Lean on Me (Stories from hope haven)

by Leslie Gould

  Lindsay Belle grinned when she saw Anabelle. The little girl’s thin auburn ponytail bobbed around atop her head.

  “She wants to play in here all the time.” Ainslee sat down on the couch and picked up Lindsay Belle, but the baby arched her back and squealed again. Ainslee nodded at the table. “Why didn’t anyone tell me this thing was a really stupid idea?”

  Anabelle pursed her lips together. She’d known all along that the minimalist coffee table was going to be a problem with a toddler, but Ainslee wouldn’t have believed her back then.

  Ainslee let out a groan as Lindsay Belle arched her back again.

  “I’ll do the shoes when we go out,” Anabelle said. “You should go on to work.”

  “Thanks.” Ainslee sounded relieved. “The stroller’s in the garage. Lindsay Belle could use the fresh air.”

  “I could too,” Anabelle said. “We’ll have fun.”

  Ainslee put the shoes on the coffee table and stood, slinging the baby to her hip. “Her lunch is in the fridge, and there’s sandwich stuff for you.”

  Anabelle nodded as her daughter relinquished her granddaughter. “Try not to have too much fun.” Ainslee smiled.

  “You know me; I won’t be able to help myself.” Anabelle hugged her granddaughter, forgetting that her reading glasses were around her neck; Lindsay Belle had them nearly to her mouth before Anabelle grabbed them.

  Ainslee scurried around, stepping over blocks and balls and teething toys, grabbing her teal scarf off a dining room chair, her boots from the entryway, and her black blazer from where it had fallen off a hanger looped through a slat of the open staircase. Anabelle tried not to gloat. The house, thank goodness, was no longer the immaculate showpiece it had once been.

  Ainslee kissed Lindsay Belle on the cheek and waved good-bye.

  “Bye-bye!” Lindsay Belle made a fist and opened and closed her fingers, toward herself.

  “Thanks, Mother!” Ainslee called out from the kitchen just before the door slammed. A moment of silence fell over the house.

  And then Lindsay Belle began to cry. Big crocodile tears formed in her pale blue eyes and then rolled down her cheeks. “Mama,” she wailed.

  “She’ll be back,” Anabelle cooed. “She has to work, and then she’ll be home. We’ll have fun together while she’s gone.”

  Anabelle gathered up a collection of blocks by kicking them together with her foot and then sank down to the floor, balancing Lindsay Belle as she did. “Let’s play,” she said, handing a red block to her granddaughter.

  The baby shook her head, sending her little ponytail bobbing around again.

  Anabelle placed a blue block on top of the red, and Lindsay Belle smacked her hand against them.

  “How about a walk?” Anabelle said, struggling to her feet with the baby in her arms.

  Lindsay Belle smiled at Anabelle and clapped.

  “Yes.” Anabelle stood up straight. “But we have to put your shoes on.”

  Lindsay Belle’s lower lip jutted out.

  Anabelle’s cell phone began to jingle in her jacket pocket.

  Elena. Maybe she had more information about the situation at Hope Haven.

  The women chatted for a minute. Elena had heard what was going on from Cesar but that was all. Anabelle filled her in with what she knew.

  “Actually, I was calling to see if you and Lindsay Belle wanted to go to the park.”

  “Ooh, a play date,” Anabelle said, squeezing Lindsay Belle. The little girl clapped her hands together. “That sounds great.” Playing with Izzy would be the distraction she needed.

  Elena and Anabelle decided to meet in fifteen minutes, and Anabelle knew Elena would probably be there in ten. The woman was never late.

  Anabelle stocked Lindsay Belle’s bag with diapers, a container of cereal, a bottle, and an extra set of clothes. Then she put on the little girl’s shoes, coat, and hat. “Bye-bye!” Lindsay Belle said.

  Anabelle was delighted at the words her granddaughter already knew. “That’s right, sweetie. We’re going to see Izzy at the park!” Anabelle slung the diaper bag over one arm and picked up Lindsay Belle with the other.

  Anabelle headed through the kitchen and into the garage, poking the opener for the overhead door and then pushing the stroller with one hand in a curvy line out to her car. She was grateful she had a baby safety seat now. She strapped Lindsay Belle in and then wrestled the stroller into the trunk, feeling like she’d had a workout by the time she’d fastened her own seat belt and started the engine.

