Patricia Rockwell - Essie Cobb 02 - Papoosed (21 page)

            “I will, Mom,” replied Claudia.  “Take care!”  Essie quickly hung up her telephone and pushed herself up and out of her chair.  She quickly rolled her walker over to her window and tugged on the pulley to raise the blinds.  Outside, all that was visible was a swirling sheet of white.  She couldn’t even see the other wing of Happy Haven across the courtyard.  It was a complete white-out.  It was a good thing because it meant that her family would not be coming to take her away from the baby she needed to watch.  It was a bad thing because it was terrible weather for anyone to be out in … and Essie hoped that did not include Antonio’s mother Maria.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

–Dr. Seuss

           
A reprieve
! thought Essie.  Here she had thought her major problem would be just going out to dinner with her family and getting back without anyone finding out about baby Antonio.  Now she didn’t have to worry about that.  Now she had to switch gears, so to speak, and consider what her next step would be if Maria wasn’t found soon–very soon.  Should she continue to attempt to hide the baby and search for his mother or should she reveal his presence and ask for help from the authorities?  With this terrible snowstorm going on, she doubted the police could do much to search for Maria even if Essie did report her missing. 
Please let Maria be safe
, she prayed.  Probably all she could reasonably do until the storm subsided was to keep Antonio safe and warm, and that she resolved to do.  Tomorrow would be soon enough to let anyone else know about her little charge.

            The PA system crackled to life again.  It was beginning to seem like a train station at Happy Haven with these constant audio interruptions.  First the quarantine and now another message in the middle of the afternoon.  So uncharacteristic for her facility!  The calm voice of Phyllis came over the microphone:

            “Residents, if you haven’t noticed already by looking out your windows or by hearing about it on television, our area is in the grips of a major winter snowstorm.  The governor has declared a state of emergency and has requested that only necessary vehicles be on the road until further announcements.  Because this storm came up so suddenly and because of its severity, we’re experiencing some staffing problems here at Happy Haven.  We promise that we will not let these difficulties inconvenience you, our residents.  Some of our staff have not been able to get here due to conditions of the roads.  Also, some of our staff who are already here are not able to leave for the same reason.  We’ve made arrangements for our staff to sleep here overnight tonight by setting up makeshift beds in the dining hall.  As the quarantine is still in effect, the dining hall is not in use, so this should not present a hardship to any of our residents.  Our staff will still continue to bring your meals to your rooms and the nurses’ aides who are presently in the building will cover for those who haven’t been able to get here.  It may take us a bit longer than usual to accomplish everything tonight, but we will get to all of you.  Please be patient.  If you have an emergency, you can call the front desk and we will assist you.  In the mean time, remain in your rooms and stay safe and warm.”

           
Fiddling figs
! thought Essie.  That probably meant that Santos would be spending the night in the dining hall with the other staff members who were still working.  She wondered if her nighttime aide Lorena had made it in to work before the emergency road travel restriction was implemented.  She tried to remember what Lorena had said to her in the past about what time she usually arrived at work.  It was obviously sometime in the late afternoon.  If Lorena showed up at or near her regular time and Essie was already for bed, Lorena would be even more suspicious than she had been last night.  If Lorena had not made it to work, Essie might be able to get ready for bed and just have Lorena’s replacement give her her nighttime meds and be on her way.  The less time any staff member spent in her apartment, the less likely it would be that they’d discover Antonio, assuming he was sleeping when her aide arrived.  It would be more difficult now since Essie was alone without any of her three pals to hide the baby in her bedroom.

            Baby Antonio, possibly realizing that she was thinking about him, cried out softly from her bedroom.  Essie glanced at her watch.  Hmmm, he’d only been asleep a little over an hour.  She quickly headed to the other room and collected the small bundle and put him in his basket and then returned to her living room where she grabbed the last of her prepared glove bottles and lowered herself back into her chair and began to nurse the baby.  Antonio gulped the formula hungrily. 
Lucky
, thought Essie,
no quarantine or snowstorm seemed to affect his appetite.

            A soft knock on the door was followed by Santos peeking his head in.  He wore the de rigeur green face mask this time and was carrying a plastic food tray with a metal plate cover on top.  When Essie saw the young man, she again motioned for him to quickly enter.  Santos moved into the living room and quietly closed the door behind him.  He immediately set the tray and plate cover by the doorway.

            “Miss Essie,” he began breathlessly, “you not go dinner with family?  Big snowstorm!”

            “Yes, Santos,” she responded, “I know about it!  My daughter called me and told me they couldn’t get here.  I see you have a cover story if anyone asks why you were in my apartment.”  She nodded to the tray and plate cover he had just set down.  “I’ll keep Antonio tonight.  I don’t think you’ll need to hide him in the closet.”

            “Very good, Miss Essie,” said Santos.  “All workers stay here at Happy Haven tonight.  We cannot go home!  Very bad snow!  My sports car cannot go in snow.”

            “I know, Santos,” she replied. “I heard the announcement.  I hear they’re setting up sleeping bags and cots for the staff members who are still here.”

            “
Si
,” he said, “we all sleep in dining hall.  We cannot go out in snowstorm.”

            “That’s wise,” she said.  “Santos, do you know Lorena?  I can’t remember her last name.  She’s one of the nurses’s aides.”

            “Miss Lorena,” said the young waiter, “
si,
I know.  She very funny lady.  She makes me laugh!”

