AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Alice briefly closes her eyes before squeezing Mary close to her once more. ‘Of course.’
Miss Clatch grimaces, her cheerleader-like facade gone. ‘I’ll just go get the doctor.’
I can tell by Alice’s expression that she doesn’t like that response. But she stays quiet until the advocate leaves.
‘What happened, sweetie?’ Alice turns Mary to face her. ‘How did you get hurt?’
‘I slipped and hit my head.’
‘At home?’
‘In the shelter.’
There’s a long pause, and although I can’t see Alice’s expression, I can almost hear her mind working overtime to process that. Mary uses the moment to go back to her coloring.
‘Shelter?’ Alice’s voice is a pitch higher than before.
‘Uh-huh.’ Mary fills in a heart with the blue color. ‘We went there yesterday.’
I fight the urge to point at the red crayon lying just beside the coloring book.
‘I see.’ Alice takes a breath, oblivious to the wayward coloring job. ‘How did you slip?’
‘Mom knocked over her cup.’ Her narrow shoulders rise and fall. ‘I slipped in the water when I got up to go to the bathroom.’
‘Oh, well.’ Alice kisses the top of her head. ‘Accidents happen. I’m just glad you’re okay.’
Mary peeks over Alice’s embrace. ‘Who are you?’
If all children enunciated as well as this child, they’d be a lot easier to deal with. ‘Thomas Moore.’ I hold out my hand.
Both females frown at my outstretched hand, and I’m reminded that good enunciation or not, my brother was correct when he said I wasn’t good with kids.
However, just as I’m about to lower my hand, Mary leans forward and takes it. ‘Mary Rogers.’
‘Nice to meet you.’ I pump her small hand once, thankful it’s her head that’s injured and not her arm when her whole upper torso shakes with it.
She giggles.
Alice’s head moves back and forth between us, frowning.
‘Wanna color?’ Mary holds up her crayon to me.
Before I can respond or take back my earlier thought on the girl’s elocution, the child advocate re-enters the room with a woman in a white lab coat holding a clipboard. ‘This is Dr Frost. She was the doctor on-call when Mary came in early this morning.’
‘Hello.’ The doctor addresses Alice and me before looking at Mary. ‘How’s your head?’
Despite the doctor’s friendly demeanor, Mary shrinks into Alice’s side. ‘Fine.’
‘That’s good then.’ She looks between Alice and me. ‘Mind if I have a word in the hall?’
‘Of course.’ Alice hops up from the bed. ‘Be right back.’ She gives Mary another quick kiss on top of her head before walking out with the doctor.
I nod at the little girl before following, closing the door behind me.
I have no business talking to a doctor about a girl I don’t know. But I’d rather listen to a random kid’s diagnosis than color with said kid. Especially when they play so capriciously with color.
Dr Frost crosses her arms around her clipboard. ‘As you may have been told, earlier this morning Mary came in with her mother with a laceration on her left temple.’
