Nathan laughed. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.” He thanked Dr. Lee for his help and put the gift back in his pocket. He’d unwrap it at another time.
The phone rang and I reached over Emily to answer it. “Hold on one second,” I said, whispering. I put the phone on hold and was quiet as I moved to the side of bed so I wouldn’t wake Emily. I held the door open for Girl to come out of the room but she just lifted her head, looked at me, and curled up closer to Emily. I closed the door and went into my room to pick up the phone. “Hello. Sorry about that.”
“Patricia, this is Sandra.” Mia’s foster mother. “I’m sorry to bother you so early but something’s wrong with Mia.”
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure but yesterday she would sleep for hours at a time and last night she fell asleep at five-thirty. She just woke up and I tried to give her a bottle but she’s struggling to drink it. It’s like she’s out of breath or something and has no energy. I called the emergency pediatrician number and they said I’d need to take her to the emergency room at the hospital but I can’t take her this morning because Jeremy is throwing up.” Her four-year-old son had brought home some sort of flu bug from day care. I could tell by her voice that Sandra was concerned about Mia.
“Don’t worry, Sandra. I’ll take Mia to the hospital.” It wasn’t the first time I’d taken one of my cases to the doctor or hospital and I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
“Thank you, Patricia. I really hate to bother you.”
I washed my face and wondered what to do about Emily. I wouldn’t be gone that long. I can just leave her here with Mark, I thought. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater and was digging for a pair of shoes when I heard something behind me. It was Emily and Girl watching me. They looked so cute standing there together. Emily’s hair was a mess and she was holding Ernie by one paw.
She looked confused. “Where are you going?” she asked.
“A little girl is sick and I need to take her to the hospital this morning.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I don’t know.” I pulled on my shoes and sat in front of Emily. She leaned into me and I gave her a big hug. She put her head on my shoulder. “Did you sleep well?”
She nodded.
“Can I go with you?” she asked.
“It’s so early. I thought you’d probably like to stay here with Mark.”
She threw her arms around my neck and held tight. “No,” she said, frantic. “Take me with you.”
I thought she was scared of being left.
“The little girl might be afraid and want me to hold her hand.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said. “You know, I bet she will want someone to hold her hand.” It didn’t seem like the best idea but I knew Emily needed to go with me so I helped her get ready.
“Well, where’s everybody going?” Mark asked, standing in the doorway of Emily’s room.
“We have to go help a little girl who’s sick,” Emily said, pulling a sweatshirt over her head. “Could you take care of Girl for me?”
“I can do that,” he said. Emily followed Girl down the stairs and Mark walked into the bathroom so I wouldn’t have to pass him in the doorway. We had gotten good at polite avoidance and sidestepping one another.
I drove through the town square and noticed that Norma Holt hadn’t begun decorating the trio of fir trees yet. For the last couple of weeks I had kept my eye out for Norma but never saw her perched atop one of her ladders as she placed the enormous ornaments on each branch. I slowed down when I saw a city worker sweeping the sidewalk surrounding the square. “I haven’t seen Norma this year,” I said, stopping at the red light.
“She’s got pneumonia,” he said, resting his hands on top of the broom.
“Is she in the hospital?”
“Been there a couple of weeks. She went in with a broken hip and caught pneumonia.”
“How is she?”
“Not good. She’s seventy-seven and there ain’t much of her.” The light turned green and I waved to the man, saddened to think that I never knew Norma and that her trees would never be decorated again.
I pulled into Guy and Sandra’s driveway and when I picked Mia up I could see why Sandra had been concerned. She was a sick little girl. Emily sat next to Mia’s car seat and held on to her hand. “She likes me to hold her hand,” she said.
I looked at them in the mirror and could see that Mia liked Emily. There wasn’t a long wait in the emergency room and we were able to see a doctor soon after we arrived. He examined her but I could tell he was concerned.