thundered. ‘You are probably at the root of any problems Kevin has.’
‘You have no right. The welfare of the children is now my concern.’
‘Not yet it isn’t,’ Stan snapped. ‘And until it is official, I will decide what is best for them, and that, woman, is that.’
He swung his jacket from the hook behind the door as he spoke, jammed his cap determinedly on his head and was through the door and away before Biddy had time to draw breath.
She could have followed him, demand she go too. After all Stan had no right to stop her walking down the street, but she wasn’t ready to go out yet. She hadn’t even changed from her slippers and she decided to let the old fool go to the hospital on his own and find out that the child was just playing up, swinging the lead no doubt, to get more attention. By God when she got him to Ireland, he would soon find out what sort of attention he would get if he tried that caper.
The doctor summoned to talk to Stan a little later didn’t think it was any sort of caper at all. Scrawny, undersized children were a common enough sight in most cities in those days, but Kevin wasn’t just skinny, he was gaunt.
By the time Stan reached the hospital, the boy had regained consciousness and the doctor looked coldly at the old man coming to enquire about him. Most of the malnourished children he had treated had equally malnourished parents, but he noted that though the man before him was not fat, he looked robust and pretty healthy, and so he said quite scathingly, ‘This child is just skin and bone, and this state of affairs has been going on for some time. You must have been aware of it.’
Stan nodded miserably. ‘Yes, I know,’ he said. ‘Kevin hasn’t eaten properly for days and to treat him properly, you need to know it all.’ He told the doctor of the tragedythat had befallen Kevin and his sister, and the arrival of Biddy, which had made Kevin worse.
The doctor nodded. He had known from the beginning that it wasn’t malnutrition alone that dogged Kevin, but something deeper. ‘That explains a great deal,’ he told Stan.
‘Biddy intends to take the two children back to Ireland with her when all the formalities are completed,’ Stan said. ‘And the thought of that, and without me around to protect him from the woman’s viciousness, is terrifying Kevin.’
‘Can you not fight this?’ the doctor asked. ‘As his grandfather you have rights too, surely?’
Stan shook his head. ‘Normally, I would fight tooth and nail, because I don’t mind telling you that when those children go, it will tear the heart from me, but I have come up against the brick wall of the Church.’
And then, at the doctor’s quizzical look, he went on, ‘Nuala, my daughter-in-law was a Catholic and my son wasn’t, but both children were being brought up as Catholics. Now, with Nuala gone, their Irish grandmother is afraid they will backslide – or that is what she claims, anyway. And she has got the full support of the parish priest for her to take on the care of the children she seems to care not a fig about.’
The doctor knew all about the power of religion, and the Catholic Church in particular, but still he said, ‘I am less concerned by your grandson’s immortal soul and more about his physical and mental well-being, and for the moment at any rate I want him in hospital. And even after this,’ he assured Stan, ‘I would block any moves to try to remove the child from your care, if I thought it was detrimental to him.’
‘I appreciate that, Doctor,’ Stan said.
‘And now I suppose you would like to see the child,’ the doctor said. ‘He has come round, but still seems a little bewildered. Maybe you can reassure him that we mean him no harm.’
‘I’ll do that, and welcome.’
Kevin was delighted to see the familiar face of his grandfather, and not at all worried when he told him he was in hospital. He was relieved, and more so when his grandfather told him he had to
‘You have no right. The welfare of the children is now my concern.’
‘Not yet it isn’t,’ Stan snapped. ‘And until it is official, I will decide what is best for them, and that, woman, is that.’
He swung his jacket from the hook behind the door as he spoke, jammed his cap determinedly on his head and was through the door and away before Biddy had time to draw breath.
She could have followed him, demand she go too. After all Stan had no right to stop her walking down the street, but she wasn’t ready to go out yet. She hadn’t even changed from her slippers and she decided to let the old fool go to the hospital on his own and find out that the child was just playing up, swinging the lead no doubt, to get more attention. By God when she got him to Ireland, he would soon find out what sort of attention he would get if he tried that caper.
The doctor summoned to talk to Stan a little later didn’t think it was any sort of caper at all. Scrawny, undersized children were a common enough sight in most cities in those days, but Kevin wasn’t just skinny, he was gaunt.
By the time Stan reached the hospital, the boy had regained consciousness and the doctor looked coldly at the old man coming to enquire about him. Most of the malnourished children he had treated had equally malnourished parents, but he noted that though the man before him was not fat, he looked robust and pretty healthy, and so he said quite scathingly, ‘This child is just skin and bone, and this state of affairs has been going on for some time. You must have been aware of it.’
Stan nodded miserably. ‘Yes, I know,’ he said. ‘Kevin hasn’t eaten properly for days and to treat him properly, you need to know it all.’ He told the doctor of the tragedythat had befallen Kevin and his sister, and the arrival of Biddy, which had made Kevin worse.
The doctor nodded. He had known from the beginning that it wasn’t malnutrition alone that dogged Kevin, but something deeper. ‘That explains a great deal,’ he told Stan.
‘Biddy intends to take the two children back to Ireland with her when all the formalities are completed,’ Stan said. ‘And the thought of that, and without me around to protect him from the woman’s viciousness, is terrifying Kevin.’
‘Can you not fight this?’ the doctor asked. ‘As his grandfather you have rights too, surely?’
Stan shook his head. ‘Normally, I would fight tooth and nail, because I don’t mind telling you that when those children go, it will tear the heart from me, but I have come up against the brick wall of the Church.’
And then, at the doctor’s quizzical look, he went on, ‘Nuala, my daughter-in-law was a Catholic and my son wasn’t, but both children were being brought up as Catholics. Now, with Nuala gone, their Irish grandmother is afraid they will backslide – or that is what she claims, anyway. And she has got the full support of the parish priest for her to take on the care of the children she seems to care not a fig about.’
The doctor knew all about the power of religion, and the Catholic Church in particular, but still he said, ‘I am less concerned by your grandson’s immortal soul and more about his physical and mental well-being, and for the moment at any rate I want him in hospital. And even after this,’ he assured Stan, ‘I would block any moves to try to remove the child from your care, if I thought it was detrimental to him.’
‘I appreciate that, Doctor,’ Stan said.
‘And now I suppose you would like to see the child,’ the doctor said. ‘He has come round, but still seems a little bewildered. Maybe you can reassure him that we mean him no harm.’
‘I’ll do that, and welcome.’
Kevin was delighted to see the familiar face of his grandfather, and not at all worried when he told him he was in hospital. He was relieved, and more so when his grandfather told him he had to
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