Untrusting (Troubled) (31 page)

“Lack of imagination?”  We
laugh.  “Don’t ya think the names fit?”

“No.  I played with them most
of the evening and they strike me more like Lass and Ladie, or Rinnie and
Tinnie.”  He’s laughing so I slap him on the arm.  “Betty and Barney
are just fine.”  We put the puppies down.  I turn as he puts his arms
around me.

“I heard what happened.  I’m
sorry, but I promise I didn’t hear ya.  If I had, mad or not, I would have
come to help.  I swear.”

Steve smiles, “I know.  But I
was angry and wasn’t watching the dogs, so it was my fault.  I just needed
some one to blame it on so I didn’t feel so foolish.”

We go in to find an empty
room.  José went to his bed and lay down.  Chief went to his bed and
lay down and Chaucee joins him.  Betty and Barney find their kennel and
blanket and we go upstairs.  I shower and go to bed, snuggling with
Steve.  His medication has him asleep after one kiss and his warmth puts
me to sleep soon after.

Mr. Gustaf makes good on his
promise.  Right after lunch he arrives with all the dogs.  I check
them out and they’re clean and the ulcers are almost healed.  I give him a
bottle of shampoo and another tube of salve.  I vaccinate the adult dogs
and tell him I’d given the puppies their distemper shots for free.  The
vaccinations are not free, but he can pay for them a little at a time. 
The city licenses will cost ten dollars per adult dog and he has to pay for
that as he gets them.  He wants two licensed today and he’ll get the other
two at the next appointment.  I suggest he get the yard sprayed so the
dogs don’t get infested again.  He said he had his son spray the yard
Wednesday and he’ll have it done again in two weeks.  He has a lotta money
invested in the three males and he doesn’t want to have to replace them.

I ask him what he’s going to do
with the puppies.  He doesn’t know.  I offer to take them when
they’re weaned and adopt them out to good homes.  He says he’ll think
about it.  But he’ll take better care of the dogs.  Miss Lili comes
in before he leaves and remarks on the beauty of the dogs.  Mr. Gustaf
leaves smiling.

“The stray dog or was it
dogs?”  Miss Lili has Glen and all three dogs with her.  She opens
the door to the kennels and all three dogs dart through and out the back to
join Betty and Barney.  Glen’s carrying a small box that appears to be
full.  She takes the box from him and asks “Are y’all busy this
afternoon?”  When we say no, she dumps its contents on the desk. 
“Can you help me get through these?”  Too late to say no.  “These are
the responses we’ve gotten in just a day.  Some of them are letters to
Santa.  We need a file holder for the family and one for the
letters.  We need to get some kinda form so we can keep track of what we
have for each family.  Can we do that?”

Maria sat down at the computer to
make up a form that can be filled in with family names sizes and what’s needed
for clothing, food, tree, decorations and whatever else.  Because of its
general purpose it can be used for the letters, too.  Steve and Bob come
in and come over to kiss us ‘hello’ before they sit down to start going through
the responses.  The letters are given to Glen and Lili.  We’re almost
through with the pile of referrals when we hear Miss Lili sniffling.  We
look up to see tears running down her cheeks.  Glen hands the letter to
Maria, who reads it out loud.

“Dear Santa, I hope u are
fine.  My Mommee reellee sik and I cant help.  I wish u to com take
her to a dr.  Im scaird she’ll die if she dont c a dr. soon.  Pleese
help.  If she dies, mabe I can com liv with u.  I dont hav innyone
els.  Thanks, Penelope Perez”

“Maria, get on the phone and see if
there’s a Penelope Perez in any of the schools.  Steve, you and Bob go to
the churches to see if they know them.  Here, take the letter.  Miss
Lili, Glen, you check at the different stores in town.  We have to find
them and we can’t wait.”  I’m giving orders like I should, when I
shouldn’t.

