Second Opinion

by Alexander, Hannah

  “Hi, Lauren. I saw Calvin Piedmont out in the waiting room and he’s practically chewing the vinyl cushions on the chairs. I promised I’d check on his mother.” As he peered past Lauren his grin broadened. “Cecile, what are you doing in bed at this time of night?” Though Archer was a couple of years younger than Lauren, she envied his spiritual maturity.

  He had short and slightly ruffled brown hair. Combined with his quick, friendly smile, those features gave him a boyish look that camouflaged his true maturity. He stepped into the room and crossed to the bed to give their patient a kiss on her cheek. “I guess you know your son’s mad at you.”

  The lady took Archer’s hand in both of her own. “Let him be mad. He didn’t call you down here to see just me, did he? I told him not to.”

  “He didn’t call me. I’m the chaplain on duty tonight. Lauren called me.” He glanced around at Lauren and winked. Her face grew warm. No wonder the number of females in the church youth group was increasing weekly.

  As soon as the thought occurred to her she chided herself. Even if he was single and good-looking, with the movements and physique of a star athlete and an incredible sense of humor, he was her pastor. He was also an old friend. Lauren realized she should know better but she’d never had a great deal of control over whom she found attractive.

  Belatedly, she realized she had made no introductions and was staring at Archer like one of the love-struck teenagers in the youth group. The heat beneath her skin increased. Could she be coming down with a touch of the virus some of their patients had brought in with them tonight?

  “Archer,” Mrs. Piedmont said, “this is Dr. Sheldon. He’s new in town and he has twins who are sixteen years old. Don’t you think we should get them involved in some of the activities you and Lauren have going?”

  “Of course.” Archer reached out to shake Dr. Sheldon’s hand. The two men assessed each other with the quick, respectful once-over that men used when sizing each other up for a game of one-on-one basketball. The smile remained in Archer’s eyes and it was genuine. He had an easygoing grace about him that Lauren knew would help comfort the patients.

  Dr. Sheldon returned Archer’s greeting with equal warmth then turned back to his patient. “Mrs. Piedmont, we’ll wait for the results of those blood tests—they shouldn’t take long—and then I’ll contact your family doctor. If you start feeling any more pain, please let us know immediately.”

  Mrs. Piedmont laid her head back against the pillow and smiled up at him. “I’ll do that, Doctor. Would someone tell my son that I’m still alive? I know he’s fretting.”

  Archer nodded and stepped out as the ER secretary stepped in. “Excuse me, Dr. Sheldon, I just received a call from a woman who is bringing in a burned child.”

  “Did she say how bad?”

  “She said some hot soup splashed onto his shoulder and he’s blistering. I could barely hear her for the screaming in the background.”

  “What’s the ETA?”

  “She said it’ll take her about ten minutes to get here. The neighbors are bringing him in. She says she doesn’t know where the mother is. The boys were at home by themselves.”

  He frowned. “Boys? More than one?”

  “Two little boys, six and four. It’s the six-year-old who was burned. They want their mother but nobody knows where she is. It’s a good thing the neighbor has watched the kids a couple of times. She has written permission for treatment with all the information.”

  “I’ll go set up for it,” Lauren said. She checked the monitor one more time, laid a reassuring hand on Mrs. Piedmont’s arm, and excused herself.

  Less than ten minutes later, the mingled sobbing shrieks of two frightened children burst through the ER and brought Lauren rushing to the front of the department. She saw Dr. Sheldon carrying a blond-haired little boy in his arms. A woman in her fifties entered behind him with a younger child.

  “I saw her run out of her house about forty-five minutes before I heard the boys’ screams.” The woman’s voice rose in a crescendo of panic. “I didn’t think anything about it. I mean, how was I supposed to know there wasn’t a babysitter?”

  The neighbor absently stroked the head of the child in her arms, carrying him as if she was accustomed to holding children. “When I heard the screams I didn’t know what to think. These boys are never loud—their mother makes them mind. They’re good boys, especially for children without a father.” The little boy in her arms cried out again and reached for his brother. Tears dripped from his scrunched face.

