WITH ALL YOUR HEART
A SHORT STORY BY RICHARD SWAIN
ONE
An inner voice drew the nurse back to the young woman on the cutting line. Perhaps four months pregnant, she guessed, and also her youthfulness. It was the combination that raised her concern. The day shift manager handled any concerns the Health Department might raise during the monthly safety inspection. The employee card gave her name as Ellie Mae Joyce, age 18, and the address was local. They had employed her for nine months. She had passed all three drug tests, and there were no recorded complaints. The nurse opened her laptop and searched the county birth records. We have one Ellie Mae Joyce, she would be 16 years old, and I guess she is your illegal employee. Ask her to come upstairs.
A sizable employer in a small community will receive any help possible short of larceny and murder. Ellie Mae quietly left that afternoon with a full week of wages, and the manager received a verbal warning regarding false identification. The following day, Rachel Adams, the nurse, as required, drove out to the address of record. Several dogs and more than several children ran out to see the visitor. An elderly woman said she was Ellie Mae’s grandmother and invited her inside. The home was small, dark, but clean.
With a wave around the room, Granny, as she called herself, spoke with the voice of one who has lived two lifetimes. “Only us five. The three little ones are Ellie Mae’s nieces.” Sensing the question, the old woman added, “Others died or disappeared, and you name it, booze, methamphetamines, and if that don’t kill you, now we got fentanyl. What a crazy mixed up world.” Ellie Mae entered the room and sat next to her granny. She nestled her head into the crook of the older woman’s neck, reached across her lap, and pulled a stuffed rabbit to her side.
The nurse was a single mother of two, worked long hours to support her family, and knew firsthand the struggles of those marginalized in today’s society. “I need to ask this question, are you staying with the pregnancy?” Both women nodded yes in unison. Suddenly Ellie Mae broke out sobbing uncontrollably and put her head between her knees. Rachel moved to the couch and immediately the child turned and clung to her side.
A prenatal exam would be the first step, and the nurse spoke of a class for expectant mothers she led at the hospital. Before leaving, the last question centered on the father. The response was quick and uncompromising, “Granny and me will raise this baby.”
TWO
Founded in 1805, Benson’s Crossing has struggled as a viable town, and folks would point to a history of missed opportunities. It was easy to find an excuse. If we were closer to the river, if the new highway didn’t skirt our town, if only an entrepreneur would arrive in our midst. To be truthful, the actual issue was Benson family members who willfully stifled any whiff of change, not wanting to cede control. To their credit, it could have been worse, as the town would reinvent itself about every two decades. Tobacco, cotton, whiskey, to name a few, and now poultry processing.
Ellie Mae’s father worked as a loader, manually stacking 60 pound boxes of product onto pallets at a rate of 10 per minute. A 15 minute break every 2 hours to smoke a cigarette, and a young man became an old man who became a dead man. Her mother was a high school homecoming queen who never wanted to grow up and face the reality of raising a family. She developed the need to get away and clear her mind. One day she never returned.
Benson Health Center serves a vast geographical area and struggles like many regional hospitals to stay relevant. Junior doctors arrive under a program of student loan forgiveness, but move to the big cities as soon as their contracts expire. The true strength of Benson rests with a cadre of nurses dedicated to their calling, and willing to go the extra mile day after day. Rachel Adams is a perfect example.
THREE
Ellie Mae leaned toward the monitor as Rachel used a pointer to describe the tiny grainy image of the ultrasound. “Sweetheart, you have a precious baby boy growing inside your tummy.” Using the fetal Doppler, the expectant mother listened to the heartbeat for the first time. “Hello Daniel Joyce, what a fine boy you are. I’m Ellie Mae, you call me Mama.” Rachel saw this as a teaching moment and described the baby as now 6 inches long and weighing 4 ounces. “The next five months will be vital for the health of your son. I know you will be careful in every way possible.” The young girl looked at the nurse with a ferocity. “I don’t do drugs, if that’s what you mean. Addiction has ruined my family, and I will kill myself before I do anything to harm this child.” She turned away and pulled a pillow over her head.
