The day Lucas got lost

Last Friday, May 27, 2005, the family went shopping in Jaya Jusco. I was at the cashier counter with Laurenz in the trolly, while Leonard and Lucas and Sexydad went to the toilet.

When the trio came back, I had paid and was trying to get Laurenz a cookie. Then Leonard said he needed to poop. (Why couldn't he do that when he went to pee???? I can never understand the male species and their pee and poop patterns).

So Sexydad said to me, "You take Leonard to poop and I'll take care of the other 2."

So I left hand in hand with Leonard to the ladies toilet, happily reprimanding Leonard for not pooping when he went to the toilet with Sexydad.

After Leonard had finished his big business and cleaned up, I browsed around the handbag section looking for something cheap and good to buy. No such thing existed at that time, and so we went back to where we were supposed to meet--the seats near the jeans shop.

Reaching there, I didn't see Sexydad and the two younger ones. But there was quite a gathering near the information counter, and somehow I was quite sure it had something to do with my children.

And there was Lucas with a teary face in Sexydad's arms, looking so sad and tired out.

Turned out that he got lost. How did Sexydad lose him?

Apparently when I handed the trolley over to Sexydad, Laurenz was trying to climb out of the trolley, and Lucas rushed off to join me and Leonard, which I was not aware of as I was happily giving Leonard a lecture on pooping and peeing and not wasting time. Somehow or other Lucas didn't catch up with us, and got lost and started crying and a kind salesperson brought him to the information counter, and they announced over the intercom:

"Terdapat seorang budak bangsa Melayu yang kehilangan ibubapanya........ etc etc".

Somehow in my browsing I didn't hear the message, and Sexydad even though he heard the message had assumed that Lucas was with me, and never imagined that this "budak bangsa Melayu yang kehilangan ibubapanya" yang actually Lucas.

Luckily a gentleman who was in the toilet when Lincoln was there with Leonard and Lucas recognized Lucas and when he saw Sexydad, he told him that Lucas is at the information counter crying--the one with the orange colour clothes.

And so Lucas was found and reunited with his clueless parents. When we asked the salesperson why they announced that the boy was a "budak bangsa Melayu", she said "Look at this eyes--such long eyelashes, who would think he's a Chinese?"

When I picked up Lucas from Sexydad, his heart was beating so fast. Poor chap. I wanted to cry seeing him so sad and frightened. But he was a brave and generous boy. When Laurenz started to get up to nonsense again and I had to chase after him (Sexydad had hurt his back 3 weeks earlier and can't bend), I asked Lucas to stay in the trolley with his daddy, he understandingly agreed.

In the car on the way home, I hugged him and let him lie in my lap, so glad that my baby is still with me. By the time we got home, he was again his usual self and happily playing with his brothers again.