Read Online A Sister's Promise by Anne Bennett - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Anne Bennett
Ads: Link
stay there for a little while and only one thing worried him.
‘You won’t let my grandmother come and visit me will you?’ he pleaded.
‘Well, now, Kevin, I don’t know if I can rightly do that,’ Stan said awkwardly. ‘I mean, she is flesh and blood, after all.’
Kevin was so crestfallen at the news that even in the hospital he wouldn’t be safe from his grandmother that Stan mentioned his request to the doctor before he left and was surprised by his response. ‘If you are right, and this woman’s arrival from Ireland has worsened Kevin’s condition, then her visiting him could undermine any treatment that he might be undergoing. And, as the care of the patient is paramount here, if this woman visits the hospital she will be blocked from the wards.’
‘You don’t know how much better that makes me feel,’ Stan said.
The doctor smiled at him. ‘Your face gives you away,’ he said. ‘Don’t fret. Your grandson is safe here.’
As the doctor watched Stan walk away, he felt a wave of sympathy wash over him. Sickness, tragedy, even death were part and parcel of his job and yet he felt that the little boy now in his care had suffered so grievously already he vowed to do all in his power not only to restore him to full health and strength, but also under the guardianship of his grandfather.
Stan couldn’t quite keep the hint of satisfaction out of his voice as he told Biddy that she wouldn’t be allowed to visit her grandson. She didn’t believe it, said she had never heard anything so ridiculous in her life and set off for the hospital immediately to challenge this ruling. However she foundherself face to face with Matron, a formidable woman, who had had her orders from the doctor and was carrying them out to the letter.
Biddy was outraged and went home via the presbytery where she complained bitterly to Father Monahon. He had known nothing about the collapse of Kevin, but assured Biddy there must be some misunderstanding and that he would go himself to the hospital to find out what was what.
The hospital staff had been given no instructions about the priest and so he was allowed to see Kevin. Even he was shocked to see how thin and wan the child looked. His eyes seemed huge in the gaunt, pinched face and they grew ever bigger and wider as he looked at the priest he had always been a little nervous of.
‘Well now, Kevin,’ the priest said heartily. ‘What’s all this?’
‘Dunno, Father.’
‘Collapsing at school I was told.’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘Did you feel unwell?’
Kevin could have said he had never felt right since the day he had learned that his parents had died, but he didn’t know how to put that into words and he was too weary to try, so he shrugged and said, ‘Not specially.’
‘Had everyone worried, you know,’ the priest said, as if it had been Kevin’s own fault.
He didn’t know what to say to that other than, ‘Yes, Father.’
‘Your grandmother in particular is very worried.’
He saw the shudder pass through Kevin’s body and it irritated him. He went on, ‘She came along to see you and they wouldn’t let her in – some notion or other that it might disturb you. Well, I am going to see about that this minute, for I have never heard such nonsense.’
Kevin’s eyes grew wider than ever. ‘No! No!’ he yelled.
‘Kevin, don’t be so silly,’ the priest snapped. ‘And really, this is not a matter for you to decide. You are just a smallboy and not equipped to make judgements. That is for your elders and betters, and whatever strange aversion you have to your grandmother, you will have to overcome it, for I’m sure when I speak with the doctor he will see how ridiculous the whole thing is.’
Kevin was sure he would too. Few adults seemed to care about the things that bothered children. There was a sudden roaring in his head at the dread of seeing his grandmother in the room, and he opened his mouth and began to scream.
The priest leaped up from
‘You won’t let my grandmother come and visit me will you?’ he pleaded.
‘Well, now, Kevin, I don’t know if I can rightly do that,’ Stan said awkwardly. ‘I mean, she is flesh and blood, after all.’
Kevin was so crestfallen at the news that even in the hospital he wouldn’t be safe from his grandmother that Stan mentioned his request to the doctor before he left and was surprised by his response. ‘If you are right, and this woman’s arrival from Ireland has worsened Kevin’s condition, then her visiting him could undermine any treatment that he might be undergoing. And, as the care of the patient is paramount here, if this woman visits the hospital she will be blocked from the wards.’
‘You don’t know how much better that makes me feel,’ Stan said.
The doctor smiled at him. ‘Your face gives you away,’ he said. ‘Don’t fret. Your grandson is safe here.’
As the doctor watched Stan walk away, he felt a wave of sympathy wash over him. Sickness, tragedy, even death were part and parcel of his job and yet he felt that the little boy now in his care had suffered so grievously already he vowed to do all in his power not only to restore him to full health and strength, but also under the guardianship of his grandfather.
Stan couldn’t quite keep the hint of satisfaction out of his voice as he told Biddy that she wouldn’t be allowed to visit her grandson. She didn’t believe it, said she had never heard anything so ridiculous in her life and set off for the hospital immediately to challenge this ruling. However she foundherself face to face with Matron, a formidable woman, who had had her orders from the doctor and was carrying them out to the letter.
Biddy was outraged and went home via the presbytery where she complained bitterly to Father Monahon. He had known nothing about the collapse of Kevin, but assured Biddy there must be some misunderstanding and that he would go himself to the hospital to find out what was what.
The hospital staff had been given no instructions about the priest and so he was allowed to see Kevin. Even he was shocked to see how thin and wan the child looked. His eyes seemed huge in the gaunt, pinched face and they grew ever bigger and wider as he looked at the priest he had always been a little nervous of.
‘Well now, Kevin,’ the priest said heartily. ‘What’s all this?’
‘Dunno, Father.’
‘Collapsing at school I was told.’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘Did you feel unwell?’
Kevin could have said he had never felt right since the day he had learned that his parents had died, but he didn’t know how to put that into words and he was too weary to try, so he shrugged and said, ‘Not specially.’
‘Had everyone worried, you know,’ the priest said, as if it had been Kevin’s own fault.
He didn’t know what to say to that other than, ‘Yes, Father.’
‘Your grandmother in particular is very worried.’
He saw the shudder pass through Kevin’s body and it irritated him. He went on, ‘She came along to see you and they wouldn’t let her in – some notion or other that it might disturb you. Well, I am going to see about that this minute, for I have never heard such nonsense.’
Kevin’s eyes grew wider than ever. ‘No! No!’ he yelled.
‘Kevin, don’t be so silly,’ the priest snapped. ‘And really, this is not a matter for you to decide. You are just a smallboy and not equipped to make judgements. That is for your elders and betters, and whatever strange aversion you have to your grandmother, you will have to overcome it, for I’m sure when I speak with the doctor he will see how ridiculous the whole thing is.’
Kevin was sure he would too. Few adults seemed to care about the things that bothered children. There was a sudden roaring in his head at the dread of seeing his grandmother in the room, and he opened his mouth and began to scream.
The priest leaped up from
Similar Books