Maria calls all the schools and
there are several Perez’s but no Penelope.  We don’t bother with getting
addresses of the other Perez’s because the letter said she had no one
else.  Steve and Bob come back, the Priest says there was a little girl,
about four, in the church asking for food and aspirin for her mother.  The
priest gave her some food, but that was two days ago and no one has seen her
since.  I suggest they check at the ‘center’ since they’re accepting food
donations.

They find the little girl there and
bring her back to the office.  I tell her Santa called and said we should
help her mother.  Will she take us to her?  She smiles and
nods.  Steve and I get in the truck and Penelope points the way. 
It’s quite a ways away from town for a four year old girl to walk, but she did
every other day, she says.

She takes us into a little house
that’s little more than a shack and her mother’s there in a bed.  I
brought my bag with my stethoscope in it so I listen to her heart and her
lungs.  Sounds like pneumonia, but I’m an animal doctor so I can’t be
sure.  Luckily, Glen and Miss Lili saw us get in the truck and followed
us.  There’s no local ambulance so we get them in Miss Lili’s Cadillac to
take them to the clinic and small hospital in town.

Mrs. Perez is critical.  She
needs to go to the hospital in Gatesville.  Dr. Sanchez calls the Sheriff
to see if one of the deputies can take her in using sirens.  It’s arranged
and Miss Lili and Glen follow with Penelope.  We tell Miss Lili we’ll
close the office and come to the hospital unless they call us.

We get back to close the office and
tell Maria and Bob what’s happened.  Maria suggests we get the little girl
a couple of outfits and some soap and shampoo.  And check for fleas and
lice.  I think she’s right so we stop at Walmart on the way to the
hospital, guessing at the girl’s size.  Steve goes a little over board and
gets the girl five outfits, panties, socks and pajamas.  We aren’t sure
about shoes, but we find a couple pair that look about right and get them, too.

By the time we get to the hospital,
Mrs. Perez has a room, but they’re cleaning her up so we can’t see her right
now.  We join Miss Lili, Penelope and Glen in the waiting room.  Miss
Lili is holding a sleeping Penelope in her lap.  They had stopped to feed
Penelope, telling her that it would be a while before she could see her mother
anyway.

Miss Lili looks like she needs a
break, the little girl is half Miss Lili’s size.  Glen helps shift
Penelope from Lili to me and I sit with her in my lap.  When Mrs. Perez is
situated we’re called in.  I ask if it’s possible to shower Penelope in
the bathroom in her mother’s room.  They allow it, though it’s not
hospital policy.  We thank them and Miss Lili and I go in to help Penelope
bathe and dress.  We forgot a comb and brush and Miss Lili goes to see if
there’s one in the gift shop.  She comes back with them and I brush
Penelope’s hair.  When we come out of the bathroom, Penelope is clean and
dressed in clean clothes.  We try on the shoes and the sandals fit. 
So now the beautiful little girl is clean and fed.

She goes to her mother and sits on
the bed expecting her to be instantly better because she’s in the hospital
now.  We explain it’ll be a day or two before her mother will be well
enough to talk, but she sits there anyway.  The nurses come in to take
vitals and check the I.V. they’ve started.  They explain they’re putting
as strong an antibiotic into Mrs. Perez as possible.  The doctor comes in
to say Mrs. Perez is critical, but because she’s an unknown she’s not in the
I.C.U.  Glen steps up and tells the doctor he’ll be responsible for the
patient and her bill, move her to the Intensive Care Unit.  We want this
woman to live, if it’s at all possible.  The doctor asks if any of us are
family and we say the little girl is and we’re all she has besides her mother, so
in a way, yes, we are family.

Mrs. Perez is moved to I.C.U. and
we wait for a few hours before we talk Penelope into leaving with us.  On
our way out of town we stop to eat then at Walmart to switch the shoes that
didn’t fit for a pair that does.  At Miss Lili’s, Penelope’s changed into
pajamas and put to bed in the guest room next to ours.  Steve and I go
downstairs to talk to Miss Lili and Glen.

“What are we gonna do with a four
year old girl?  I guess we’ll have to hope for Mrs. Perez’s
recovery.  Then we need to find her work and a place to stay.  But
that’s what we’d do for anyone under these circumstances.  Well, we’ll see
what happens then deal with it,” Miss Lili says.