On the next home visit, the high school counselor arrived with the nurse. She encouraged Ellie Mae to come back to school, or if uncomfortable, to seek the HSED with home study. While they discussed the coursework, Rachel used the opportunity to examine the three little girls. Wendy and Carol were twins aged five and Brenda was two. It was apparent from Brenda’s darker skin color there were two fathers. The children scored well in all measurements, and it delighted Granny to schedule a visit to the dental van.
The family stood on the porch to wave goodbye. A bright yellow Corvette was slowly passing down the road, and the youthful driver was staring up at the house. As Rachel neared her car, she looked back and forth between the two. Ellie Mae turned away and faced the open door. Granny shouted out, “Worthless!” As they drove off, the two women felt a missing piece of the puzzle was falling into place. The driver was a Benson, son of the current patriarch. They guessed Robbie to be 22.
FOUR
Academics came easily to Ellie Mae, and home study proved beneficial as she could also help Granny with the young children. Her sister Cherylee was four years older and gave birth to the twins when she was 15. She ran off with an older man on Brenda’s first birthday. Granny said she could never forgive Cherylee for such a cruel act. A postcard arrived months later from Los Angeles, and all her sister would say was that she was her mother’s daughter.
It was a wayward wife and a reckless sister that knitted Ellie Mae and her father together. She absolutely adored Danny Joyce and could not remember a time when she was not his shadow. As his emphysema worsened, she would cry herself asleep each night, hearing him cough uncontrollably. Losing your father at the vulnerable age of 13, and without the dependable support from a mother, Granny became the rock that saved her life.
Determined not to follow in her sister’s footsteps, Ellie Mae put her time and energy into sports and studies. Playing catch in the front yard or an evening at the bowling alley with her dad was reward enough. Although popular at school, she was often teased about being a goody-two-shoes who avoided the parties, alcohol, and the “fast” boys. Missing her period was the first alarm, and after three days of morning sickness, she sat down with Granny to express her fear. From that moment, she suppressed her anger and accepted the responsibility. She was not the Blessed Virgin Mary, but it was one boy on one night with her guard lowered, and she would make the best of the consequences.
FIVE
Rachel offered the opportunity with reluctance. If Ellie Mae and Granny could manage two more little ones, she would drop them off each morning, and pay them what she paid her baby sitter. It overjoyed them to accept, as money was scarce, and more playmates was a positive for the children. Often Rachel would shop after work and help prepare a dinner that all eight would enjoy around a big picnic table in the backyard.
Loaded down with groceries on a late Friday afternoon, Rachel pulled up to the house during a chaotic scene. A pickup truck was in the driveway and a stranger was throwing garbage bags of who knows what into the back. The twins were on the ground, crying hysterically, and grabbing at the legs of the man. As she rushed to Wendy and Carol’s aid, a young woman came out the front door and screamed, “Get your goddamn hands off my kids. Kenny, get them in the truck now!” Ellie Mae stepped out behind her sister and grabbed her arm. “For the love of God, you can’t do this to Brenda a second time.” Cherylee turned around, “What can I do, Kenny won’t take her.” “Won’t take her,” Ellie Mae screamed, “You’re her mother!”
Ellie Mae ran into the arms of Rachel, sobbing incoherently, as the truck backed down the driveway and drove away. The two women knelt on the lawn, consoling each other until a plaintive cry woke them out of their grief. Brenda was at the front door, wide eyed and fearfully calling “Granny, Granny.” The old woman was lying on the bedroom floor. Rachel called to Ellie Mae, “Call 911, Granny has had a stroke.” Paralyzed on the right side, and unable to speak, Rachel placed pillows to support her head, and the afflicted part of her body.
SIX
The pregnant young woman had her hands resting on the yellow Corvette roof while talking to the occupant. From time to time, she would reach down to wipe tears from her eyes and cheeks. There were nods from her head in both the affirmative and the negative. She walked back into the house to finish packing as the car sped away. That afternoon, Rachel picked up Ellie Mae and Brenda. They would live with her until the home extension was complete. If all went according to plan, a big if, they could release Granny from the nursing home at the same time Rachel would leave her apartment and move in with the family. Contributing her rent payment to the household budget would solve the financial strain, and the bond between nurse and expectant mother was growing closer by the day.
