Bobby's Rainy Day Adventure: Chapter V

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Synopsis:

Still in the dress he wound up wearing while playing 'Mommy and Baby' with Cori, Bobby runs through a poorly lit hospital parking lot to see his mother, who's just been in a car accident. But running though dark parking lots, even at best of times, is never a very good idea.

Story:

Bobby's Rainy Day Adventure
Copyright 2006 by Heather Rose Brown

CHAPTER V

The hard soles of my Mary Janes clicked on the wet blacktop as I ran to catch up with Terri. When the damp breeze picked up, I thought I recognized the stink of gas fumes and burnt motor oil. My pulse raced in my throat as I tried not to imagine a leaking gas tank bursting into flames with my mom trapped inside. Ahead of us, Aunt Joan was leading Cori by the hand across the dark parking lot towards the brightly lit emergency entrance of the hospital.

"We going too fast for you, Bobby?" Terri craned her neck around and held out her hand.

"Oh no, I'm fine." I took a couple of running hops until I caught up with Terri and grabbed her hand.

Terri moved her umbrella to protect us both from the light drizzle. "Okay, just watch out for th ... "

Just then my right shoe was flooded with something damp, cold and squishy. "Ugh, what did I step in?"

Terri skidded to a halt and turned to face me. "That'd be the pothole I was trying to warn you about. "

Aunt Joan stopped short and looked over her shoulder at us. "Everything okay back there?"

I balanced on my left foot and tried to pull the soaked shoe off my other foot when a sharp pain bit into my ankle. "Ouch!"

"That didn't sound good." Aunt Joan handed her umbrella to Cori, then lifted me with ease and sat me on her right hip. "Let's just take a look at that foot." Cori and Terri crowded in close, each wearing slightly different versions of worried, and held their umbrellas over the four of us as their mom carefully moved my foot around.

I put on my best smile for them. "I'm okay, honest. I can walk on it just ... gah!" Icy pain shot up my leg as Aunt Joan gently twisted my foot inwards.

"I'm sorry about that, sweetie." Aunt Joan let go of my foot and gave me a quick hug. "It definitely looks like a sprain, although I can't tell how bad it is. Fortunately, we're not that far from a place where someone can." She held a hand out towards the umbrella Cori was holding. "Could you hand that back to me and walk with Terri? I'm going to be carrying Bobby."

"You ain't gotta carry me, Aunt Joan. I can still walk."

Aunt Joan turned to me with a playful smile as she lifted her umbrella to protect both of us from the rain and led the way towards the hospital. "I don't think you'll be able to walk with a sprained ankle."

"Well, I could hop."

Aunt Joan stopped a few steps short of the entrance and frowned at me. "Bobby, your mommy trusted me to watch out for you and take care of you. An accident is one thing, but letting you make an injury worse is quite another. So let's have no more talk of walking, hopping, skipping, or anything else until a doctor has taken a look at your foot, okay?"

I got another hug and a soft smile from Aunt Joan when I nodded. The sliding glass doors whooshed open as we passed through the emergency entrance and walked into a wall of warmth. The clean, pine scent reminded me of the kitchen after Mom had just cleaned it, and I found myself wondering if anyone would be mad because I was dripping mud onto the sparkling clean lobby floor.

As we approached a long desk with a large sign that read 'INTAKE' crowded into a corner by piles of folders, a heavy”‘set woman with dark brown skin and golden hair pulled up into a tight bun under a nurses cap looked up from her computer and gave Aunt Joan a relieved smile. "Girl, I'm so glad you're finally here. I was starting to wonder if something happened to you with all the accidents we've been having tonight."

"Mae, back when we used to carpool you'd laugh at how slowly I drove in the rain. You know how I am."

"I know, but even the most careful drivers can have accidents."

Aunt Joan nodded and glanced down at my ankle. "Speaking of accidents, we just had one in the parking lot."

Mae was suddenly alert. "There was an accident in the parking lot? I hadn't heard a crash. Was anyone hurt?"

"No, not that kind of accident. Bobby stepped into a pothole and wound up with a twisted ankle."

"Bobby? You mean Irene's son? Where is he?"

I shyly raised my hand. "Right here."

