Vital Signs

by Bobby Hutchinson

  “I didn’t actually grow up with them,” he said. “I was adopted at birth, and I grew up as an only child. I found my birth family when I was in my late teens. Well, in fact, they found me. It’s a complicated story. I’ll tell you about it when we have more time.”

  “I’d really like to hear.” God, that sounded lame, but she didn’t know what else to say. He hadn’t needed to tell her such intimate stuff, but he had, anyway. It made her feel privileged. “You’re sure honest about it.” That was one more huge thing in his favor. The guy must have some severe faults, but they weren’t evident right off the bat.

  “I have to be honest, because I have a terrible memory.”

  In unison, they recited, “And a liar needs a good memory.”

  They both laughed, and Hailey said, “One of my gran’s favorite sayings. Who drummed it into you?”

  “My mom. My adoptive mom, that is.”

  “It must get complicated, having two mothers.”

  “Two fathers, as well. Different as it’s possible to be. My adoptive dad was a farmer who also worked as a handyman. My genetic father is a lawyer.”

  “Two dads,” she marveled. “Some guys have all the luck. The only one I had died when I was a kid.”

  He didn’t respond because they’d reached David’s room, and Hailey could see through the window that he was awake. For the first time he was sitting up, watching the door, his little face somber. She had yet to see a smile, but she was going to work extra hard to win one. As always, his battered toy dog was clutched to his chest.

  “Hey, Davie boy, just look at you, wide awake and rarin’ to go.” She went over to him and checked his diaper. It was dry. She’d be a lot happier when it was soaked all the time, which would mean his body’s fluid level was stabilizing. Next she checked the IV level, and then reached her arms out to him. “Wanna come walk about with Hailey? I should go and make sure my yoga students aren’t busting their necks.”

  David gave her a long, searching look and then nodded, just once. She felt thrilled at his acceptance of her.

  “Why, that’s a yes. Let’s do it. C’mon, sweetie,” she cooed. “Ooh, you’re such a big boy.” She lifted him into her arms, careful to take the dog, and kissed his downy cheek. Resting him on her hip, she pointed at Roy. “This guy’s your special friend. His name’s Roy. Can you say Roy?”

  David gave Roy a suspicious look and shook his head.

  Roy reached out and touched the toy dog with a forefinger. “Who’s this fellow, David? Does your friend have a name?”

  They waited, and when David didn’t respond, Hailey said, “That’s Dog, silly. Anybody can see that’s Dog, right, Davie?”

  To her surprise, he shook his head. “Bonzo,” he said clearly. He had a husky little voice, and his articulation was excellent.

  “Oh, your dog’s name is Bonzo. That’s a good name for a dog.” Hailey was elated. He was beginning to talk.

  “It’s time you and Bonzo met some of the other inmates, young man. Can you bring that pole, Roy?”

  “Sure thing.” With Roy making engine noises and steering the IV, they sailed out into the hallway and down to the playroom. There were now several girls there, as well as the boys, all playing with a building set.

  “Hey, everybody, this is David,” Hailey said. “And the big guy’s Roy.” She lowered herself to the floor with David on her lap.

  “Are you a doctor, Roy?” Four-year-old Elizabeth had cystic fibrosis. She was giving him the once-over. “’Cause I didn’t see you before.”

  “Nope, not a doctor,” Roy said with a wide smile. “I’m David’s social worker.” He sank down on the rug beside the rest of them, agile and easy. He was wearing jeans, and Hailey noted that they fit him the way jeans ought to fit.

  “So what’s a social worker?” Elizabeth was noted for asking questions.

  Roy was quiet for a moment as he thought that one over.

  “It’s a person whose job is to help people who have troubles.”

  “What kind of troubles does David have?”

  “That’s sort of private between him and me,” Roy explained. “But I work with other people, too, and some of them might have problems with money, or with their family, or with getting a job. Mostly I help little kids who have no families find people who love them and want to take care of them.”