SEVEN
Benson Construction assigned a priority to the remodel. With an enlarged kitchen, two additional bedrooms, and another bathroom, the house would double in size. Sky lights in the living room would bring much needed natural light into the home. Ellie Mae wanted Rachel by her side for the meeting with Mr. Benson. A construction trailer sat in the driveway, and the three sat at a small table inside. Ellie Mae had never spoken to Robbie’s father and was visibly anxious and uncomfortable. The town elder spoke with unemotional directness. “My son says he is the father of your unborn child, and I will accept his statement as fact, at least for now.” He said the remodel was his son’s way of mending a broken bridge, but he made it clear the family would not acknowledge any paternal responsibility. Ellie Mae spoke with controlled emotion, “I want nothing from you or your son. If guilt drives this remodel, so be it. I will be grateful if we never meet again.”
EIGHT
Out of the blue, Brenda started calling Ellie Mae Mommy, and staying close by her side. Ellie Mae reminded the little one that while she was really her aunt, it would be her honor to be called Mommy. Brenda broke out in a wide grin and asked, “Mommy, can I wear my red dress to the birthday party?” Rachel’s oldest, Douglas, was celebrating his eighth birthday, and two days later, his sister Sarah would be six. Last year Douglas chose a baseball game, so this year Sarah picked the petting farm.
They would first stop by the nursing home so Granny could see the children. Perhaps it was her older age, or the delay for treatment, but Granny sustained severe language impairment, and had difficulty with balance and coordination. The hospital’s new resident doctor had taken a special interest in Mrs. Joyce and planned on meeting them for an update. Dr. Nelson was brimming with energy and wanted to discuss the benefit of magnetic brain stimulation. He was also an advocate for music therapy and had arranged for a Bose Wave Music System to be placed by her bedside.
Granny teared up seeing the little ones as they held up the homemade cards before her face. She could raise and lower an arm and with great effort attempted to speak with the children. When Dr. Nelson stood by the bed and took Granny’s hand, Ellie Mae was sure she saw a twinkle in her grandmother’s eyes. You could only guess what she was saying, but it was certainly a mouthful. Ben Nelson grew up in a Washington, D.C. housing project. His father died by gunshot when he was five and raised by an overprotective and nurturing mother. He graduated second in his class from Howard University College of Medicine with a specialty in geriatrics. The staff were already calling him Dr. Ben, and he encouraged the family to do the same. Perhaps it was a similar skin color that drew Brenda to his side, but she giggled with glee as he picked her up and gushed over her beautiful red dress.
NINE
Daniel Joyce was a red-faced, healthy baby boy weighing eight pounds and gifted with strong lungs. Swaddled in a blue and white blanket, his mother was radiant as she nursed him for the first time. Godmother Rachel stood by the bedside as Brenda, Douglas, and Sarah were at the door with wide grins and waves. Dr. Ben stepped in with a bouquet.
The home remodel was complete, and Ellie Mae, Rachel, and children had moved back in. In two weeks they would bring Granny home. There was some tension as Robbie Benson would often park his car across the street for hours and stare at the house. Rachel went out one afternoon and confronted him, saying it upset Ellie Mae to have him at the house and to please let them be. She did not mention the anger or alcohol to Ellie Mae.
Granny’s welcome home was a joyous occasion. Dr. Ben wheeled her up the walkway and then carried her to a new recliner chair in the living room. The prognosis was not very positive, but they promised she would not go back to the nursing home or hospital again, she was home to stay.
TEN
Ellie Mae successfully completed her HSED and started classes at the local community college. She wanted to follow Rachel into nursing and took part in a Junior Volunteers program at the hospital. Her fellow participants would tease her when Dr. Ben paid special attention.
A dark period came upon the family. The first sign was at the dinner table. Brenda had hardly touched her food and soon tears fell. “Mommy, my throat hurts.” Ellie Mae took her into the bathroom and had her gargle with salt water to ease the discomfort and put her to bed. In the middle of the night, her crying had both Ellie Mae and Rachel at her side. She now had a mild fever and chills. Most concerning to Rachel was Brenda’s breath, a sickening sweet odor. “The kids have had all their vaccinations, yes?” “I assume so” was the answer, “Who knows with Cherylee.” Rachel said as a precaution, she wanted to take Brenda to the hospital for a routine check-up, if Ellie Mae would stay with the other children and Granny.
