The bus driver was stunned when he found a child hiding in an abandoned gym bag on his bus. He ended up rescuing the boy and changing his life forever.
Adam Loftner was a driver for a well-known intercity bus service and travelled around the country for many years. He loved his job, but it was a lonely life. Adam’s shifts and irregular working hours meant that he had no time for romance, and he was also a shy person.
Adam had just arrived one evening after a trip from Detroit to Cleveland. He went around the bus to make sure no one was left behind when he noticed a large sports bag on one of the back seats.
Adam groaned. “Now I’ll have to take it to the lost and found and fill out all this paperwork,” he said, bending down to pick up the bag. But the bag was much heavier than Adam had expected.
Adam grabbed the zip and opened the bag. To his surprise, the first thing he saw were a pair of huge, frightened eyes. Those eyes belonged to a small boy who did not look more than four years old.
“What have we got here?” – Adam asked and reached into the bag to pull the little boy out. “Who are you, little man, and how did you get in here?”
The boy sat down. “My mother put me in a bag so that I could go to my aunt’s house and my father did not get angry and hurt us”. Adam noticed that the boy had ugly bruises on his arms and legs.
“But why didn’t your mother buy you a bus ticket?” – Adam asked.
“We haven’t got any money,” explained the boy. “‘Dad, doesn’t give it to us.”
“I see,” said Adam. “And where your aunt’s house is, do you know?” The boy nodded proudly and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket. Adam unfolded it and read the address.
“Oh no!” – he exclaimed. “Your aunt lives in Pittsburgh! Your mother put you on the wrong bus!” At this point the little boy cried and Adam tried to comfort him. ” Look, you’ll be all right! I’m going to take you to your aunt, okay? What’s your name?”
” I’m Tommy,” the boy said, wiping tears from his face.
“Come on, Tommy,” said Adam. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry, so why don’t we have a hot dog before we go to Pittsburgh?”
When they arrived in Pittsburgh more than five hours later, Adam and Tommy became great friends.
They knocked on the door of the boy’s aunt, who was a little surprised to see her little nephew and a strange man on her doorstep late at night, but she greeted them.
“My poor sister!” – she said to Adam. “Her husband is a bully, and he won’t let her go!”
Adam frowned. “He’s a bully, and bullies are cowards. Let’s see if he has the guts to face a man!”
So Adam and Tommy’s aunt (her name was Lydia) went to Detroit and knocked on his mother’s door. A tall man with an unpleasant face answered and looked at Lydia.
“What are you doing here, witch?” – he shouted, but before he could say a word Adam, who was even taller, grabbed him by the shirt collar.
“You’re talking to a lady,” he said calmly. “So I suggest you lower your voice. We’re here to see your wife Tracy.” The man pulled away and Adam saw Tracey, a petite blonde with a pretty face.
Lydia ran up to hug her sister and said: “Tracy, we’ve come for you! Go pack your bags!” Tommy’s father opened his mouth to object, but caught Adam’s serious look and changed his mind.
Adam said: “You and I are going to have a talk. From now on you will leave Tracy and Tommy alone because whatever you do to them, I will do to YOU, understand?”
“They’re mine!” – Tommy’s father said angrily. “I have rights!”
Adam shook his head. “No. You had responsibilities. You were supposed to love them and protect them, not abuse them,” he said. “You had everything, and you blew it. So leave them alone.”
Tommy’s father rudely agreed and Adam took Tracey’s suitcase and they all left. Tommy was thrilled to be reunited with his mother, and with Adam and Lydia’s support, Tracy filed for divorce.
Tracy and Tommy moved in with Lydia. Tommy went to school, and Tracy got a job, and things were going well for the family. Adam knew they were all right, but he couldn’t resist dropping in from time to time to see how they were doing.
He liked spending time with Tommy and he liked Tracy more and more. One day he asked her out and very soon they fell in love.
Tracy saw that this tall, shy man with a heart of gold was the exact opposite of the man she had married when she was too young to know what was going on. So when he asked her to marry him, she said yes.
One day Tommy whispered to his mother, “I just thought… You put me on the right bus after all!” And she did. The “wrong” bus brought them safely to their new life.