  “Did you bring the permission for care, Mrs…?” Dr. Sheldon asked over his shoulder.

  “Walker. Agnes Walker. It’s here in my purse. I baby-sat for Gina a couple of times when she got called in to work suddenly and couldn’t get her regular babysitter. Please, can’t you give Levi something for pain? He screamed all the way here.”

  “We’ll get the cool saline applied as quickly as we can. Meanwhile I’ll need the information. Does this little guy have any drug allergies?”

  “None I know of.” Mrs. Walker tried to put the younger child down but he shrieked again and grabbed her around the neck.

  Dr. Sheldon carried six-year-old Levi into exam room two and settled him onto the bed where Lauren had already set up for the burn treatment. He removed the little boy’s shirt to reveal a softball-sized patch of blistered skin on the right shoulder. “Lauren, start the cool saline on this. Get Lester to help you.” His calm deep voice carried over the cries of the children.

  Levi caught his breath. “It hurts, it hurts. Where’s Mama? I want my—”

  “It’s okay, sweetheart, we’re going to take care of you.” Lauren eased him down onto the bed and prepped for the saline soak.

  Dr. Sheldon bent over the child and assessed the burn quickly. “It’s going to be okay, Levi. Did the soup splash you anywhere but your—”

  “Ow. That hurts!”

  “We’re going to take the burn away.” Dr. Sheldon gave Lauren a nod to proceed with the soak. “You’ll be feeling a lot better in a few seconds.”

  Lauren grabbed a handful of four-by-four-inch gauze pads and lowered them toward the burn. She quickly squeezed the saline bottle until it wept onto the thick layer of towels below.

  “I burned myself once when I was a little older than you,” she told him. “Mom put ice on it until it stopped hurting.” She kept up a continual flow of soft talk, never a difficult thing for her. She had the gift of gab the way some people had a special touch with a paintbrush. Except for times like this, however, she seldom treasured this “gift.”

  Tears continued to well in Levi’s eyes and drip down the sides of his face, dampening streaks of his hair to dark gold. “Where’s my mom? I don’t know where Mom is and Cody’s still crying. He was just hungry. It isn’t his fault.”

  “Of course not, sweetheart,” Lauren assured him. “Mrs. Walker is with him while our secretary tries to find your mother. Did she say where she was going when she left?”

  “No, she just ran out the door. She looked scared and she didn’t have her shoes on. Mom always tells us we have to wear our shoes outside but she didn’t wear hers.”

  “Levi,” Dr. Sheldon’s voice was gentle and soft. “Has your mom ever done anything like that before?”

  “Yes, but she always wore her shoes before.”

  Dr. Sheldon’s voice remained calm and casual. “So your mother always wore her shoes the other times she left you at home alone?”

  “Yes,” Levi replied, then his eyes widened and he shut his mouth tightly, as if he had picked up some strange tone in Dr. Sheldon’s voice.

  “Lauren, continue the saline soaks and I’ll see if we need the Demerol.” With a smile of assurance for Levi, Dr. Sheldon walked out of the room. Lauren heard him ask Becky about Levi’s mother then give orders to call the child abuse hotline.

  “Why did the doctor leave?” Levi asked between sniffles.

  “He has another patient.” Lauren brushed the strawberry blo
nd tendrils of hair from his forehead and indicated for Lester, the tech, to take over the application of saline while she did her assessment. “Levi, did your mother tell you why she was leaving today?”

  “No, but I think it was because she was scared.”

  “What scared her?”

  Tears continued to stream down Levi’s cheeks in spite of his obvious efforts to be brave. “I think it was one of her bad dreams.”

  “Did I hear that your mother’s name is Gina?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Becky’s voice rose from the central desk. “Mrs. Walker, did you say the patient’s name is Levi Drake?”

  Lauren stiffened with surprise. “Levi, your last name is Drake?”

  The child nodded, still tearful.

  She laid a hand against his soft cheek. “Your mother works here.”

