Story #17: Broken Promise

Broken Promise

     A man that was dressed in a dark blue police uniform walked through the gates of

the old cemetery. His head moved back and forth, as if he were looking for something.

He had his hand in one of the largest pockets of his uniform as he walked up and down

the rows of cement blocks. When he finally spotted the block he was looking for, he

crouched down next to it.

     “I can’t believe it’s been a year,” the man said slowly, his face looking down at the

words that had been carefully engraved. “I wish I could have been there for you.”

The police station was filled to the brim with officers that were going from office to

office. Training for that year had started, and all of them needed to go through a skill

test to keep their licenses and jobs. A failed training program and physical test meant

the end of your career at this particular station.

     Conner Wes was busy rifling through his papers to try and find the information he

needed for a test later that week. They had to be up to date on all of the laws and any

recent changes. The training this week had fallen on his daughter’s birthday and he

wanted to get this law research out of the way to be there in time to celebrate it.

Just as he found the correct papers, the sheriff walked in.

     “Conner, we’re going to need you to stay in later today so you can help train some of

the new trainees,” he said.

     With his papers still in hand, Conner stared at him. “What do you mean I need to

stay after? Can’t anyone else train them?”

     “You’re the last one on the scheduling order because you’re the newest,” the sheriff

explained, “and you’re also one of the most reliable ones that will get the job done. So,

no, nobody else can train them.” The sheriff looked over to Conner. “Maybe in a year

or two you’ll be higher up on the schedule so you’re not the one stuck. Even I was at

the bottom years ago.”

     As the sheriff started to leave, Conner dropped the papers on his desk.

     “Wait, you don’t understand. It’s my daughter’s birthday today. She’s just turning six.

I haven’t been there for any of her previous birthdays because of this job and when I

was in the military,” Conner looked at the sheriff, his eyes pleading. “I need to be there

for her.”

     The sheriff shook his head. “Everyone else here is busy, just like you are. I’m sure

your daughter will understand if you just celebrate it tomorrow.”

     “But I promised her! I promised Karlee that I’d be there this year.”

     Annoyed, the sheriff turned back and faced Conner. “Look, I understand how

important family is, but you need to train these new recruits and that’s final. You can

just celebrate it tomorrow. It’s not like she’ll remember it anyway.”

     With that, the sheriff left, closing Conner’s office door, signaling that the

conversation was over. Conner called his wife to let her know that he wouldn’t be there

for the party, telling her to wait to tell Karlee the news until it was time for the party. He

hoped that she would be distracted enough to just run off and play with her friends. He

set the phone down and picked up the stray law papers that had scattered all over the

desk when he had dropped them.

     A few hours later, as he was finally getting all of the new laws and rules settled in his

mind, his phone started going off. Annoyed that someone was trying to disrupt him

when this was one of the most important days at his job, he ignored it. Seconds after it

stopped ringing, it started up again. Again, he ignored it. When it run for the third time,

he gave in and answered the phone.

     “What? I’m trying to study for a test to keep me job, so I’m a little busy at the

moment,” he snapped into the phone.

One the other end of the line was his wife, and she sounded frantic and close to

tears.

     “Oh, Conner. It’s Karlee. When I told her that you weren’t going to be here, she took

it really hard and ran off. Before she left, she said that she was going to find you.” His

wife’s voice was shaky, and he realized that she had started to cry. “I ran to get my

shoes and to tell the other parents that I would be back, but by the time I got to the

front door, Karlee was already gone.”

     A sob escaped her throat and she continued.

     “Conner, the roads are so busy today. As soon as I saw that she was gone, I knew

that I had to tell you. We need to find her. Conner, please. She’s going to get hurt, or

kidnapped, or...”

     Conner dropped the phone on the floor, his face blank and his eyes filled with

worried. Leaving all of his belongings in his office, he ran out of the door. As he passed

the sheriff and other officers, the sheriff yelled out.

     “Hey, Wes, where do you think you’re going? Get back here!”

     He ignored him, running through the door to get to his car. Slamming the door shut,

he had trouble getting the keys into the engine due to his shaking hands.

     “Please...please be ok,” he muttered under his breath, like some desperate prayer

as he finally got the keys to fit and he sped out of the parking lot.

     He stopped in front of his house and got of his car. Meeting up with his wife, he

found out the direction that she thought Karlee went in, and they both got back into the

car. He sped our of the driveway like he had done back in the parking lot, anxious to

find his daughter before someone else did.

     “Conner,” his wife spoke up, “you’re going too fast.”

     “I know that, but how are we supposed to find her fast enough? She’s a little girl! I’ve

seen my fair share of tragedies when it comes to situations like this, and I haven’t been

in the force very long,” he said as he held the steering wheel so tightly that his

knuckles turned white. He was staring straight ahead, not looking at his wife as he

answered her.

     After around fifteen minutes of searching, his wife spoke up. “Maybe we should

circle around the park. Maybe she got tired and stopped there. She really loves the

park...” she trailed off to stop from crying again.

     Their car circled around the park multiple times, each time they hoped that she

would be just around the corner, maybe sitting on a park or swinging with other

children. Finally, they gave up on the park and went back to the main roads.

It was later in the day and the sun started to set. They both got exceedingly nervous,

worried that they wouldn’t find their daughter before the sun completely set.

As a last ditch effort, Conner said, “We should try the icecream shop. I take her

there after school, sometimes. Maybe she thought I’d come there after work.”

His wife looked at him doubtfully. “It’s at least worth a shot, ok?” he snapped.

They drove up and parked by the curb that was in front of the icecream shop. Cars

and buses sped by, the wind forcing discarded papers and fallen leaves to float

alongside the roads. Conner looked inside of the shop and saw families in there that

were smiling, talking, and having fun together. His eyes scanned the crowd in there

desperately, searching for any sign of his daughter. That’s when he heard a small

shout.

     “Dad!” Karlee excitedly said as she spotted her father. She was across the street

from the small icecream shop, her arms waving back and forth to get her dad’s

attention.

     “Oh, Karlee!” he said, his eyes tearing up. He was so relieved that she wasn’t hurt or

had been taken by someone else. “Wait there! Don’t move, ok?”

Karlee was too excited that she had finally found her father that she didn’t listen.

Only watching him, she ran into the street to get to him, not aware of the traffic that

was coming both ways.

     “Wait, Karlee! Stop!”

     He had yelled too late. Horns blared and cars swerved, but the sickening sound of

impact was inevitable, as a car turned its wheel a little too late.

     The policeman ran his fingers over the rough stone and the words that were

engraved on it. The words were in cursive, the writing flowing smoothly. “Karlee Marie

Wes, our precious angel. 2006-2012”.

     The man pulled a small doll out of his pockets. She was dressed in a white lacy

outfit, her dark hair curled with bright green eyes and freckles lightly patterned across

her nose.

     He set the doll down gently as he spoke, “I found the doll that you were looking for,

finally. The little doll that you wanted, the one that looked just like you, right?” He

touched the fragile doll’s curls softly. He didn’t try to suppress his tears anymore, and

they fell onto the ground in front of the grave.

     “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t keep my promise. Please forgive me. We

both miss you so much...”

     The man stood up to leave and looked down at the stone once last time.

     “Happy Birthday, Karlee. I love you.”