The doctor swabbed the back of her throat. They would test for what bacteria they might find from the culture. As a precaution, they put Brenda in an isolation room. Early in the morning, Brenda was in tears, “Where is my Mommy” she wailed. The doctor said she was sitting in a chair right outside the door. He opened the door, and Ellie Mae stood. Doing her best to smile and wave. Her only comfort was squeezing her arms tightly around her own body as she looked at her precious little one from a distance.
It took two days to confirm Rachel’s greatest fear, Brenda had diphtheria. How could she get this would take a back seat to how quickly can she be treated for the disease? The first step was a skin test to make sure the child would not have an allergy to the antitoxin. Whether Brenda passed it to Granny, or the other way around, they were the only two. Mercifully, Granny passed away quietly within weeks, but Brenda struggled for full recovery. The doctor’s primary concern was myocarditis, or damage to the heart. She cried, missing the funeral for Granny, but bed rest was a priority without exception. The extended family mourned the passing of their matriarch, but given her stroke challenges, they considered it to be a blessing in disguise. At the darkest hour, Brenda went through a period of partial paralysis, but prayers are powerful, and by the sixth week she was on the road to a full recovery.
ELEVEN
A continuous honking of a car horn near the house in the middle of night brought both Ellie Mae and Rachel to the living room windows. It was Robbie Benson. Once he saw movement inside, he got out of his car and clumsily stood on the hood yelling for Ellie. Rachel stepped outside, and from a distance, threatened to call the police if he did not immediately leave. This challenge only provoked him further, and in his alcohol fueled rage, he screamed at Ellie in the window. “I am the father and I want my son.” Ellie Mae threw the front door open so hard, it slammed against the side of the house. Purple with rage and pent up anger, she pointed her finger at him. “You, a father, you are nothing but a rapist, a sad drunk rapist who will never touch my son in ten lifetimes!” He teetered and fell off the car into bushes. He stood back up and started walking up the driveway, “I built this house and I will burn it down. You know who I am, and what I can do.” Rachel jumped off the porch, grabbed the water hose and turned it on full blast. Half running at him, she drenched him until he slipped and fell backward. She moved to within three feet and continued to soak him as he laid sprawled on his back, cursing and withering.
The next afternoon, Ellie Mae, Rachel, and Dr. Nelson met the Chief of Police and Mr. Benson at the station. Mr. Benson asked if he could speak first. Looking at Ellie with a mixture of sadness and concern, his words came slowly. “Ms. Joyce, it was your hope we would never meet again. I am so very sorry I could not honor your wish. I have made it very clear to the Chief that my son is to be jailed if he ever comes to your house again, or in any way approaches you or your family. They have charged Robbie with disorderly conduct and making threats of bodily harm. I have a copy of the police record for you to keep.” He paused and spoke to Dr. Nelson. “Young man, I am hearing wonderful news about the contributions you are bringing to our hospital. I only hope you will consider joining us full time at the end of your residency. We need a good doctor like you.” On the way home, Ellie Mae and Dr. Ben exchanged private smiles.
TWELVE
Life rolls on for all of us. Days turn into weeks turn into months, and before you can blink, Daniel is celebrating his first birthday. In the side yard, they dressed the picnic table in multiple colors of crape paper, and a stream of balloons floated above a corner of the playpen. Brenda, Douglas, and Sarah were busy arranging stuffed animals for Daniel’s amusement and laughter. As the new permanent staff doctor at the hospital, Ben had to promise a double weekend shift so he could have this day off. In the kitchen, his mother’s special recipe of baked beans with honey cured bacon sat on the counter with other dishes Rachel and Ellie Mae prepared the previous night. Brenda’s shouting brought them to the window, “They’re here, they’re here!” Scanning the yard to see who was here, the doorbell rang. Ellie opened the door. Cherylee stood facing her sister. “Every day the twins ask if they can come back. It may be the only wise decision I have made in their six years, but if you would find it in your heart to accept them.” Before Cherylee could say another word, Ellie Mae threw her arms around her sister, and blubbering with joy, “Accept them, they are family, this is their home.”
Families; bended, blended, most often splendid, and sometimes, by the grace of God, amended. A youthful chorus arose from the side yard. The two sisters, holding hands, walked around the corner. The five children had linked hands and were marching around the playpen, singing happy birthday to Daniel as he waved his arms.
