Читать книгу Mission Creek Mother-To-Be - Elizabeth Harbison - Страница 11

“He swallowed it?” Jared picked the child up from Melanie’s lap. He was still calm, but there was an undercurrent in his voice.

She nodded, kneading her hands in front of her. “One-carat diamond stud. Oh, my God, what am I going to do?”

He gave her an impatient glance before turning his attention back to the child. “I’m sure your insurance will cover it.”

His words didn’t compute. “Insurance?”

He set the child on top of a table and told him to open wide. “Yes,” he said into Dan’s mouth, poking around with his finger. “You can get yourself a new— What did you say it was? One carat diamond?”

Melanie understood his implication. “I’m not worried about the diamond,” she said, drawing herself up. “I’m worried about the b-o-y.”

Dan looked at her with wide blue eyes. Oh, no, could he spell? She didn’t want to alarm him any more than necessary.

“The earring wasn’t huge,” she continued in a very soothing tone, with half an eye toward Dan, “but it wasn’t exactly a strawberry seed, either.” She took the other earring out of her ear and showed it to Jared. “It was this size. Can this hurt him?”

Jared took the earring and examined it. “It’s a short post, that’s good.”

She nodded eagerly. “I have them made that way because I don’t like getting poked when I sleep.”

He gave her a puzzled look.

“By the post, I mean,” she explained. “They’re sharp.”

“I see.”

Silence hung between them.

“I swallowed an ice cube once,” Melanie said, trying to reassure herself more than to inform him. “It was a lot bigger than that and it went down. Of course, I was older and it melted eventually, but still… Maybe this will go right through him, right?”

“Hopefully.”

Em came into the room from the kitchen area, with two children with wet hair. “Is something wrong?” she asked, her brow furrowed.

“It’s my fault,” Melanie said quickly. It was all she could do not to throw herself into Em’s arms, sobbing. “Dan was fiddling with my earring and I startled him and he—he swallowed it!”

“Your earring? How big was it?”

Melanie held the other one out to Em in a hand that trembled. “It was like this.”

“Oh, thank goodness it wasn’t a big one.”

Melanie was somewhat relieved. “It seems big when you think of it going through that little digestive system.”

To Melanie’s surprise, Em patted her arm kindly. “These things happen. Quite a lot around here, as a matter of fact. What do you think, Dr. Cross?” There was concern in her eyes, but at least she didn’t look alarmed.

“He needs to go upstairs for an X ray,” Jared said.

“An X ray?” Melanie’s knees felt weak. Oh, no. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

Em put a hand on her shoulder. “Now, now. It’s just a formality, to make sure it’s not stuck someplace it shouldn’t be. We always have to have an X ray, then we just let nature take its course.”

“I’ll call up there and tell them he’s coming,” Jared said briskly, going to the small office in the next room.

Melanie nodded and took the child back into her arms. Immediately he leaned his head against her chest. A sob caught in her throat, and she laid her cheek against his feathery-soft blond curls. “I’m sorry, baby. You feel okay?”

He didn’t answer, but she didn’t expect him to.

“Why don’t you take him to the X-ray department on the seventh floor now?” Em suggested. “I can hold down the fort here.”

“Do you really trust me to do that?” Melanie asked, worried that Em had forgotten who’d caused all this trouble in the first place.

“Why, of course.” Em looked surprised.

“Thank you.” Melanie’s words came out in a rush of gratitude. “I won’t let you down.”

“Melanie, dear, it was a mistake. Please don’t beat yourself up about it. Just let them check Dan out, then call Linda on the hospital phone and let her know what happened.”

Melanie nodded. “I will, absolutely.”

When Jared came back he said, “They’re waiting. I’ll take you up there. I have to pick up a chart from the seventh floor anyway.” He turned to Em. “Is Lily Palmer ready? I came down to get her for an appointment.”

“She certainly is.” Em called a child of about six over to join them.

Melanie was glad that Em and Jared were not so worried about Dan that they couldn’t think about anything else. That had to be a good sign.