  Ten minutes later they were at the park. Izzy came running from the swings toward them, her pink fleece jacket unbuttoned and billowing around her, her long curly hair in corkscrew pigtails flying around her head. Elena walked after her granddaughter, her long legs covering the distance quickly. The morning sun was doing its best to chase away the spring chill. Tulips were nearly ready to bloom in the flower beds on the other side of the playground and the sweeping lawn of the park was beginning to green.

  Anabelle lifted Lindsay Belle out of her car seat.

  “Hiya!” Izzy called and then came to an abrupt stop, gasping to catch her breath.

  Lindsay Belle squealed in delight at the sight of the older girl.

  Elena lifted the stroller from the trunk, Izzy held the diaper bag, and then Anabelle lowered Lindsay Belle into the stroller. By the time they reached the play structure, Lindsay Belle was whimpering to get out and walk. Anabelle lifted her to the ground and then kept hold of her hand, directing her to the toddlers’ section. Izzy quickly took her other hand, and Lindsay Belle let go of her grandmother and toddled along with her little friend. Anabelle stepped back, watching the two head for the kiddie structure. Lindsay Belle kept looking at Izzy and smiling.

  “Isn’t that cute?” Elena said, pushing the stroller out of the way and moving the diaper bag to the seat so the whole contraption wouldn’t topple over.

  “Izzy’s a natural,” Anabelle said.

  Elena chuckled. “She’ll be babysitting in no time.”

  Izzy had an arm around Lindsay Belle now, guiding her forward. The little girl plopped back on her padded bottom, and Izzy gently helped her up; then the baby toppled over onto Izzy, and they both went down, giggling as they did. Together the girls stood and then made their way over the little bridge that led to the slide. No part of the structure was more than a couple of inches off the ground and had been perfectly designed for toddlers.

  The two women sat down on the bench adjacent to the playground and watched their granddaughters.

  “I talked with Cesar about the advisory committee,” Elena said. “I’m going to call Dr. Hamilton when I get home.”

  “Oh good,” Anabelle said. Having Elena on board would contribute both energy and intelligence to the committee.

  “Cesar said he’d heard that departments were being closed—not just one. Is that what you heard?”

  Anabelle shook her head. “Dr. Hamilton said that just the new Holistic Cardiac Program was cut. He said McGarry seemed concerned about the overall health of the hospital, but Varner seemed confident we’d carry on.”

  Elena tapped her foot. “I’m more apt to trust McGarry on this.”

  “But it’s unbelievable that the hospital could be in trouble again, after what we’ve already gone through,” Anabelle said.

  Elena agreed. “Unbelievable and frustrating.”

  Lindsay Belle began to toddle toward them; Anabelle stood, ready for her granddaughter, when the little girl took a wide turn. Two bigger boys were on the big-kid swings across the park and calling back and forth to each other. Lindsay Belle began to toddle faster, heading toward the cement curb around the playground.

  “Wait!” Izzy yelled, coming around the side of the toddler play structure.

  “I’ll get her,” Anabelle said, striding toward her granddaughter. Lindsay Belle was moving pretty quickly for a baby that hadn’t been walking long.

  Izzy began to run, and she hadn’t seemed to hear Anabell
e. Lindsay Belle turned and started to laugh, as if she thought it was a game. Just as Izzy reached her, Lindsay Belle plopped down on the cement curb and Izzy swerved to miss her, tripping and then falling onto the little girl.

  Anabelle lunged toward the children with Elena right behind her. Lindsay Belle screamed as Izzy rolled off her. Already the older girl was saying, “Are you all right?”

  Anabelle scooped Lindsay Belle up. There was blood on her cheek. She swiped at it quickly but couldn’t see a wound.

  “Is she okay?” Elena asked.

  Lindsay Belle arched her back as she screamed. Anabelle checked the back of her head but couldn’t see a cut.

  “Buela?” Izzy was behind both of them. “Buela,” she said again. “Look.”

  Both women turned around. Izzy held her hand. It was covered with blood. Elena stooped down. “Sweetie,” she said.

  Blood gushed from Izzy’s lower lip.

