What a scary evenning

Yesterday we didn't do much. I scrapped a little, Brian watched a little tv, Coco had her friend Matthew over and they played with Connor. My little cave is right besides the family room, but I don't have a direct view of it; I can only hear, because I always have the door wide open. I have a good view of the dinning room, but not the family room.
Around 6, Brian came in to tell me he was going to drop off Matthew. Ok, I said. Nicole stayed with me along with Connor. Now, Matthew lives a few blocks away, so it would take Brian 5 or 7 minutes to be back. And so, about 5 minutes after he leaves, I hear Diggy boy bark. And I think, goofy boy, he's always barking! But no Brian sounds, just Nicole. Weird. But I didn't hear the door openning. About one minute later, I hear the door open, and Brian walks in, and I hear Nicole and Connor talking to him. And I hear her say, "Yes, Miss Maria just came by".
So I go out into the family room, and Brian and I are listening to Nicole say, "miss Maria came to ask if Correy was here, because she can't find him". WHAT?? I was really mortified. First, because I didn't hear her. But more so, what is this she can't find Correy?
Maria is a good friend, such a kind woman. She is divorced, lives two blocks away from us, and Correy is a good friend of Nicole, they are in the AM kinder, although in different classrooms. On Fridays, we take the kids to McDonalds with some other parents, and Maria cuts the family's hair (except Digger!). When we were under construction, she invited us over to have dinner with her, since she knew we wouldn't have a chance to cook.
I felt this shiver go up my spine when I heard Nicole. So, I called Maria. And she told me in the calmest voice, "I can't find Correy, we've been looking for him for 20 minutes now, and I can't find him". Of course, Brian jumped right back in the car and started looking. So did I, got the kids in the car, and started looking for Correy.
About 20 minutes later, I get the call from Brian. "I just saw him! He's walking home right now". Oh, my goodness! I still get all misty thinking about it. So, we headed out to Maria's home. And there she is in the front lawn, crying -finally, loosing it. Oh, my goodness, how scary!!!
Turns out Correy went to visit a friend that Maria didn't even know about. But he didn't put on shoes OR a jacket, he just left running. It was pretty cold yesterday, so when Maria saw that his shoes and jacket were still there, she thought someone had grabbed him or something.
I took Carley, her little girl, she was just too upset, and brought her home. I told her to come over when she felt a little better, and Brian stayed back with them, to help a little. Then he arrived with Correy, who still didn't understand what the big deal was.
So, we did sit down and played a great dvd that we bought for Coco, called The Safe Side, created by John Walsh (America's Most Wanted) and Julie Clark (creator of Baby Einstein). It's a great way to teach your kids to stay safe...
But I must say, it was one of the most terrifying evenings I've had in a long time. I'm still STUNNED, though, that the mother of the little friend wouldn't call or bring him home or something. When I see kids that do not belong to me in my home, I immediately ask, "does your mom know that you are here"? and if the answer is "no", or even if they take too long to answer, I say: "Call your mom". Or if they were all playing in the front yard (which they only do if I'm there!) and they want to come in, I go and ask the parents, or I tell the kids to go ask the parents! I don't know, I'm just amazed that somebody wouldn't do that...