  “So how does that make you feel?” Elizabeth was frowning, peering at Roy like a miniature psychologist, and it was all Hailey could do to keep from laughing. It was the question she asked most often of all her patients, and Elizabeth was a quick study. Hailey had found that too often with kids, adults didn’t ask how things made them feel. When she did, she always found the kids heartbreakingly honest and forthright in their answers, and she waited to hear what Roy would say.

  He was obviously taken aback at first. He glanced at Hailey and lifted one eyebrow. She gave him an encouraging wink.

  “Well, I guess sometimes it makes me sad,” he began in a hesitant voice, and Hailey was impressed. Most guys she’d met didn’t do feelings at all when asked that question. They answered from their head, instead of their heart.

  “Do you cry?” Elizabeth was persistent. “I cry when the nurses hammer on me to loosen my mucus.”

  “Yeah, sometimes I cry,” Roy admitted. He was redder than usual, and he didn’t meet Hailey’s eyes, but she was bowled over by his honesty. “And there’re other times that make me laugh, so I guess it balances out.”

  “Hailey always makes us laugh,” Elizabeth stated.

  Then Tommy, who’d been listening, said, “Hailey really, really makes us laugh. Sometimes she gets in trouble for it, too.” He leaned toward Roy and said in a stage whisper, “Some people don’t like hearing little kids laugh when they’re in here.”

  “No kidding?” Roy looked surprised. “Why is that, do you think?”

  Hailey really liked the fact that Roy didn’t talk down to the kids.

  “They figure we get too excited and it wears us out,” Elizabeth explained. It was the answer Margaret had given Hailey when she reprimanded her for making the kids what she called “hysterical and unmanageable.”

  “I don’t agree,” Roy declared. “Laughing is good. I always feel better when I laugh a lot.”

  There was a chorus of agreement.

  “So what’s wrong with him?” Elizabeth was standing beside Hailey, and she reached out and took one of David’s hands in hers. She looked at Roy. “Why’s he in the hospital? Why’s he need you to help him?”

  This was tricky ground. Hailey glanced at Roy, wondering how he’d handle it. All the kids were listening, waiting for his reply.

  “David’s mommy is having some problems and she can’t take care of him just now. He got sick, and he needs to get strong again, and this is a good place to get better.”

  It was the truth, without going into details.

  The kids all studied David for a few minutes, and then Elizabeth put her arms around him and gave him a gentle hug. David’s expressive blue eyes grew wide, but he didn’t pull away.

  “It’s not too bad here, David,” Elizabeth told him, putting her small face close to his, almost nose to nose. “It’s not as good as home, but the nurses are nice, ’specially Hailey, and most of the doctors are okay. They don’t hurt you unless they really, really have to. Sometimes Ian and Tommy are bad. They run around like crazy, and once they upset the cart and scissors and stuff fell down, and Margaret got really mad, and we had to stay in our rooms. It’s hard when you’re in bed at night, though. It’s lonely then.”

  Hailey had a lump in her throat, and when she looked at Roy, she could see that he, too, was touched by what Elizabeth had said.

  “If you get too lonely, honey,” Hailey reminded her, “you can just push the buzzer. Whoever’s on will come in and talk to you at night.”

  “I know.” Elizabeth nodded. “But I only want my mommy then.”

  “Mama?” The word was barely above a whisper. “Mama?” Da
vid’s chin trembled and his face puckered. He whimpered, and Hailey could feel the tension in his arms and legs, but he didn’t cry out loud, and that was far more disturbing to her than if he’d howled and had a temper fit. He pointed a forefinger toward the door and repeated in a sad, questioning tone, “Mama come?”

  “Sorry, Davie, Mama’s not here today.” Hailey could see her own reaction mirrored in Roy’s stricken expression. “How about we go and get you a new bottle of juice, young man? Does everybody want juice?”

  There was a chorus of assent, and Hailey made a production of leading a conga line to the snack area. It was a cop-out for David, but Hailey didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t exactly tell the poor kid that his mother was missing in action and not expected to show up, could she?

  “I’ve gotta go. I have a meeting in a few minutes.” Roy reached out and touched David’s cheek with his finger.