  Elena stepped out into the hall of the Emergency Room and tried Rafael on his cell phone one last time. She had a medical power of attorney form he had signed that she always kept in her purse, giving her permission to approve medical treatment for Izzy. He’d gone off to Springfield with a bandmate to look at a new sound system.

  The call went into voice mail for the fourth time, and Elena hit End. There was no reason to tell him one more time that they were in the ER, that Izzy was okay but probably needed stitches.

  Elena stepped back into the cubicle. Izzy held an icepack against her lip, her big gray eyes dry now. They’d smarted with tears at the park, but she’d been amazingly calm, more worried about Lindsay Belle than herself. “You’re doing so well,” Elena said, putting her arm around her granddaughter.

  “Is Daddy coming?” Her words were muffled behind the ice.

  Elena shook her head. “I still couldn’t reach him. He is going to be so surprised when he gets my messages.” She smiled at her granddaughter, trying to be positive. “And he’s going to be so proud of how brave you’ve been.”

  “When’s the doctor going to get here?” She sounded a bit forlorn.

  “Soon,” Elena said, caressing the girl’s hair. They’d been in the ER for half an hour. She wondered if Anabelle and Lindsay Belle were still in the waiting room or if they’d given up and gone home.

  Elena sat down in the chair beside the bed, her hand on Izzy’s leg. A minute later Dr. Weller walked in. His smile and goofy disposition, accentuated by his lanky build, put Izzy at ease.

  “How about if you hand over the ice and let me take a look,” the doctor said.

  Izzy inched the pack away from her lip. It was swollen and the gash was wide. The ER nurse had already cleaned the wound, removing the gravel and dirt. Poor Izzy had been brave, but Elena knew it hurt.

  The doctor slipped gloves onto his hands and tipped her head, taking a closer look. As a mom, and a nurse, Elena was sure Izzy needed stitches. She’d had quite a run of ER visits with Rafael when he was a boy: a slash on his thigh from a barbed wire fence, a cut on the back of his head from falling off the top of the swing set and landing on a rock that he had thrown onto the lawn, a cut on his arm from an encounter with his skate boarding ramp. It had been one thing after another.

  “This definitely needs to be closed up,” Dr. Weller said, letting go of Izzy’s chin. He turned toward the supply cabinet and opened the top drawer. Elena expected him to pull out a suture and needle, but instead he had a tube in his hand. “Have you used super glue before?” he asked Izzy.

  “I’m not allowed,” she said, seriously.

  “Of course not.” He chuckled. “Thankfully I am. This is a super glue for skin. It means you don’t have to have stitches.”

  Of course. A wave of relief passed through Elena. No straightjacket. No holding Izzy down. No keeping her from screaming while the doctor stitched just below her mouth. Or maybe they would have had to sedate her.

  “It will just take a minute,” the doctor said.

  He directed Izzy to lie back on the table, and Elena stood and held both of her hands and whispered encouraging words to her.

  “I’ll hold the skin in place,” Dr. Weller said. “And then I’ll squirt.”

  Izzy smiled.

  “Here’s the deal,” the doc said. “You smile one last time and then no more smiling, okay? Not until I’m done. If you can do that, your grandma will—what do you like? Candy? Soda?”

  “Ice cream!” Izzy said.

  “Okay. She’ll take you out for ice cream.”

  “Can Lindsay Belle come too?” Izzy asked.

  “We’ll see,” Elena answered. Perhaps the little one was home taking a nap by now.

  The doctor worked quickly and in no time the job was done.

  “Will she need to see a plastic surgeon?” Elena asked, helping Izzy to sit back up.

  Dr. Weller pulled off his gloves. “There’s actually less scaring with this. It will hardly be noticeable. I don’t think a plastic surgeon could have done any better.” He extended his hand to Izzy, and she shook it sweetly and then said a polite thank-you.

  As Izzy and Elena waited for the nurse to come in with instructions on keeping the wound clean, Izzy started picking out letters around the room. “E,” she said pointing at the sign above the door. “X-I-T.”

  “That’s great,” Elena said. “How about over here?” She pointed to the sign by the oxygen line.

  “O-X-Y—”

  The nurse waltzed in. “Oh, someone’s learning her letters,” she said and then grinned. She pointed to her scrub top that looked like a colorful version of alphabet soup, and then zeroed in on the letter C.

