A Child's Haven - 45. Chapter 45

There is something about enjoying a meal with good friends. For the rest of the night, we just sat around and chatted about non-Sanctuary issues. O’Shea kept us amused about some of the incidents that he and Murray had dealt with in the past. I watched Aaron, and he was laughing with the rest of us. Laughter is a great relaxer and stress reducer. Mario came over, “The coffee pot is empty. Do you want more? I can make more.”

“No thanks, Mario. You can go to bed. I’ll close up.”

Murray and O’Shea left; I locked the door and headed to my cocoon with the others. I was tired, and for the first time in a long time, I was happy. I slept well and was up before Tony. I was thinking about going and pound on his cocoon but thought better of it. I went and had my shower and shave. Coming upstairs to the dining hall, I saw Bubba going out with Sandy. I should fix that room up for Bubba. It needs a paint job and a proper bed. When he has his breakfast, I’ll take a peek.

Mario had the grills set up, which means pancakes or eggs, turned out to be pancakes. The kids like them since there were fresh fruit and whipped cream for the topping besides maple syrup. I saw Murray and O’Shea in line and talking to Mario. I watched as they came to the table with a stack of 4 pancakes, and they weren’t small-sized pancakes. I just smiled, “Good morning. I see you’re hungry this morning.”

“What time are you going to the hospital?”

“Right after breakfast; I’m waiting for Aaron and Jabir.”

Tony showed up, and I think he was surprised to see me. He sat next to me and took out his notepad. “Good morning. I’m surprised to see you up so early.”

“I feel good, no premonitions, chances of getting Patrick home and having breakfast with my favorite people, why shouldn’t I feel good.”

Tony leaned over and whispered in my ear but loud enough so everyone could hear, “Nice to have the old Brad back.”

Everyone chuckled. “You have your pad out. What have you crossed off.”

“It isn’t what I have crossed off. You and the kids are to go to the nursery this afternoon. You need to call Abe about the new cook shack. I’ll call Abe about getting painters and sealing the roof.”

“Is that all on your list?”

“The rest can wait until tomorrow. Oh, before I forget, do you want to interview the secretary?”

“No, you know what she or he has to do so that you can handle it. Just introduce the person to me sometime in the first week.”

“One other thing, Corky’s mother will start to work tomorrow. She had to give a week’s notice. I told her it was ok.”

“Did she have a chance to visit the laundry area?”

“Yes, she was quite impressed with it, especially the rotary steam ironing press.”

“Good, there’s Aaron. When he’s finished eating, we’ll go. Tony, you need to tell Jeff about Corky’s mother and explained she’ll be doing all the training and managing the laundry. Tell him I have something else for him.”

Murray and O’Shea got up and headed to the line, I thought it was for coffee, but they came back with more pancakes. Bubba brought me a cup of coffee and sat down beside me. “Aaron, when you’re finished eating, we can head to the hospital. Take your time, and if you want seconds, you better eat fast before Murray and O’Shea run Mario out of batter.” I got a jab in the rib for that. “Bubba, please go and tell Jabir that as soon as he’s finished eating to come here and sit with us.”

“That boy idolizes you.”

“They all do.”

“Well, thank you, Tony and Murray, but I think you’ve been riding horses and are full of horse manure. Those kids love Sanctuary and any adult that helps them. That includes you, Tony, Murray, O’Shea, and Aaron. These kids can judge a person better than we can. They had too to live.”

“Brad, I’m ready to go if you are.”

“Murray, I’m going to take my car. I want to stop on the way back.”

“The ride to the hospital was quiet. I think Jabir was thinking about Patrick, and Bubba could sense the slight tension in the air. Parking and going to Patrick’s room is getting to be routine.

As soon as we entered Patrick’s room, Jabir went and sat on the bed. He introduced Bubba to Patrick, and that started a conversation among the three. Aaron took a look around the room and gave me the thumbs up. “Aaron, let’s go and talk to the nurse.” When we went to the nurse’s station, I got another surprise.

“Hello Aaron. What or who do I have to thank for bringing you here.”

“Hi Christine, it’s nice to see you. What has it been two years since we worked together?”

“Yes, I think that’s right. So what has brought you here?”

“My patient” She had a puzzled look on her face. “I’m the NP at Sanctuary, which will be Patrick’s new home when he’s released. I want to talk with Dr. Franks. I have all the monitoring equipment that you have set up in that room. I’d be glad to forward the results to Dr. Franks. I can do this by sending him the graphs or emailing the data. I’m working on a data collection system that will allow any authorized doctor to access it. So when can I talk with Dr. Franks?”

“How about right now?”

I quickly spun around, and there was Dr. Franks. He had an amused look on his face as he realized he startled us. “Hello Dr. Franks, I see you still like to sneak up on your staff.”

“Hello Aaron, you should know you can’t change a leopard’s spots. I’m too much of a habit person; I’ve a difficult time breaking habits. So tell me about your infirmary.”

At this point, I left them and went to see Patrick. The boys were chatting away like old friends. I sat down in a chair and watched. Bubba sat on my lap and whispered in my ear, “Is Patrick going to come home with us today?”

“I don’t think so. Aaron is talking to the doctor now, and we’ll see what he says later.”

We must have sat there and chatted for a good hour. The nurse came in, “It’s lunchtime, Patrick. Do you feel like eating some lunch?”

“Is he on a restricted diet?”

“There are heavy foods that he shouldn’t have until his internal organs strengthen.”

I knew what she meant. When he was brought in, his colon was blocked, and certain foods would cause a problem. “Patrick, what do you think about me going to get some good chicken noodle soup and maybe a surprise for dessert?”

Bubba started to shake his head, yes, and Jabir whispered something to Patrick that made him smile.

The nurse indicated that would be ok, so I left, leaving the kids to continue to talk. I had noticed a café close to the hospital that had a sign that said home cooking. I ordered two pints of chicken noodle soup, and I asked for an empty pint. I also bought three half-pints of chocolate ice cream.

When I arrived back at the room, Aaron was there talking to the kids. I took the soup and divided it into three. The nurse took the ice cream and put it into a small freezer until they were ready to eat it. I gave each child the soup and watched them eat. I particularly noticed Patrick. He took a small spoon full and tasted it. Then smiled, he dug right in.

“While you boys eat, Aaron and I are going to get something to eat as well.”

Aaron asked Christine if she wanted anything, she said no, so we left to get lunch. Since the soup smelled so good, I directed us to the café. Aaron smiled, and as soon as we entered, the woman behind the cash register came over and hugged him. “Aaron, are you working at the hospital?”

I sat at a table while Aaron explained what he was now doing. When he was finished talking with the woman, he came and sat down. “This was a favorite eating place for the hospital staff when I worked here.”

“How long did you work here?”

“I came here when I graduated from nursing school. I worked here for five years, mostly in pediatrics. One of the doctors told me that since I was so good with kids, I should go for a medical degree and become a pediatrician. I decided I didn’t have the money, but I could get an NP with a pediatrics concentration.