“Dr. Cross!” the little girl squealed when she saw him. “Are we going to talk about my baby brother again?”

He smiled at her. “If you like.”

They all began walking toward the door.

“Whatever.” The child flipped her hair. “I’m not so sad about him coming anymore. Mommy said she’d hire me to help her when he’s here, but I don’t have to change smelly old diapers!”

“Sounds like you got a good deal,” he said, and the child laughed and ran ahead.

“Is she a patient of yours?” Melanie asked, holding Dan close as they rounded the corner to the elevators.

“A temporary one,” he answered. “Fortunately her problems were not very serious. Her mom’s a doctor here and due to give birth next month. Lily’s been having a little trouble with jealousy.”

“Oh, she’ll probably be thrilled when the baby comes along,” Melanie said. “Who wouldn’t be?”

Jared shot her a look, but smiled. “I’m sure she will. And your point is taken.”

Melanie feigned innocence. “My point?”

“Press the button,” Jared said to Lily, who proceeded to press it about ten times in rapid succession. “Yes, your point,” he said to Melanie. “How are you enjoying working with the kids?”

“Piece of cake,” she said.

He looked from her to Dan and back again, clearly trying not to smile. “That so?” The elevator arrived and they stepped on.

Her face grew warm. “Okay, maybe it’s not quite as easy as I thought it would be. But you have to admit working in day care is very different from having a child of one’s own.”

“We’ll see.”

We’ll see? Her heart lurched. Did that mean he was going to give her the okay? She knew better than to ask. Instead she just nodded. “I feel as confident as I ever did. Maybe even more.”

He raised an eyebrow. “More?”

“Sure. Look, already today I’ve learned that you can feed babies rocks and metal and they can, hopefully, just poop it out.”

Jared watched the digital numbers change over the door as the elevator went up. Although he didn’t exactly smile, she recognized a lightening of his expression. “That should come in handy if you should ever go broke.”

There it was again. Was he hinting to her that he was going to approve her as an artificial insemination candidate?

The doors opened and they stepped out.

“Luckily my parents left me with enough to provide for my children,” she said. “I don’t think we’ll have to resort to eating the elements, but it’s good to know that we can.”

To her amazement, he laughed. “You’re resourceful, I’ll give you that.” They stopped. “X-ray is down that hall and to the left. You can’t miss it. They’re expecting you.”

“Thanks,” Melanie said, thanking him as much for easing up on her as for giving her directions.

“Sure. Come on, Lily,” he said. “We’re going to pick something up then go to my office.” He reached his hand out to the little girl, and she took it. Something in the gesture made Melanie’s heart ache. She watched them walk away for a moment before following his directions to the X-ray department.

Everything went smoothly, although the waiting took longer and was more nerve-racking than Melanie had anticipated. When they finally took Dan in, they allowed Melanie to come with him. Part of her felt she didn’t have the right to be there, that she should have called his mother for this, but Em had specifically told her to call Linda afterward, when everything was all right. And Em had been confident that everything would be all right, so there was probably no sense in getting Linda worried for nothing.

In the X-ray room, Dan fussed and complained at first, but he held still long enough for them to take the picture. Afterward, when Melanie took him back in her arms, he was happy again.

The technician took the film out of the machine and clipped it onto the light board to take a look. “There it is,” he said, pointing to a small dark shadow in Dan’s stomach. “Yum.”

“Is he going to be all right?” Melanie asked fretfully.

“Looks like it,” the attending doctor said. “He didn’t suffer from any gagging or choking on its way down, so it didn’t get lodged in his windpipe. The rest is pretty easy. With any luck it should come out painlessly.”

Melanie sighed in relief.

“Is he going to be here in the hospital for the rest of the day?” the doctor asked.

“No, his grandmother is supposed to pick him up in about half an hour.”

“See if you can keep him in the day care instead. You’re going to have to watch for the earring to come out. If it hasn’t by the end of the day, we might do another X ray.”

Melanie swallowed. “All right. How will I know when it’s come out?”