            “That’s good,” responded Essie.  “Do you happen to know if she’s here?  Did she make it in to work?  She’s my night time aide and if she’s here, I assume she’ll be around to do my evening meds.  I’m afraid she’s a bit suspicious of me from my behavior in hiding Antonio last night.”

            “I can hide baby, Miss Essie,” said Santos, “when Miss Lorena bring you pills.”

            “That’s just it,” said Essie. “I don’t know if she’s here, and if she is, when she’ll be here, assuming she’ll probably have to take over the duties of other aides.  Of course, if she isn’t here, I may be able to cover with her replacement.  But if anyone shows up when Antonio is awake or while I’m feeding him, there would be no way to keep him secret if that person came into my apartment.”

            “
Si
, Miss Essie,” he said.  “It is very difficult.  I take baby now to storage closet?”  The young man looked hesitantly at the older woman as the infant continued to suck away at the yellow rubber glove in her arms.

            “No,” she replied finally, “let’s not rock the boat.”

            “Rock boat?” Santos asked.  “You mean rock baby, Miss Essie?”

            “No, it’s an expression, Santos,” she explained. “It means let’s not cause any more …”

            “
Congoj
á
!” he cried.

            “
Si,
I mean, yes,” said Essie, “whatever that means, it sounds right!”

            “Very good, Miss Essie,” Santos said, edging closer to Essie’s rocker and peering shyly at the little baby in her arms.  “You take good care of baby Antonio, Miss Essie.  I am very smart to pick you to be baby’s, how you say? 
Chacha
?”

            “After this, no more cha cha-ing for me, Santos!”  chuckled Essie, looking down at the infant who smiled up into her face. 

            “I mean you are very good mother,” he said, “Antonio is very happy baby.”  The woman and the young man continued to watch the infant sucking noisily at his dinner (or lunch).  “You don’t need speak good English to baby, Miss Essie.”

            “That’s true,” she agreed.  “Now, when you go back to the kitchen, can you check to see if Lorena is here?  If she is, can you call me or let me know.  She’s the only person I’m worried about.  If she comes here to give me my meds while Antonio is awake, then she’ll surely insist on informing Violet about him.  We really need to be careful that we keep him hidden when she is here.”

            “I find Miss Lorena,” said Santos, “and I find when she comes here to see you.  I come get Antonio and take him to closet before Miss Lorena comes to your apartment, Miss Essie.  You no worry!  I can do!”

            “Yes, I believe you can, Santos,” said Essie.  She marveled at how much the young man managed to do for this child in addition to fulfilling his regular duties. “You can touch him, you know.”  She smiled at Santos as the young man gingerly inched toward Essie’s chair and cautiously reached his hand out and placed it on the baby’s head.

            “Baby is very warm,” he said with a smile.  “And …
suave
… soft.”

            “Yes,” she agreed. “I think he knows you.  You saved him, you know.”

            “No, you, Miss Essie,” said Santos, pulling back. “You save baby.”

            “Let’s consider it a joint effort,” replied Essie, with a grin at her compatriot in crime.  “Now, you’d better get going, before they miss you in the kitchen.  And, be careful.  Don’t let anyone see you.”

            “Is okay if they see Santos,” he said sticking out his lower lip. “I say I bring Miss Essie something to eat.”

            “Salubrious succotash!” she said, smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand. “I guess if I’m not going to dinner with my children, I
will
need you to bring me some dinner.  As many times as you’ve been here to deliver me food, people are going to expect me to gain a lot of weight.”

            “Food is very good at Happy Haven,” he replied, with a knowing nod, grabbing the tray and plate cover from near the doorway on his way out.

            “And Santos,” she called to him at the door, “would you have time to drop by Opal’s apartment again and bring back that necklace?”

            “
Si,
Miss Essie, I go get necklace.  Bring supper.  Santos can do all.  No worry, Miss Essie.”  He listed his duties for himself on his fingers.  “Do not forget, Miss Essie!  It is Christmas!  Very good time for everybody!”

            “I hope you’re right, Santos,” replied Essie as Santos quietly slipped out her door.  “You don’t know how much trouble you’ve been causing,” she whispered to Antonio who was only now slurping down the last few drops of fake formula.  Essie tipped him upright and placed him over her shoulder.  With a few gentle rocks and pats, a nice long burp erupted from the baby’s tummy.  “Good one, little man.”

            Another soft knock sounded on the door. 

            “That must be Santos back again,” said Essie. “Grumpy Goodness! That was fast!”  The knock repeated.  Essie expected Santos to call out to her or open the door himself quietly.  Most residents of Happy Haven typically kept their doors unlocked so that staff members could get in in case of emergencies.  “Santos?” she called out softly.  “The door is open.  Come in.”

            The door creaked open a few inches.  However, instead of the familiar face of her young Hispanic waiter, Essie saw the also familiar face of her next door neighbor and ultra-snoopy gossip–Clara Monroe.  Clara looked inside and immediately honed in on Essie sitting in her rocker.  Then, her eyes wandered down to Essie’s lap, where baby Antonio was now being jostled contentedly.  As Clara’s eyes focused on the totally unexpected sight of a newborn infant in the arms of one of Happy Haven’s elderly residents–with no accompanying relatives anywhere in sight–she pushed Essie’s door back slowly and cautiously stepped into Essie’s apartment.  With her eyes still glued to the baby, she reached behind her and shut Essie’s door without a word.  Then, moving towards Essie, eyes still on the child, she finally opened her mouth.