RICHARD SWAIN
A SHORT STORY BY RICHARD SWAIN
ONE
An inner voice drew the nurse back to the young woman on the cutting line. Perhaps four months pregnant, she guessed, and also her youthfulness. It was the combination that raised her concern. The day shift manager handled any concerns the Health Department might raise during the monthly safety inspection. The employee card gave her name as Ellie Mae Joyce, age 18, and the address was local. They had employed her for nine months. She had passed all three drug tests, and there were no recorded complaints. The nurse opened her laptop and searched the county birth records. We have one Ellie Mae Joyce, she would be 16 years old, and I guess she is your illegal employee. Ask her to come upstairs.
A sizable employer in a small community will receive any help possible short of larceny and murder. Ellie Mae quietly left that afternoon with a full week of wages, and the manager received a verbal warning regarding false identification. The following day, Rachel Adams, the nurse, as required, drove out to the address of record. Several dogs and more than several children ran out to see the visitor. An elderly woman said she was Ellie Mae’s grandmother and invited her inside. The home was small, dark, but clean.
With a wave around the room, Granny, as she called herself, spoke with the voice of one who has lived two lifetimes. “Only us five. The three little ones are Ellie Mae’s nieces.” Sensing the question, the old woman added, “Others died or disappeared, and you name it, booze, methamphetamines, and if that don’t kill you, now we got fentanyl. What a crazy mixed up world.” Ellie Mae entered the room and sat next to her granny. She nestled her head into the crook of the older woman’s neck, reached across her lap, and pulled a stuffed rabbit to her side.
The nurse was a single mother of two, worked long hours to support her family, and knew firsthand the struggles of those marginalized in today’s society. “I need to ask this question, are you staying with the pregnancy?” Both women nodded yes in unison. Suddenly Ellie Mae broke out sobbing uncontrollably and put her head between her knees. Rachel moved to the couch and immediately the child turned and clung to her side.
A prenatal exam would be the first step, and the nurse spoke of a class for expectant mothers she led at the hospital. Before leaving, the last question centered on the father. The response was quick and uncompromising, “Granny and me will raise this baby.”
TWO
Founded in 1805, Benson’s Crossing has struggled as a viable town, and folks would point to a history of missed opportunities. It was easy to find an excuse. If we were closer to the river, if the new highway didn’t skirt our town, if only an entrepreneur would arrive in our midst. To be truthful, the actual issue was Benson family members who willfully stifled any whiff of change, not wanting to cede control. To their credit, it could have been worse, as the town would reinvent itself about every two decades. Tobacco, cotton, whiskey, to name a few, and now poultry processing.
Ellie Mae’s father worked as a loader, manually stacking 60 pound boxes of product onto pallets at a rate of 10 per minute. A 15 minute break every 2 hours to smoke a cigarette, and a young man became an old man who became a dead man. Her mother was a high school homecoming queen who never wanted to grow up and face the reality of raising a family. She developed the need to get away and clear her mind. One day she never returned.
Benson Health Center serves a vast geographical area and struggles like many regional hospitals to stay relevant. Junior doctors arrive under a program of student loan forgiveness, but move to the big cities as soon as their contracts expire. The true strength of Benson rests with a cadre of nurses dedicated to their calling, and willing to go the extra mile day after day. Rachel Adams is a perfect example.
THREE
Ellie Mae leaned toward the monitor as Rachel used a pointer to describe the tiny grainy image of the ultrasound. “Sweetheart, you have a precious baby boy growing inside your tummy.” Using the fetal Doppler, the expectant mother listened to the heartbeat for the first time. “Hello Daniel Joyce, what a fine boy you are. I’m Ellie Mae, you call me Mama.” Rachel saw this as a teaching moment and described the baby as now 6 inches long and weighing 4 ounces. “The next five months will be vital for the health of your son. I know you will be careful in every way possible.” The young girl looked at the nurse with a ferocity. “I don’t do drugs, if that’s what you mean. Addiction has ruined my family, and I will kill myself before I do anything to harm this child.” She turned away and pulled a pillow over her head.
