and he just lost track of time.

Later that night, after all the kids had finally gone to bed, we laid in bed ourselves. DW curled up in my arms and quietly weeping. “I can’t do this anymore.” She keeps saying “I’m a wreck!”

I stayed silent. There’s SOOOO much I want to tell her about her son and what is going wrong here, but I stay silent because I know that’s not what DW needs right now.

As a quick sidenote to this drama, I did search SS’s room last night. I didn’t find anything. I found a lot of strange things, but no illegal narcotics.