  “Bye, David.” His voice was husky. “See you again soon.” He lifted a finger to his forehead in a salute to Hailey, and for one long moment their eyes met and a silent acknowledgment of the hurt little kids were forced to absorb passed between them. “See you, too, Ms. Bergstrom. Soon.”

  Hailey took David back to his crib and he settled down with a bottle of apple juice and some toys she’d brought from the playroom. Soon he was asleep, and she went back to her duties, but anger at Shannon Riggs simmered in her. How did you walk away one afternoon and forget you had a baby?

  She found herself wondering if Shannon had OD’d, and then was shocked at her callousness when she found herself thinking maybe that would be the best thing that could happen for David.

  HAILEY WAS JUST coming back from her supper break when an aide appeared, looking for her.

  “There’s someone here to see you, Hailey. She’s in the waiting room down the hall.”

  It was Nicole. She had a huge shopping bag on the chair beside her, and she got to her feet when she saw Hailey.

  “Hope I’m not interrupting something important. I only have a couple minutes. I’m due to meet a client, but I wanted to drop this stuff off.”

  Nicole looked entirely different than she had the previous evening. She was wearing a dark pin-striped business suit and designer glasses, and her long hair was pulled to the back of her head in a nononsense bun. She was still beautiful, but now she looked like a woman no one would dare mess with.

  “I thought about what you said, that the kids share stuff, so I got some things that I thought could be just for David and some that everyone can use.” She upended the bag. “He probably doesn’t much care what he’s wearing, but I couldn’t resist these.” There were four small tracksuits, soft fleecy cotton, in bright shades of red, blue, yellow and turquoise.

  “With his eyes and hair, these colors should be great on him,” Hailey said.

  There was also a huge stack of books that Hailey could tell at a glance were perfect for David’s age, and several ingenious learning games designed to attach to the bars of a crib. There was also a small fleecy white teddy bear.

  “I wouldn’t dream of trying to substitute the one he’s got,” Nicole explained. “I know how much it means to him. I just thought maybe he could have two?”

  Nicole was looking at Hailey with an uncertain expression.

  “Of course he can. Maybe now I can even get Bonzo away from him long enough to wash. Thanks so much for all this, Nicole.” Hailey was examining the games. They were both unique and educational and more expensive than the hospital budget would ever allow. “Wow, these are great. Because of the IV, he has to spend a fair amount of time in his crib, and these will challenge him.”

  As Hailey repacked the bag, she gave Nicole an update on David, telling her that he was drinking more liquids and that he’d asked for his mother.

  “Wouldn’t you just like to strangle her?” Nicole’s blue eyes flashed fire behind her glasses.

  “Absolutely. Around here, there’d be a lineup for the privilege.”

  Ian and Tommy, laughing uproariously and clearly bent on destruction, went tearing past the door.

  “Gotta go, Nicole. Those two are my patients and they’re hellcats when they get going. No telling what they’ll get up to. I gotta catch them before they pull a fire alarm or plug the toilets again.”

  “I don’t suppose you’d want to have lunch one of these days?” Again Nicole’s voice was uncertain.

  “Love to. Only trouble is, I’m starting the seven-to-seven shift tomorrow morning—I’ve been filling in for another nurse on this shorter one. So it would have to be a late dinner, instead of lunch.” Hailey figured that would be out of the question; any woman who looked like Nicole had dates every night of the week.

  But to her surprise, Nicole gave her a wide smile and an enthusiastic nod. “That would be perfect. I don’t eat till late, anyway. And I’m free any evening that’s convenient for you.” She pulled a business card out of one of her pockets. “Call me—you set the time. I can work my schedule around yours.”

  Hailey shot off down the corridor in pursuit of her rambunctious charges, wondering why Nicole would want to see her away from work. The two of them were obviously nothing alike, and what they might have in common beyond discussing David, she couldn’t imagine. But her curiosity was piqued, and she found herself looking forward to getting to know the other woman better.

