Read Online Some Day the Sun Will Shine and Have Not Will Be No More by Brian Peckford - Free Book Online Page B

a round reddish face. I introduced myself and was
     led into the kitchen where the father was sitting at the chrome kitchen table. I
     sat next to him, and the mother across from me.
    “Now, a nice cup of tea would be all right,” I said, as I looked at a steaming
     teapot on the wood stove.
    A nervous smile emerged on the mother’s face as she got up to fetch the
     tea.
    “And how are you this morning?” I inquired of the father.
    “Not good, sir, I hardly slept last night.”
    “And I, too,” exclaimed the missus.
    “Let’s get right down to it, then,” I replied.
    I went on to explain that it just would not be possible for the nurse or myself
     to accompany the child to St. John’s, that we were needed here to help other
     people who had problems just as big as this one, and that there would be people
     to assist them along the way. I indicated that the route was to take the coastal
     boat from La Scie to Lewisporte; he could stay in a hotel there and then take
     the train to St. John’s. I also made it clear that their child desperately
     needed to be examined by a specialist and that not to do so could endanger the
     child’s long-term health.
    The mother spoke up. “We have never even travelled on the coastal boat; we have
     never seen a train or been in a hospital. We are scared.”
    The father added, “What is it like to ride a train? Are there elevators in the
     hospital?”
    I realized I had a lot of explaining to do, so I began by describing the
     coastal boat trip, where they would stay in Lewisporte, the hotel there, the
     train ride, and the arrangements in St. John’s. I said we would make extra
     arrangements so that there would be someone to meet them on every step of the
     journey, and explained all the other details to try to increase their
     confidence. But the questions kept coming from the very frightened couple, so
     much so that I decided further conversations were needed. I met with the father
     and mother a few more times, involved other people, and finally, about a week
     later, the father agreed.
    The day for the father and daughter to leave on the coastal boat
     finally arrived, and with the help of the mother a fond farewell ensued. We
     watched as the boat pulled away from the government wharf and then as it
     navigated between the headlands that helped form the harbour. I was relieved;
     the mother, however, was in tears, comforted by family and friends.
    I went to the office early one morning three or four weeks later, and who
     should be waiting for me but the father. As I unlocked the door to the office,
     he rushed in, all smiles, as he hurriedly began describing his unbelievable
     experiences, from the screeching wheels of the trains, to his absolute certainty
     that as the train came to a curve it would jump the tracks, to the big hospital
     with its elevator that he learned to use, to the wonderful doctors and nurses
     that attended to him, and most particularly to his daughter.
    “She is going to be all right,” he exclaimed. “The doctors said she had a rare
     disease but it could be treated.”
    “And you and your wife will be all right now too,” I said.
    “Yes,” he said, “we will be all right now. We want to thank you . . . for
     making us see.”
    That was a very pleasant experience. There were others not so pleasant. For
     example, one time I went to one of the isolated communities on my regular visit.
     My main function was to fill in for the permanent welfare office, and that was
     supposed to mean travelling to the various communities and updating information
     for those who were permanent clients of the department, such as widows,
     widowers, disabled, and elderly people. Of course, things are never as they
     seem. There were things that just happened. At this community a number of men
     came seeking temporary assistance. I was new and the test was on. I had
     discovered some days before that many men in the community had been working on a