  Levi blinked at her and nodded again. “She helps people breathe better.”

  Oh no. Dr. Sheldon had just left orders for Becky to call the child abuse hotline on one of their best respiratory therapists.

  Chapter 4

  Grant slipped into exam room eight to see how Evan Webster was doing. The EKG showed no more than an elevated heart rate. Two large empty Styrofoam cups sat at the bedside with the residue of charcoal clinging in droplets to the inner surfaces. Grant was impressed. Evan had managed to swallow all that gritty stuff in a short amount of time. He obviously wanted the drug out of his system.

  The boy’s father stood watch next to the bed as if he thought his son might come under physical attack. Grant knew the feeling. He had hovered just that way beside Beau’s hospital bed during those horrible months after Annette’s death. But no matter how close he hovered or how willing he was to place himself between his son and harm, he hadn’t been able to prevent Beau’s physical and emotional scars.

  When the father saw Grant, he straightened and rushed toward him. “Dr. Sheldon, my son doesn’t ordinarily do this kind of thing. He’s an honor-roll student, a good boy. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression of him.”

  “I’m not here to judge your son, Norville, I just want to work with you both to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.” He read the vitals displayed on the overhead monitor. Muriel had administered Ativan through Evan’s IV. Though the heart rate was still elevated, it had slowed and his blood pressure was dropping.

  “How did you like our house beverage tonight, Evan?”

  “I kept it down.” There was no change in the boy’s expression.

  “That’s good. How are you feeling? Any better?”

  “My heart’s still beating too fast.”

  “It’ll take a while to get back to normal. Does it still feel as if it’s going to beat out of your chest?”

  Evan considered the question solemnly. “I guess not.”

  Grant checked his vitals. “It looks as if we might have this under control but I still need to keep you here two or three more hours.”

  Evan laid his head back and groaned.

  Grant noticed the faint evidence of the charcoal around Evan’s mouth and traces of dried tears on his face. “I have to ask you some questions.”

  Evan nodded.

  “I need to know why you took the drugs tonight. Were you—”

  “I took the pills to feel better.” He looked at his father then ducked his head. “I’ve been kind of down and my friend told me they would give me a lift. You know, he said they would give me some go power.”

  “Did you know “go” is another name for speed?”

  Evan shook his head. “I’m not into that stuff at all. Nobody said anything about speed before I took it. He told me I’d feel better.”

  “Better than what?” his father asked. “There was nothing wrong with you before you took the stuff.”

  Evan sighed and gave the ceiling a long-suffering look. “I don’t tell you everything, Dad.”

  “Obviously not.” Norville had clearly been taken by surprise. Grant was increasingly convinced that this truly was Evan’s first experience with illegal drugs. Still, he’d been fooled before.

  The boy sighed again. “Dad, if I tell you about something that’s bothering me, you automatically blame Mom. And if I tell her something, she blames you.”

  “Evan,” Grant said, “speed does just what it says. It speeds up your system.”

  “Yeah, I can tell, but I didn’t know those pills were illegal. I just thought maybe he’d gotten it from his parents.”

  “Who is he?” Norville demanded.

  “Somebody I thought was a friend.” The resentment in Evan’s voice was clear.

  “I need to advise you that the police will be here to talk to you in a few minutes,” Grant said.

  Evan jerked upright in the bed. “What! The police? You called the police on me?”

  Norville groaned and leaned back against the exam room wall. “Evan, what have you gotten us into?”

  “I’m sorry,” Grant said. “I have no choice. The authorities have to be aware of any drug activity in the area. I would advise you to cooperate with them in every way possible.”

  “No problem. I’m in the mood to send some drug pushers to jail.”

  Norville stepped over to Grant. “Evan’s so young. He’s a good kid with great grades. If this gives him a police record, he’ll—”

  “The police will be looking for information from Evan, not retribution.”