Mae looked me up and down once, and then studied the computer monitor and tapped at her keyboard for a couple of seconds. "Sorry about that, Honey. I think we've got everything straightened out. Just have a seat and I'll see who's available to look at your ankle."

"But ... can't I see my mom first? That's the whole reason I came to the hospital." My foot was cold, something gross was squishing between my toes and my ankle ached, but that hardly seemed a good enough reason to keep me from seeing my mom.

"I know that, baby. But your mama's condition stabilized a little while ago and she was just signed out of the emergency ward. At the moment she's being moved into a regular room. As soon as they've got her settled in, I promise to bring you to her. But in the mean time, we need to take care of you."

Mae handed a clipboard and pen to Aunt Joan. "Sorry to do this to you, but the new department manager has really been on my ... " she quickly glanced at me before turning back to Aunt Joan. "I mean, he's really been giving me a hard time for filling out paperwork for patients."

Aunt Joan took the items and grinned. "Don't worry. I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Henry drove everyone in my department crazy with his paperwork obsession before he was promoted and moved to yours." She turned to Cori and Terri, who were in the middle of a whispered conversation. "So what are you two up to?"

Terri answered first. "We were thinking of going to the gift shop to get something for Bobby's mom."

"And maybe get something from the cafeteria?" Cori asked.

Terri rolled her eyes at her sister. "You just ate an hour ago. How can you be thinking of food?"

"I wasn't gonna eat a whole meal. I was just thinking of getting some hot cocoa."

"That doesn't sound half bad, Cori. I could probably go for some myself."

"And maybe ... a donut ... or some cookies?"

"Jeez, you're a non”‘stop eating machine."

"Watch your language, Terri." Aunt Joan's tone was gentle, yet firm. "And Cori, are you sure you want to have something to drink this late at night?"

Cori started blushing. "Mom, it's not THAT late."

Aunt Joan checked her watch. "I don't know."

"I'd only get a small one."

"Well ... "

"And I could share it with Terri."

Aunt Joan turned to her older daughter. "How's that sound to you?"

"Works for me, Mom. Want us to get something for you and Bobby too?"

"I'm fine, Honey." Aunt Joan shifted me higher on her hip as she turned to me. "Would you like anything, Bobby?"

I really wasn't in the mood for hot cocoa or anything like that. The pain in my ankle was getting worse and my foot was starting to feel itchy from soaking in the mud. I was tempted to say that all I wanted was to see my mom. But I was pretty sure that wouldn't get me anywhere, so I just shook my head and kept my mouth shut.

"Okay girls, follow me." Aunt Joan wove her way through the tiny, crowded waiting room. All the seats were taken, but an older gentleman stood up and offered his seat to her. After thanking him and sitting down, she pulled me onto her lap before swinging her purse off her shoulder. "I don't have a lot of cash on me, so I want you to go to the gift shop first before getting something for yourselves at the cafeteria." She pulled a couple of bills from her wallet and handed them to Terri. "Understood?"

They answered, "Yes, Mom," at almost the same time before Cori was racing down the hall, followed closely behind by Terri.

"And no running," Aunt Joan called after them as they were turning a corner. "Okay, let's take a look at this paperwork." She laid the clipboard in my lap and wrapped her arms around me as she began reading the fine print on the forms and filling in dozens of tiny boxes.

Aunt Joan was about halfway through the pile of paperwork when Mae walked up to us. "Could you two come with me?" As she led us out of the waiting room, Mae's voice dropped to a half whisper. "Doctor Chung had already clocked out and was about to leave when I told her about Bobby and she agreed to see you before she leaves." As we wandered through a maze of narrow hallways, Mae plucked the clipboard from Aunt Joan's hand.

"Wait a minute, Mae. I haven't finished all the paperwork yet."

The nurse managed to walk around empty wheelchairs and through swinging doors without looking up once from the pages she was flipping through. "Oh, you've already filled more than enough. I don't know why we even have half of these forms here. I think I can fill out the rest of this with no problem."

"But won't you get in trouble with Henry?"

"Don't worry, I can handle him with one arm tied behind by back. And besides, what are friends for?"