  Izzy put her hand up to her eyes.

  “Careful, Iz,” Elena said, “don’t bump your lip.”

  “How about this one?” The nurse pointed to an N. Izzy shook her head.

  “Oh, come on,” the nurse said. “I heard you reciting those other letters.”

  Izzy peeked out from behind her fingers but wouldn’t respond. The nurse sighed. “I tried,” she said as she turned to Elena and began to explain how to care for the wound. As Elena listened, she wondered at Izzy’s sudden attack of shyness. It wasn’t like her.

  Anabelle sat in the cafeteria with Lindsay Belle, feeding her bits of steamed vegetables. The little girl yawned and rubbed her eyes. It was definitely nap time, but Anabelle didn’t want to leave until Elena and Izzy were done.

  “Anabelle?”

  She turned, expecting Elena, but it was Candace, standing with a tray of food. “What are you doing here?”

  Anabelle motioned for her friend to join them and then explained what had happened with Izzy at the park.

  “Oh dear,” Candace said, dipping her spoon into her minestrone soup. “How’s Elena holding up?”

  “Well, you know. She’s a tower of strength. But it was pretty unnerving.” Anabelle handed Lindsay Belle a piece of steamed carrot. She couldn’t imagine if it had been Lindsay Belle injured. Just that first second of thinking that Lindsay Belle was bleeding had about undone her. Not that she was thankful it was Izzy who had been hurt, but she hoped that, by the time Lindsay Belle was six, she would be able to react as calmly as Elena had.

  “How are things around here today?” Anabelle asked. She’d been tempted to go up to the Cardiac Care Unit and see if anyone was gossiping about James’s being laid off but had refrained.

  “There are rumors and more rumors,” Candace said. “The latest being that they’re going to close the Birthing Unit.”

  “They wouldn’t do that,” Anabelle said. “That would be ridiculous.”

  “That’s what I said.” Candace took a spoonful of soup. “But it isn’t a big moneymaker.”

  Anabelle gave Lindsay Belle another bite of carrot. It seems like that’s what health care’s coming down to—money, she thought. Sure, a hospital’s a business, but health isn’t a commodity like coffee or—

  Lindsay Belle sputtered, and orange mush came flying out of her mouth. Anabelle grabbed a napkin and swip
ed it across her granddaughter’s face.

  Many of the other nurses, including Candace, didn’t have the option of retiring or depending on a husband like Anabelle did. Relocating at this time would be a huge challenge for both Candace and her kids. Anabelle quickly told her friend what Dr. Hamilton had said, that only the one program had been targeted. Candace didn’t seem entirely convinced.

  Lindsay Belle laughed and another piece of carrot flew, landing on her arm. Anabelle wiped it up with a second napkin. She smiled at her granddaughter, but inside she was thinking of James again. What would his family do?

  Lindsay Belle was grinning at Candace now and bobbing her head around, the little ponytail on top of her head fanned out like a palm tree atop a tropical island.

  “She’s adorable,” Candace said. “And to think she’s almost one. How did that happen so soon?”

  Anabelle smiled, remembering Lindsay Belle’s birth. Candace had been there too, giving Ainslee the best care available. “First the kids grow up in a flash and then the grandkids.” Anabelle tried to laugh but it came out a little hollow.

  “You’re telling me,” Candace said. “It seems like life has been on hyper speed since Brooke started middle school. Here she is, already a teenager.… ” Her voice trailed off and Anabelle followed her gaze.

  Heath Carlson, wearing blue scrubs, headed toward them. It looked as if he was picking up a Saturday shift as well.

  “Hi,” Candace called out, scooting toward the wall. “I was afraid you weren’t going to be able to get away.”

  “Me too.” It was obvious the two had hoped to meet for lunch. Heath sat down and quickly said hello to Anabelle and Lindsay Belle.

  “We should be on our way,” Anabelle said as she started to gather up Lindsay Belle’s dish, sippy cup, and container of cereal. Neither Candace nor Heath protested. Once she had the diaper bag over her shoulder and the baby in her arms, she turned to the couple and said, “See you soon.”

  They smiled and said good-bye, but by the time Anabelle was across the cafeteria and stole a backward look, the two were deep in conversation, still sitting side by side, looking intently into each other’s eyes.