“Lili, is it so hard to understand
that when these things happen the state steps in and takes the girl to a new
home to be taken care of.  It’s simple.”  Glen’s pretty adamant about
how things will go.

“That girl will be
heartbroken.  She obviously loves her mother and doesn’t want to be
separated from her.  Yet, Mrs. Perez isn’t able to take care of
them.  I agree with Miss Lili.  If Mrs. Perez lives she’ll need help
and Penelope needs to stay with her mother.  I don’t know how or who to
fight to make that happen, but it needs to be done.”  I’ll fight for the
girl’s right to stay with her mother.

“Sher’s right.  Grams, ya know
a lotta people that can help.  That girl needs her mother and ya can tell
she’s been raised right.  She’s too sweet and respectful to have been
taught otherwise.  In fact, she’s too well behaved, but she’s young. 
I’m sure she’ll outgrow it.”  We chuckle at Steve’s comment.

“I’ll do what I need to do when the
time comes, if it comes.  Now we need to get some sleep.  Me and Glen
will take Penelope to Gatesville tomorrow morning, but I would appreciate it if
you would relieve us at lunch then, maybe Bob and Maria can relieve
ya’ll.  I thought Glen and I would do some Christmas shopping while we’re
there.  Come to think of it, I haven’t heard anything about Christmas
shopping from either of you two.  Y’all plannin’ to wait ‘til the last
minute?”

“I guess I haven’t given it much
thought.  I do have gifts to buy.  But I can usually finish my
shopping in a couple of hours.”  I haven’t been enthused about Christmas
since I got outta college.

“This year we’ll have Shay to buy
for and Maria and Sher.  We’ll have fun playing with Shay and his
toys.  It’s been dull not having kids around the tree.  Maybe, we can
have Penelope and Mrs. Perez over for Christmas, too.”  Steve’s eyes are
sparkling thinking of the fun it could be.

“Steve, Maria and I spend Christmas
with our parents.  I’m sure there’ll be some changes, but I don’t know
what those might be.  We all need to make arrangements for Christmas this
year.”  I’m beginning to wonder if they all think we’d automatically change
to meet their expectations.

“She’s right.  We’re an
expanding family and we need to expect to accommodate the other side of the
family, too.  We’ll have to make some arrangements and change some
traditions in order to include the in-laws.  We can’t ride rough shod over
the girls’ families.  Now, I’m going to bed.  Goodnight.”  Steve’s
heading for the stairs when we say goodnight and we all go to bed.

On the way to bed, I check on
Penelope and she wants to go to the bathroom.  I take her then show her
where our bedroom door is if she needs us.  She asks about her mother and
I tell her we’ll call the hospital if she wants.  She wants to.

I speak to the nurse and she says
Mrs. Perez is having a restless night, but her vitals remain good.  I ask
her to tell Penelope so she can go back to sleep.  She asks if Penelope
wants to talk to her mother, but her mother can’t say much to her, so not to be
scared.  “Hello?  Mama I’m with nice people ‘til you get outta the
hospital.  I’m fine.  I love you, get well.  See ya
tomorrow.  ‘Bye.”  Penelope talks to her mother in Spanish.

I take the phone and say to Mrs.
Perez, “Penelope will be taken care of ‘til you get outta the hospital. 
She’s a very nice little girl and we’ll be good to her.  We’ll see ya
tomorrow.  Get well soon.”

“Miss Sher, Ma’ma doesn’t speak
English.”  She used the Spanish word for mama.

“That’s okay.  Mama’s speak
the language of love and they hear it in the tone of voice, not the
words.  You feel better now?”  She nods.  “Ready to go back to
bed?”  She nods and yawns.  I pick her up and carry her back to her
bed and tuck her in.  Steve comes in with a teddy bear for her and she
snuggles up to it and falls asleep.

