“What are you making?” The table was covered with glitter and clear plastic balls.
“Doctor Blake said I could make ornaments for all the other kids who are here. I’m going home tomorrow, and I won’t be here to celebrate Christmas with them.”
“That’s so sweet.” She stroked Maddie’s beautiful cornrows her mom had painstakingly put in when the girl had first arrived here. “Where’d you get the Christmas balls?”
Blake ducked his head. Yeah, she figured he had something to do with this. Spent his own money, too, she was sure. Doubtful the hospital was forking over cash for tree ornaments. She knew what the budget was like in the hospital.
“Dr. Blake got them for me. Look.” She held her one good arm up, a tiny toy in her hand. “He got these cute little presents to go inside, so the kids can put the ornament on the tree, then they can play with the toy after Christmas.”
“That was generous of you, Blake.”
He shrugged. “Dollar store stuff. No big deal. Maddie did most of the work, even with one arm.”
“Can I help?”
“Sure. You can put glue on the outside of the ornament in a design.” Maddie showed her one of the finished ones. “Then, we need to add glitter.”
The shiny stuff covered the table and drifted onto the floor. Taking a pamphlet from the counter, Carli unfolded it and placed it on the table next to where Blake sat stuffing toys into the clear plastic.
“If I do the glitter over this, we can fold it up, put it back in the bottle, and reuse it without making much of a mess.”
“See?” Blake winked at Maddie. “I told you we should have gotten Carli up here earlier.”
Grabbing the glue, Carli squeezed, making swirls on the plastic. “Except I have this job thing. Unfortunately, I need it if I want to eat and live in a warm house.”
“Doesn’t Dr. Blake feed you? He said you were going out to eat tonight when we got done with this. And you could live with him. He’s a doctor, and my mom says they make big bucks. He could give you some of those big bucks, then you wouldn’t have to work.”
The heat rising in her cheeks was most certainly turning her pink, if not red. How did she answer that?
“I’m only feeding her dinner,” Blake said. “She’s got to teach me more than a few signs if she wants more food than that.”
Keeping her eyes on the glitter, she sprinkled it over another globe. “Are you excited about going home finally?”
“I can’t wait. I just gotta make sure the kids who have to stay here have fun while I’m gone.”
Maddie had been going from room to room, keeping the kids entertained when their parents couldn’t be there, especially the young ones who often cried for long periods of time when their family had to leave. Not everyone could afford a hotel room in Boston for the length of the stay some of these kids had here.
They continued to work for a while, Blake filling the globe with a toy and attaching the cover, Carli decorating with glitter, and Maddie writing a personal card for each gift. Good thing her writing hand hadn’t been the one injured. Knowing this child, though, Carli had a feeling she’d still manage.
The ornaments had all been placed carefully in a box and labeled. She made sure to clean up as much of the glitter as possible. The nurses had enough to do around here. They certainly didn’t need more cleaning added to it.
“Do you need help handing these out?” Blake placed the last globe on top.
“Nope. I’m going to do it when my mom gets here to pick me up tomorrow. Right before I go. And now you two need to go. You need to feed Carli, Dr. Blake, so she’ll teach you sign language.”
Maddie bounced over to her bed and rested on the edge. “Maybe once I get to use my other arm, you can teach me some sign language. Then, I can help out with deaf kids, too.”
Shaking her head, Carli laughed. “You’re too much, Maddie. But I’d love to teach you to sign, also. I’ll try and pop in before work tomorrow morning to say goodbye.”
“Okay, see you then. Now, I need to go see Jenny. She never wants to have her supper, but if I get her laughing enough, she forgets that she’s sad and will eat something.”
Blake gave Maddie a fist bump that burst into fireworks, then steered Carli toward the elevator.
“Sorry our dinner was pushed off, but when Maddie gets something in her head, it’s kind of hard to resist.”
“Especially when it’s something nice. I don’t mind.”
“But now I’m starving, so let’s get going.”
