One of the kids in the neighborhood, an occasional playmate of G’s, came running up to the door a short time ago wanting to know if G’s dad was at home. G had answered the door and said no, and the kid ran off with no further explanation. I asked our girls to run out and make sure she was okay and ask if there was some way I could help. (I would have gone myself, but the increased pain due to yesterday’s excursion is making the two flights of stairs to get out there even more of a problem than usual.)
Nope, I can’t help in any way, it has to be a man. Her mother was at home. There’s some situation involving a large hole in the yard and a broken water pipe “that’s not the kind you’re supposed to have.” Her mother sent the nine-year-old child out to knock on the door of absolutely every house (though she doesn’t KNOW the people in most of those houses!) until she finds some man at home who will come back to the house with her to tell mother what to do. The child is most definitely out of the mother’s sight while doing this at all but the 3-4 houses nearest them, but that seems to be of little concern. The father is not home and apparently not reachable by phone.
Is it any wonder that we’re not comfortable with G going over to this kid’s house?
I suppose any situation involving a water pipe cannot be resolved without the presence of a random penis-bearer. Not that I know anything about water pipes, except that she should turn the water off or call the water department to do it if she can’t manage it. But there are women who know a heck of a lot of things I don’t know, including pipe arcana.