Steve and I go to bed, but not to
sleep.  We snuggle and talk, but I’m not sure I like the way he’s talking. 
If anything happens to Mrs. Perez, he wants to adopt “Penny.”  He wants to
have a kid filled Christmas this year so we can all play with them and their
toys.  He wants to go Christmas shopping while we’re in Gatesville
tomorrow.  He wants Mrs. Perez and “Penny” to spend Christmas here with
us.

“Steve, this all about what you
want.  What about what they want?  Maybe they have family somewhere
they’d rather be with.  And what about my family?  I don’t know what
I’m doing Christmas Day.”

“Are you saying ya won’t spend
Christmas with me?”

“No.  I hope we’ll spend
Christmas together, regardless, of who we spend it with.  Are you saying
ya won’t spend Christmas with me and my family, if that’s the way it turns
out?”

He hesitates to answer a little too
long.  “You are saying that aren’t ya.”  I’m getting a little ticked
at his inconsideration.

“No, that’s not what I’m
saying.  I just needed a minute to think about changing my Christmas
traditions to accommodate yours.  I don’t feel it’s fair, but I know it’s
the right thing to do.  I like your Mom and Dad and I like spending time
with them, but I, also, like a relaxing day.  I don’t know how it is to go
from one place to another.  I just need a little time to adjust to it.”

“Are you saying you’re old and set
in your ways?”  I snicker.

“I guess I am, but I’m not too old
for this.”  He turns me toward him for a kiss and takes me right into the
inferno.

As we’re settling down to sleep, we
hear a child scream.  I grab my robe and run to Penny’s room.  She’s
sitting up in bed and crying.  I hug her and she cries, “Ma’ma es muerta.” 
Mama’s dead.

Steve hears her and calls the
hospital, but Mrs. Perez is fine.  “Penny, the nurse says your mama’s
fine.  It was just a bad dream.”  Penny sits in my lap and talks to
Steve for a few minutes and falls asleep.  I lay her down and she asks me
to stay with her, so, after a nod from Steve, I lay down beside her and snuggle
with her and her teddy bear and fall asleep with her.  Steve stays and
sleeps behind me, his arm across both of us.

Penny wakes us up at six,
hungry.  We go downstairs to fix breakfast but find Miss Lili and Glen has
beat us to it.  Miss Lili comes over to hug Penny and asks her if pancakes
are okay.  Penny smiles and nods.  I help Miss Lili get the syrup and
fruit out for the pancakes while Glen flips the pancakes.  Steve sits with
Penny while I get a glass of milk for her and coffee for us then sits down with
her.  They talk about going to the hospital.  She wants to know if we
were all going and Steve says he and I will be coming at lunch to stay with her
and her mother.  Glen puts a plate of two small pancakes with bacon in
front of her and we pass her the fruit and the syrup.  She takes what she
wants and it’s sparse, but we say nothing.  She can’t eat both pancakes
even tho’ they’re small.

Now she wants to clean up and go
see her mother.  Miss Lili says she and Glen are going to finish eating
and get dressed then they can go.  She nods.  I take her upstairs to
clean up.  She starts cleaning up with a washcloth.  I offer to help
her with a bath or a shower.  She decides a shower is faster and I wash
her hair.  I wrap her in a towel and we go into her room to dress
her.  She thanks me for her new clothes and shoes.  I tell her Steve
got them for her, while I’m brushing her hair.  I go into my room for some
clips for her hair.  She smells like flowers and looks like an angel when
she comes down the stairs to wait for Miss Lili and Glen.

Her big brown eyes, dark brown
curly hair and tan skin are more noticeable in the light pink tee shirt and
jeans.  She goes to Steve and thanks him for the clothes.  He
responds and holds his hands out to her.  She goes to him and he sets her
in his lap.  “Where’s your Daddy?” he asks.  She says they left him. 
He was bad to her mother.  “Do you have any Aunts or Uncles?”  She
doesn’t know.

Miss Lili comes in, asks if she’s
ready to go and Penny races to the door.  We say ‘bye and they’re
gone.  Steve and I go back to bed, after we let the dogs out, setting the
alarm for ten.