On the next home visit, the high school counselor arrived with the nurse. She encouraged Ellie Mae to come back to school, or if uncomfortable, to seek the HSED with home study. While they discussed the coursework, Rachel used the opportunity to examine the three little girls. Wendy and Carol were twins aged five and Brenda was two. It was apparent from Brenda’s darker skin color there were two fathers. The children scored well in all measurements, and it delighted Granny to schedule a visit to the dental van.
The family stood on the porch to wave goodbye. A bright yellow Corvette was slowly passing down the road, and the youthful driver was staring up at the house. As Rachel neared her car, she looked back and forth between the two. Ellie Mae turned away and faced the open door. Granny shouted out, “Worthless!” As they drove off, the two women felt a missing piece of the puzzle was falling into place. The driver was a Benson, son of the current patriarch. They guessed Robbie to be 22.
FOUR
Academics came easily to Ellie Mae, and home study proved beneficial as she could also help Granny with the young children. Her sister Cherylee was four years older and gave birth to the twins when she was 15. She ran off with an older man on Brenda’s first birthday. Granny said she could never forgive Cherylee for such a cruel act. A postcard arrived months later from Los Angeles, and all her sister would say was that she was her mother’s daughter.
It was a wayward wife and a reckless sister that knitted Ellie Mae and her father together. She absolutely adored Danny Joyce and could not remember a time when she was not his shadow. As his emphysema worsened, she would cry herself asleep each night, hearing him cough uncontrollably. Losing your father at the vulnerable age of 13, and without the dependable support from a mother, Granny became the rock that saved her life.
Determined not to follow in her sister’s footsteps, Ellie Mae put her time and energy into sports and studies. Playing catch in the front yard or an evening at the bowling alley with her dad was reward enough. Although popular at school, she was often teased about being a goody-two-shoes who avoided the parties, alcohol, and the “fast” boys. Missing her period was the first alarm, and after three days of morning sickness, she sat down with Granny to express her fear. From that moment, she suppressed her anger and accepted the responsibility. She was not the Blessed Virgin Mary, but it was one boy on one night with her guard lowered, and she would make the best of the consequences.
FIVE
Rachel offered the opportunity with reluctance. If Ellie Mae and Granny could manage two more little ones, she would drop them off each morning, and pay them what she paid her baby sitter. It overjoyed them to accept, as money was scarce, and more playmates was a positive for the children. Often Rachel would shop after work and help prepare a dinner that all eight would enjoy around a big picnic table in the backyard.
Loaded down with groceries on a late Friday afternoon, Rachel pulled up to the house during a chaotic scene. A pickup truck was in the driveway and a stranger was throwing garbage bags of who knows what into the back. The twins were on the ground, crying hysterically, and grabbing at the legs of the man. As she rushed to Wendy and Carol’s aid, a young woman came out the front door and screamed, “Get your goddamn hands off my kids. Kenny, get them in the truck now!” Ellie Mae stepped out behind her sister and grabbed her arm. “For the love of God, you can’t do this to Brenda a second time.” Cherylee turned around, “What can I do, Kenny won’t take her.” “Won’t take her,” Ellie Mae screamed, “You’re her mother!”
Ellie Mae ran into the arms of Rachel, sobbing incoherently, as the truck backed down the driveway and drove away. The two women knelt on the lawn, consoling each other until a plaintive cry woke them out of their grief. Brenda was at the front door, wide eyed and fearfully calling “Granny, Granny.” The old woman was lying on the bedroom floor. Rachel called to Ellie Mae, “Call 911, Granny has had a stroke.” Paralyzed on the right side, and unable to speak, Rachel placed pillows to support her head, and the afflicted part of her body.
SIX
The pregnant young woman had her hands resting on the yellow Corvette roof while talking to the occupant. From time to time, she would reach down to wipe tears from her eyes and cheeks. There were nods from her head in both the affirmative and the negative. She walked back into the house to finish packing as the car sped away. That afternoon, Rachel picked up Ellie Mae and Brenda. They would live with her until the home extension was complete. If all went according to plan, a big if, they could release Granny from the nursing home at the same time Rachel would leave her apartment and move in with the family. Contributing her rent payment to the household budget would solve the financial strain, and the bond between nurse and expectant mother was growing closer by the day.