  Norville bit his lip. Lines of despair settled around his forehead and eyes, aging him by at least ten years. “I suppose I understand the necessity of reporting this to the police but do you think it would be possible to keep his mother from finding out about this? We’re divorced and she has custody. She’ll raise the roof if—”

  “I’m sorry, she’s already on her way in,” Grant said. “I know this is difficult for you, Mr. Webster.” Grant couldn’t help feeling empathy for this man. Parents of teenagers seldom had it easy these days. “Your son is only a year younger than my twins. I can imagine what I would be going through right now.” He studied the man more closely. “Would you like to speak with a counselor?”

  Norville reached up and rubbed his tired eyes. “Yes, I’d like that.”

  “Our minister on call tonight is Pastor Archer Pierce. He’s already here.”

  Norville looked at his son.

  “Mom’ll freak,” Evan said.

  “Too bad. We need some help.”

  ***

  Grant recognized the light, clear sound of Lauren McCaffrey’s voice several seconds before he stepped to the threshold of Levi Drake’s exam room and saw her perched on the stool beside the bed. The child listened intently while the energetic nurse concluded an exciting story of a battle with great dramatic emphasis. At just the right time she put the saline bottle down and replayed the slinging of the stone, her hands moving gracefully in the air. As the giant finally fell in a mighty tumble to the earth, Grant could almost feel the earth shake at the impact.

  Levi’s lips were parted and his eyes shone. “More! Tell me more! What happened after that?” He was so engrossed that he didn’t see Grant standing in the doorway. “What did David do after that?”

  “Exactly what I was going to ask,” Grant said.

  Lauren looked over her shoulder at him and a hint of a flush spread across her cheeks. He’d already learned that she blushed easily. “Oops, I’ve been caught.” She picked up the bottle of saline and re-wet the gauze on Levi’s shoulder. “I still have the Bible storybook my mother used to read to us when we were kids, though I don’t need it because I have all the stories memorized. Especially the ones about brave boys like Levi.”

  Grant couldn’t decide if she was chattering so fast because she was embarrassed or because she was trying to keep Levi’s mind off his pain. Probably a combination of both but for Levi the spell was broken. As soon as Grant stepped to the side of the bed the little boy’s eyes lost their look of enchantment.

  “Sounds like you and Nurse Lauren are having a good st
ory time,” Grant said softly. “How does that shoulder feel now?”

  “It hurts sometimes. Are you going to give me a shot?” His voice held a tremble of fear.

  “Let me check and see.” Grant pulled the gauze back from the burn. The patch of angry red was covered with blisters. “What does the pain feel like when it hurts?”

  “Like needles.”

  “Sounds like that really hurts, then,” Grant said. “You probably wouldn’t mind being stuck once if that would keep you from feeling like you’re getting stuck over and over again.”

  “He’s very brave, Dr. Sheldon,” Lauren said. “As soon as I apply more cool saline, he says the burn goes away again. He never complains. He’s worried about his little brother so we had Becky go check on him.” She reached over and brushed a wisp of hair from Levi’s forehead. “We decided if he could just go swimming at his friend’s pool until he heals and if Cody could go with him, everybody would be happy.”

  “My friend doesn’t live in Dogwood Springs, though,” Levi said seriously. “He lives in Oregon, where we used to live. Where’s my mom?”

  Grant replaced the gauze and sat down beside the bed, eye level with the child. “Some people are looking for your mother, Levi. But while they do that, we’ve called someone to come in and make sure you and Cody will be okay. Mrs. Walker’s in one of the little waiting rooms with Cody, helping him color some pictures. Lauren, would you please give us some Silvadene?”

  She nodded but didn’t stand up immediately. “Dr. Sheldon, Levi’s mom works here at the hospital.” She paused, holding his gaze. “Gina’s a respiratory therapist.”

  For a moment the impact of her words didn’t register. When they did, Grant suppressed a groan. Although calling the child abuse hotline was the required action for him to take to protect the children, it could be perceived as an accusation against Gina Drake. What concerned him more, though, was the fact that someone with her level of expertise and sense of responsibility wouldn’t be likely to neglect her own children like this. Something else was going on.