When we came to a stop in front of a heavy, darkly stained door, Aunt Joan took Mae into a one”‘armed hug. "Thank you so much, Mae. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Mae smiled and returned the hug. "Hey, you've been there for me plenty of times, girl." She pulled me into the hug, and then patted my butt as she let go. "And don't you worry about a thing, baby. Doctor Chung is one of our best pediatricians and will have your ankle fixed up in no time. As soon as she's done, I'll come back and bring you around see your mama. Now will you be a good girl for the doctor?"

"But ... "

Mae frowned and shook a finger at me. "Uh uh. I don't wanna hear any 'buts'."

How could I be a good girl when I wasn't a girl? "Yes, I'll be good. But ... "

"Whups, what did I say about 'buts'?" Mae smiled as she squeezed my arm. "I knew you'd be good, Baby. I was just teasing you." Mae opened the door and led us into a small room where everything that wasn't white or chrome was pink or light blue. "Just wait here and the doctor will be right with you."

A few minutes later, as Aunt Joan was helping me out of my raincoat, a very young, thoroughly exhausted looking woman walked through the open door. "Hello, I'm Doctor Chung. Aren't you Joan from the accounting department?"

Aunt Joan draped my coat across the back of my chair, and then turned and held out her hand to the doctor. "So good to see you again, Lillian. I'm surprised you remembered me."

The doctor took Aunt Joan's hand in both of hers. "How could I forget the woman who untangled the mess they made of my paychecks when I changed my name?" After giving Aunt Joan's hands a squeeze, Doctor Chung turned to me and crouched down. "So you must be Bobby. That's a very pretty dress you have on."

I looked down at the dress I was wearing, trying to think of what to say as I felt myself blushing. "Urmm ... thank you, but it ain't really mine. I'd borrowed it when me and Cori was playing."

"I see ... well it still looks very pretty on you. So how are you feeling?"

"Well, my ankle hurts."

The doctor looked at the chart in her arms and scribbled something down. "Okay, anything else?"

"Well, I'm a little nervous." Actually I was a lot nervous about being seen in a dress, and a little confused why nobody seemed to be acting as if it were odd.

Doctor Chung lifted my chin until I was looking into her dark, smiling eyes. "That's perfectly understandable. There's plenty of grown”‘ups who feel nervous about being in hospitals. Would you mind if I help you up onto the examining table so I can take a look at your ankle?"

"Umm, okay."

"Okay, here we go." As Doctor Chung lifted me from the chair and carried me to the table, I did my best to keep my shoe from dripping on her long, white coat. After sitting me on the edge of the table, she pulled an handful of paper towels from a dispenser, rolled a stool over to my right side, sat down and spread the towels on the floor under my feet.

"First thing I'm going to need to do is take off your shoe and sock so I can get a better look at your foot." Mud dripped onto the towels as the doctor carefully removed my shoe and unrolled the soaking wet sock from my right foot. Even though I was hurting, I still giggled as she used a small, damp towel that smelled like baby powder to clean the mud from the bottom of my foot and between my toes. As she dried my foot off with a regular paper towel, Doctor Chung looked up at me and smiled. "You know, I have a little girl just about your age."

"But, I ain't a little girl."

Doctor Chung's smile grew as she slowly moved my bare foot around. "You're absolutely right, Bobby. You've been acting like a very big girl and I'm sure your mother will be very proud of how brave you've been."

"What I meant is ... aiee!"

"I'm sorry, Bobby. We're almost done here. I'm going to be pressing different spots on your foot, and I'll need you to tell me when it hurts. Can you do that for me?"

I nodded, and braced myself. Even though I was ready for it, a whimper still managed to slip through my gritted teeth when she pressed a tender spot on the side of my ankle. "Th”‘here. That last spot is where it hurts."

"Very good." Doctor Chung patted my arm. "I think we're done with the examination. It looks like you have sustained some minor damage to the anterior talofibular ligament."

"The ante”‘what?"

The doctor swiveled on her stool and opened one of the pink drawers in the row of light blue cabinets lining the wall. "It means you have sprained ankle." When she turned back to face me, she was holding a small roll of tan cloth. "Fortunately, there isn't a lot of swelling, but I still want you to keep it wrapped and stay off your foot for at least a day." The cloth stretched and hugged my ankle as she began wrapping it around my foot. "You should also keep your leg elevated as much as possible and put ice on your ankle for about twenty minutes every two to three hours."