SEVEN
Benson Construction assigned a priority to the remodel. With an enlarged kitchen, two additional bedrooms, and another bathroom, the house would double in size. Sky lights in the living room would bring much needed natural light into the home. Ellie Mae wanted Rachel by her side for the meeting with Mr. Benson. A construction trailer sat in the driveway, and the three sat at a small table inside. Ellie Mae had never spoken to Robbie’s father and was visibly anxious and uncomfortable. The town elder spoke with unemotional directness. “My son says he is the father of your unborn child, and I will accept his statement as fact, at least for now.” He said the remodel was his son’s way of mending a broken bridge, but he made it clear the family would not acknowledge any paternal responsibility. Ellie Mae spoke with controlled emotion, “I want nothing from you or your son. If guilt drives this remodel, so be it. I will be grateful if we never meet again.”
EIGHT
Out of the blue, Brenda started calling Ellie Mae Mommy, and staying close by her side. Ellie Mae reminded the little one that while she was really her aunt, it would be her honor to be called Mommy. Brenda broke out in a wide grin and asked, “Mommy, can I wear my red dress to the birthday party?” Rachel’s oldest, Douglas, was celebrating his eighth birthday, and two days later, his sister Sarah would be six. Last year Douglas chose a baseball game, so this year Sarah picked the petting farm.
They would first stop by the nursing home so Granny could see the children. Perhaps it was her older age, or the delay for treatment, but Granny sustained severe language impairment, and had difficulty with balance and coordination. The hospital’s new resident doctor had taken a special interest in Mrs. Joyce and planned on meeting them for an update. Dr. Nelson was brimming with energy and wanted to discuss the benefit of magnetic brain stimulation. He was also an advocate for music therapy and had arranged for a Bose Wave Music System to be placed by her bedside.
Granny teared up seeing the little ones as they held up the homemade cards before her face. She could raise and lower an arm and with great effort attempted to speak with the children. When Dr. Nelson stood by the bed and took Granny’s hand, Ellie Mae was sure she saw a twinkle in her grandmother’s eyes. You could only guess what she was saying, but it was certainly a mouthful. Ben Nelson grew up in a Washington, D.C. housing project. His father died by gunshot when he was five and raised by an overprotective and nurturing mother. He graduated second in his class from Howard University College of Medicine with a specialty in geriatrics. The staff were already calling him Dr. Ben, and he encouraged the family to do the same. Perhaps it was a similar skin color that drew Brenda to his side, but she giggled with glee as he picked her up and gushed over her beautiful red dress.
NINE
Daniel Joyce was a red-faced, healthy baby boy weighing eight pounds and gifted with strong lungs. Swaddled in a blue and white blanket, his mother was radiant as she nursed him for the first time. Godmother Rachel stood by the bedside as Brenda, Douglas, and Sarah were at the door with wide grins and waves. Dr. Ben stepped in with a bouquet.
The home remodel was complete, and Ellie Mae, Rachel, and children had moved back in. In two weeks they would bring Granny home. There was some tension as Robbie Benson would often park his car across the street for hours and stare at the house. Rachel went out one afternoon and confronted him, saying it upset Ellie Mae to have him at the house and to please let them be. She did not mention the anger or alcohol to Ellie Mae.
Granny’s welcome home was a joyous occasion. Dr. Ben wheeled her up the walkway and then carried her to a new recliner chair in the living room. The prognosis was not very positive, but they promised she would not go back to the nursing home or hospital again, she was home to stay.
TEN
Ellie Mae successfully completed her HSED and started classes at the local community college. She wanted to follow Rachel into nursing and took part in a Junior Volunteers program at the hospital. Her fellow participants would tease her when Dr. Ben paid special attention.
A dark period came upon the family. The first sign was at the dinner table. Brenda had hardly touched her food and soon tears fell. “Mommy, my throat hurts.” Ellie Mae took her into the bathroom and had her gargle with salt water to ease the discomfort and put her to bed. In the middle of the night, her crying had both Ellie Mae and Rachel at her side. She now had a mild fever and chills. Most concerning to Rachel was Brenda’s breath, a sickening sweet odor. “The kids have had all their vaccinations, yes?” “I assume so” was the answer, “Who knows with Cherylee.” Rachel said as a precaution, she wanted to take Brenda to the hospital for a routine check-up, if Ellie Mae would stay with the other children and Granny.