  She spent the late afternoon hurrying through the necessary duties so she’d have time to read that evening to the kids at the end of her shift. It was a difficult time for some of them, that hour or so before bedtime, and she hated the fact that they often got stuck in front of the TV because the nurses were busy. Many parents spent the end of their workday with their sick kids, but there were a number of kids on the ward whose parents lived far away or had other children at home to care for and so couldn’t make it to St. Joe’s.

  They were the ones Hailey spoiled a little with balloons and stories and, if their diets permitted, special snacks and little treats from the kitchen.

  She picked up David and took him with her to the playroom, where she sat in a rocking chair and read the kids a couple of chapters from a Harry Potter book. Of course the story was way beyond David’s level, and he kept looking up at her, a puzzled expression on his face. Once, he reached up and took hold of a fistful of hair.

  She smiled at him, and there was the tiniest movement of his mouth, not quite a smile, but close. The other kids demanded equal time on her lap, so she strapped David in a wheelchair. He didn’t object. He watched the others, but most of all, he watched Hailey.

  A full hour after her shift had ended, she carried him back to his crib and settled him for the night. She bent and kissed his cheek, and a dangerous thought flickered through her mind.

  It was probably impossible, but if Roy couldn’t find any relatives who wanted him, was there any chance that she could take this little boy home with her?

  ROY WAS FRUSTRATED. Four days had passed since he’d first visited David in St. Joe’s, and so far, all his attempts to find Shannon Riggs or anyone who could tell him where she was had come to nothing. First he’d checked her personnel file on the computer, getting whatever details were available about previous investigations. Then he’d located Tonya Cabral, the volunteer street worker who’d taken Shannon under her wing and helped her get off drugs. Tonya was somewhere in her sixties, a tiny, birdlike woman with deep lines in her face and dark, sad eyes. She’d put a wrinkled hand over her mouth and started to cry when he told her that Shannon had disappeared, leaving David alone.

  “I feel so responsible,” she sobbed. “I usually go over and visit her Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I came down with a bad migraine and was knocked out for a few days.”

  Shannon had gone through a drug-rehab program prior to David’s birth, and she seemed to have stayed clean, because there was no record of a complaint regarding her care of David. He’d called the social worker who’d been involved at that time, and she confirmed that Shannon took good care of her baby.
She was attending parenting classes and working at getting her high-school diploma.

  The troubling thing was that Shannon had never revealed who the baby’s father was or given any information about her own background, other than saying she’d grown up in Port Hardy, a coastal village on Vancouver Island. Her file listed her mother and father as deceased, with no other close relatives and no siblings, but from experience, Roy knew that teenagers often did that on their forms. If they were from troubled homes, they didn’t want their parents involved in their lives. The social worker had talked to street kids who knew Shannon, and they’d said she was often seen with a man named Murphy. None of them knew much about him or where he lived. The file wasn’t much help to Roy in finding Shannon. Tracing relatives would be difficult, if not impossible. He called the RCMP in Port Hardy and asked them to locate any families by the name of Riggs, but he strongly suspected that Shannon wasn’t using her real name.

  He was also doing his best to locate her. He’d given her description to the people he knew who drove around downtown Vancouver in vans, distributing clean needles and condoms. He knew several of the firefighters who worked the downtown east side, and he’d asked them to be on the lookout for her. He’d checked emergency departments at all the Lower Mainland hospitals besides St. Joe’s, and of course the Vancouver police had Shannon’s description.

  He’d interviewed the firemen who’d been first on the scene in the apartment, he’d talked to the paramedics and the staff in the ER, and of course he was keeping close contact with David’s doctor, Harry Larue.

  Roy had other cases, far too many of them to be able to devote a full working day to David’s situation. As always, he was forced to do a great deal of work on his own time. And he was starting to really begrudge the fact that his private life and his profession were one and the same.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  SHANNON RIGGS came out of drugged oblivion and her first thoughts were of Davie, but the thought of him made the pain in her chest too sharp. She shoved the images of her son down into a dark box in her mind and tried to slam the lid.