"Okay ... can I see my mom now?"

Doctor Chung chuckled as she stood up and started looking through one of the upper cabinets. "You certainly have a one track mind. Normally I would recommend going directly home and getting plenty of bed rest." She pulled out a blue plastic package, then twisted it sharply before shaking it. "But Mae explained your circumstances to me, so I think we can make an exception." She slipped the package into a white terrycloth pouch which was surprising cold when she wrapped it around my ankle.

"What's this?"

"It's a cold”‘pack. It has special chemicals in it that get very cold when you mix them together. Can you lift your feet for me?" When I lifted my legs, Doctor Chung pulled me back on the table until my feet were no longer dangling over the edge. "That's it. Can you lay down for me now?" As I lay down, I felt her slip a small pillow under my injured foot. "Okay, I'd like you to rest here for twenty minutes with your leg elevated, and keep the cold”‘pack on your ankle so it can help bring down the swelling."

"Then I can see my mom?"

The doctor chuckled again. "Yes, Dear. I'll have someone come in to get you when the time is up and bring you to see your mother."

"Thank you, Doctor Chung."

Aunt Joan rose from her chair. "Oh yes. Thank you so much for seeing us, Lillian."

"Not at all. It was a pleasure seeing you both."

After the doctor closed the door on us, Aunt Joan walked over to me and held my hand. "So how are you doing, Bobby?"

"Well, beside my ankle hurting, I think I'm doing okay."

Aunt Joan squeezed my hand. "I'm so glad. I was really worried it might have been a lot worse."

"Actually, there's something else that's bothering me."

"What's that, Sweetie?"

"Well, I'm a boy wearing in a dress, and everyone seems to be acting as if it's all perfectly normal."

"And how were you expecting them to react?"

"I dunno ... maybe shocked, surprised, laughing ... something."

"You want people to laugh at you?"

"No, but ... but it feels so weird that people are assuming I'm a girl, just because I'm wearing a dress."

"I think it's a bit more than what you're wearing, Bobby."

"What do you mean?"

"From what I've seen so far, you tend to act more like a girl than a boy."

"You mean I'm a ... " Icy fear clawed at my stomach. " ... a sissy?"

"No, I think being a sissy is a bit different. There's just a certain something about you that says ... girl."

The fear clenched into a tight ball. "Would it sound like I was crazy if I'd said I ... well, I feel like I AM a girl?"

Aunt Joan gave my hand another squeeze. "Not at all, sweetheart. I think it just makes you very special."

Before I could ask what kind of special she meant, there was a knock at the door. I looked up just as the door opened and Mae walked in backwards, pulling a wheelchair. "The Mae express train has pulled into the station. Any stowaways better hop off now." Both Terri and Cori were laughing when Mae swung the chair around.

"Oh, Mae." Aunt Joan ran over to the wheelchair and helped her still giggling daughters to stand up. "You didn't have to do all this."

"It's not a problem at all. I'd promised Bobby I'd make sure she got to see her mama, and I intend to keep that promise." Mae wheeled the now empty chair to the side of the examining table. "Okay, baby. I need you to sit up for me." When I was nearly upright, Mae slid one arm under my knees, another behind my back, and then carried me over to the wheelchair.

Once I was settled back into the cracked vinyl seating and the right foot support was ratcheted up to bring my sprained ankle a bit higher than my hips, I managed to catch Mae around the neck before she stood up and gave her a big hug. "Thank you so much so much for helping me get to see my mom."

"Oh, baby." Mae nearly suffocated me when she hugged me back. "I'd have walked barefoot down ten miles of rough road for a hug like that." Mae fussed with the lace on the hem of my dress and adjusted the ribbons in my hair. "Your mama is very lucky to have a daughter who's as sweet as she is pretty. Now let's get this train back on track and go see her."

Notes:

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Comments

So sweet!

Glenda98's picture

I love this sweet little story, thanks.

Glenda Ericsson

So sweet!

Glenda98's picture

I love this sweet little story, thanks.