The doctor swabbed the back of her throat. They would test for what bacteria they might find from the culture. As a precaution, they put Brenda in an isolation room. Early in the morning, Brenda was in tears, “Where is my Mommy” she wailed. The doctor said she was sitting in a chair right outside the door. He opened the door, and Ellie Mae stood. Doing her best to smile and wave. Her only comfort was squeezing her arms tightly around her own body as she looked at her precious little one from a distance.
It took two days to confirm Rachel’s greatest fear, Brenda had diphtheria. How could she get this would take a back seat to how quickly can she be treated for the disease? The first step was a skin test to make sure the child would not have an allergy to the antitoxin. Whether Brenda passed it to Granny, or the other way around, they were the only two. Mercifully, Granny passed away quietly within weeks, but Brenda struggled for full recovery. The doctor’s primary concern was myocarditis, or damage to the heart. She cried, missing the funeral for Granny, but bed rest was a priority without exception. The extended family mourned the passing of their matriarch, but given her stroke challenges, they considered it to be a blessing in disguise. At the darkest hour, Brenda went through a period of partial paralysis, but prayers are powerful, and by the sixth week she was on the road to a full recovery.
ELEVEN
A continuous honking of a car horn near the house in the middle of night brought both Ellie Mae and Rachel to the living room windows. It was Robbie Benson. Once he saw movement inside, he got out of his car and clumsily stood on the hood yelling for Ellie. Rachel stepped outside, and from a distance, threatened to call the police if he did not immediately leave. This challenge only provoked him further, and in his alcohol fueled rage, he screamed at Ellie in the window. “I am the father and I want my son.” Ellie Mae threw the front door open so hard, it slammed against the side of the house. Purple with rage and pent up anger, she pointed her finger at him. “You, a father, you are nothing but a rapist, a sad drunk rapist who will never touch my son in ten lifetimes!” He teetered and fell off the car into bushes. He stood back up and started walking up the driveway, “I built this house and I will burn it down. You know who I am, and what I can do.” Rachel jumped off the porch, grabbed the water hose and turned it on full blast. Half running at him, she drenched him until he slipped and fell backward. She moved to within three feet and continued to soak him as he laid sprawled on his back, cursing and withering.
The next afternoon, Ellie Mae, Rachel, and Dr. Nelson met the Chief of Police and Mr. Benson at the station. Mr. Benson asked if he could speak first. Looking at Ellie with a mixture of sadness and concern, his words came slowly. “Ms. Joyce, it was your hope we would never meet again. I am so very sorry I could not honor your wish. I have made it very clear to the Chief that my son is to be jailed if he ever comes to your house again, or in any way approaches you or your family. They have charged Robbie with disorderly conduct and making threats of bodily harm. I have a copy of the police record for you to keep.” He paused and spoke to Dr. Nelson. “Young man, I am hearing wonderful news about the contributions you are bringing to our hospital. I only hope you will consider joining us full time at the end of your residency. We need a good doctor like you.” On the way home, Ellie Mae and Dr. Ben exchanged private smiles.
TWELVE
Life rolls on for all of us. Days turn into weeks turn into months, and before you can blink, Daniel is celebrating his first birthday. In the side yard, they dressed the picnic table in multiple colors of crape paper, and a stream of balloons floated above a corner of the playpen. Brenda, Douglas, and Sarah were busy arranging stuffed animals for Daniel’s amusement and laughter. As the new permanent staff doctor at the hospital, Ben had to promise a double weekend shift so he could have this day off. In the kitchen, his mother’s special recipe of baked beans with honey cured bacon sat on the counter with other dishes Rachel and Ellie Mae prepared the previous night. Brenda’s shouting brought them to the window, “They’re here, they’re here!” Scanning the yard to see who was here, the doorbell rang. Ellie opened the door. Cherylee stood facing her sister. “Every day the twins ask if they can come back. It may be the only wise decision I have made in their six years, but if you would find it in your heart to accept them.” Before Cherylee could say another word, Ellie Mae threw her arms around her sister, and blubbering with joy, “Accept them, they are family, this is their home.”
Families; bended, blended, most often splendid, and sometimes, by the grace of God, amended. A youthful chorus arose from the side yard. The two sisters, holding hands, walked around the corner. The five children had linked hands and were marching around the playpen, singing happy birthday to Daniel as he waved his arms.
RICHARD SWAIN