The doctor smiled. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to inspect the contents of his diaper.”

She tried not to appear appalled by the notion, and nodded mutely.

Next she had to call Linda Darrow and tell her what happened. She screwed up her courage and went to the white house phone on the wall. The minutes seemed to tick by extra slowly while she waited for the operator to page Linda.

Finally Linda picked up the line and, with great trepidation, Melanie told her what had happened.

When she finished, Linda sighed heavily. “I can’t believe this.”

“I know,” Melanie said miserably. “I’m just so sorry about it.”

“How much is it going to cost?”

“Whatever it is, obviously I’ll cover it,” Melanie said, glad she could at least do that much.

There was a pause, then Linda asked. “I’m sorry, what do you mean you’ll cover it?”

“The medical costs, time you take off from work, anything.”

“I meant the diamond,” Linda said. “How much will it cost me to replace it for you?”

Melanie couldn’t believe her ears. “You’re not worried about Dan?”

“You just told me he was all right, didn’t you?” Linda asked. “We see this kind of thing, and much worse, all the time around here. Last week we had a girl in the ER who had swallowed one of those little lightbulbs. That was harrowing.”

Melanie gasped. “Was she all right?”

“Oh, sure. They got it out easy. Now about this earring, I don’t think I can buy a new one outright, but maybe if the jeweler has some kind of installment plan—”

“Please, Linda, no. I don’t care about that at all. The important thing is that Dan’s okay.” Knowing Linda’s objection was coming, she added, “I really have to insist.”

“I appreciate that, Miss Tourbier—”

“Melanie, please.”

“Melanie, then. Now I’d better call Mom and tell her not to come, then I’ll come down to see Dan in the day care as soon as I can get away.”

“I’ll hold on to him until you get there.”

Linda clicked her tongue against her teeth. “You’re just the sweetest thing. I hope you stay in Mission Creek for a good long time.”

I hope it doesn’t take a good long time for Jared Cross to decide I can be a mother, Melanie thought, but she said, “I hope so, too.”

By the time she got back to the day-care center, the lights were dimmed and most of the children were sleeping on mats on the floor. Em hurried over to Melanie and Dan and said in a hushed voice, “It’s nap time. Every day after lunch.” She gave Melanie a sympathetic smile. “Speaking of which, you must be starving. Why don’t you give Dan to me and I’ll rock him to sleep while you go grab a bite.”

The last thing Melanie was concerned with right now was food. “May I rock him myself?” she asked, reluctant to give up the warm little boy who seemed to like being in her arms as much as she liked having him there. “Please?”

Em raised her eyebrows and gestured toward the chair. “Be my guest. If you’re sure.”

Melanie gave the boy a squeeze and said, “I’m sure.” She carried him over to the chair and sat down, settling his head in the crook of her arm. He wriggled impatiently at first, but she shushed him and quietly began singing lullabies. Within five minutes he was asleep.

And she was more positive than ever that she wanted a child of her own. No matter what it took.

Unfortunately, it looked like it would take a lot.

Jared sat by himself in the doctors lounge and ate the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he’d brought. This particular lunch was a habit he’d had for a long time.

He took a sip of the milk he’d picked up in the cafeteria and looked at the small color TV that someone had left on in the corner.

There was some kind of news conference going on outside the Stop n’ Save. A painfully thin, pale woman was talking. There were several microphones in front of her, and she was looking into the camera. Her face might have been called pixie-ish if it didn’t look so hard. The caption under her read, Deena Hines, Wife of Escaped Convict Branson Hines.

“Branson,” she said, her voice as thin and reedy as her body. “Please, please, come home, darlin’. I’m worried about you because I don’t know where you are or how you’re doin’. Please get in touch with me—” she looked slyly left and right “—or with the police.” Jared thought he saw the smallest smirk curl the left side of her mouth. “Please, darlin’, I want you back home. It’ll be better for you if you turn yourself in, rather than letting them find you, because they are looking.” At this, she broke down into strangely tearless sobs, and covered her face with her bony hands.