Glenda Ericsson

Interruption

Daphne Xu's picture

"Mae looked me up and down once, and then ... tapped at her keyboard..." Hmm, got things straightened out eh?

It gets worse. Every time he tries to tell the hospital staff something, someone breaks in and interrupts him. The third time that it happens, we know it's not coincidence.

We still don't know how well Mom's doing. Bobby is just about to see her.

-- Daphne Xu

-- Try saying freefloating three times rapidly.

Thank you!

I'm so glad you liked it! :D

Comment Confusion

Daphne Xu's picture

This reply was only the first comment to confuse me. The next was "Eep!" coming right after a nice, friendly comment.

-- Daphne Xu

-- Try saying freefloating three times rapidly.

Ahhh ...

I think the comment I'd responded to had been deleted.

Your Reply

Daphne Xu's picture

Your first reply appears to be to the double comment immediately above mine. The dates are the same. But there was other confusion as well.

-- Daphne Xu

-- Try saying freefloating three times rapidly.

Another fine chapter Heather,

Another fine chapter Heather.

Huggles
Angel

Be yourself, so easy to say, so hard to live.

"Be Your-Self, So Easy to Say, So Hard to Live!"

Eep!

I have to admit I didn't do as much proofing as I usually do before asking my editor to take a look at it. Are there a lot of spelling and grammar errors, or was it something else you saw in this chapter, Angel?

Good sweet story, here's the proof!

erin's picture

Well, I just did a quick proof of this chapter and saw nothing glaring. Got to say I'm really enjoying the tale and the writing, though. :)

Maybe Angel was being silly? :)

- Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Angel???????

If there are proofing problems with this story it is my fault -- not Heather's.

I reviewed the story twice. Heather's drafts have few errors in either punctuation or grammar so my job is quite easy.

I've just reviewed the story again and have found nothing that jumps out at me. Either Angel is having some fun at our expense or her level of sophistication is beyond me.

That is not to say that I think it's perfect. Nothing ever is. I do think it meets the acceptable standards for this website.

??????? Angel -- explain yourself.

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Giggle, giggle...

Um, just silly little mistakes. I agree nothing is ever perfect, just read my stuff, especially my Why Me series! Giggle, giggle.

Anyway, I love this story, and if I found anything glaring or major I would send a private message. There are just a word missing here and a little something there. Example

"...As soon as she's done, I'll come back and bring you around see your mama..."

"It means you have sprained ankle."

See what I mean? Just little things that are easily skimmed over with a quick scan of the story. And, things that were done to him while sitting in a wheelchair. Giggle, giggle Like I said, nothing major or glaring, just things that one picks up while reading a great story.

I get emails and comments about mistakes and things that I missed proofing my stories all the time.

Thanks to the way we can post and edit our own stories here at the BC, it's easy to fix them. I LOVE THAT FEATURE! Thanks Erin and Bob!

Anyway, I love your story and that is the only reason I am making these comments. In the future I will send any criticisms by private email message OK?

I'm sorry if this got blown out of proportion; really, just minor little things that are easily fixed. I am surprised that others went back over this story looking for them and couldn't find them though.

Just goes to show you that a quick skim of a story makes for an easy chance to miss a few things. I know, I do that too! So, re-read the story as you are reading it for the first time and you will find those pesky little oopses.

Huggles All
Angel

Be yourself, so easy to say, so hard to live.

"Be Your-Self, So Easy to Say, So Hard to Live!"

Rapid Age Changes

Cindy Lou's picture

What a wonderfully healing story on a day that I need it. And it is raining on our drought here too (finally), as I sit on the floor in my favorite dress and color.

Tears come and even sobs whenever such truely caring moments come. I love all the caring people in your story and the "good to the core" people. Guess it is cuz that is what I want most, but it shows your good heart too.

Somehow, amidst the dialogue in the third and fourth chapters (if I remember right), there are fantastic growth moments in which Cori suddenly ages ten years in her speaking and acting. Its not just imitation of adults, but conceptualization, awareness, inferred experience, and syntax. The story is so good that I skipped right on by, forcing my mind to accept it; but thought the comment might be constructive enough for you. Hope you do not mind.

Thank you so much for your healing vision and episodes from a beautiful heart.