Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

K yle looked down at the infant who had greedily finished the contents of the bottle and was now sleeping contentedly in his arms. Looking at her button nose, eyelids fluttering as if in a dream, Kyle thought back to the time when he assumed that maybe one day, he'd be holding a little person of his own. He had been engaged to his high school sweetheart Meghan right after his graduation from the police academy. He'd seemed to be following the trajectory he'd always imagined he would, the path familiar to everyone else in his family -- marriage, house, a bunch of kids -- but then Meghan had a change of heart. In a tearful conversation she confessed that she didn't want to be married to a cop; the fear of him not coming home was overwhelming and she decided that it would not be the life for her – she'd never survive that sort of stress.

As devastated as Kyle was at the time, he realized that she had a point. Every time he put on his uniform, there was the risk that someone would take a shot at him, and then that would be that, lights out. So instead, he'd filled his nights with random women. He avoided the multiple attempts his sister made to set him up with a friend of a friend – he was no longer looking for that type of commitment. After all, maybe Meghan was right. His line of work was dangerous and dragging someone else along for the ride wasn't fair to them. He remained single and now, he grimaced, he could add almost unemployed to that label.

Pattie returned, pushing the curtain open and holding a packet of discharge instructions and a paper cup in one hand, pushing a wheelchair with the other. The woman in the bed stirred and tried to sit up.

"Go slow there, dearie. You have a concussion, and any quick movement is going to make you dizzy," Pattie advised. Then she added, "I took the liberty of going to the lost and found to get you some clean clothes to wear home. We had to cut your sweatshirt off and your pants were soaked with blood. This isn't fancy, but it will have to do." She dropped a pair of black pants with an elastic waistband and an oversized gray sweater on the bed. "I can help you get into these, if you'd like, after you take this Tylenol." She passed to cup to the woman in the bed.

Kyle took that as his cue to leave the space. "The baby and I will wait for you out here," he said, stepping into the brightly lit central area of the emergency room, the stiff blue curtain of the cubicle closing behind him. Just then he realized that he hadn't called his sister. He fished his cell out of the front pocket of his jeans and with his free hand hit her number in his contacts. She answered on the second ring, but he could hear the chaos behind her, his nephews whooping it up in the background.

"Sibby, I need a favor. I'm at Brigham's and I need a ride."

"What happened to your car? In the shop again? I keep telling you that the classic piece of shit you call a ride is not worth keeping. I –"

"Let me stop you. My car is fine. I have a situation. I met a woman this morning and she has an infant and no car seat. Can you come here with the minivan? Drop her at my place?"

For a moment there was no sound from his sister's end of the call, and then he heard a big crash from somewhere in her house.

"Boys! Are you kidding me right now? Did I tell you to stay away from the table or what? Those papers are important! Wait until later when your father gets home from work. There's going to be trouble, I promise you! Go to your rooms and do not come out until I tell you to. NOW!"

"Maybe this isn't a good time," Kyle began, "I'll call Devon."

"No, your partner is probably at the precinct doing both your work and his. And actually, it's the perfect time," his sister replied calmly. "If I stay here, I'll kill those three boys. I spent all morning organizing those receipts so that I could get a jump on our taxes, and now I'll need to start over. At least the baby is sleeping. I'll call mom to come upstairs and watch them for me. She's way better at it, having dealt with the likes of you, Conor, and Tim."

Kyle smiled. There were five of them all together. Tim was his youngest brother, now a firefighter in Medford. Siobhan and Conor, who was a desk sergeant at his local precinct in Cambridge – they were the oldest. Kyle was in the middle, and the baby of the family was his other sister Millicent, or Millie for short, now a senior at Boston College, studying forensics. His parents had sold their large home a few years ago and moved into the bottom floor of the mother/daughter house that Siobhan and her husband Shaun had bought expressly for this purpose. Siobhan had reliable babysitters on the premises and their folks had a home to age in place around family. It was a tremendous win-win all around.

"Are you sure you can leave?"

"Of course. Besides, you've got me plenty curious as to why you're with a woman who has a baby needing a car seat. This ought to be good."

Kyle looked down at the sleeping bundle in his arms. "Well, it is interesting," he said. "I can fill you in once you get here."

"Give me ten minutes. I'll let you know once I'm out front," she said before hanging up abruptly.

Kyle smiled to himself. This stranger better have packed some patience. Between his sister and their mother, she'd have more help than she could have ever asked for.

Pattie accompanied them to the front door of the hospital, pushing the patient in the wheelchair and barking out instructions as they went. "Watch for headaches," she repeated. "If you have increasing pain, come back to the emergency room. There will be bruises that appear within a few days, across your chest and arms from the seat belt, and be sure to put Neosporin on those face burns three times a day to help them heal more quickly. The stitches on your forehead will dissolve, keep the bandage dry and remove it in two days. No need for a follow-up appointment. Any questions?"

The woman shook her head to indicate that she didn't have any.

Then the nurse turned to Kyle. "I can't let you drive out of here until I see that a car seat is properly installed in your vehicle."

"Really, Pattie? Sibby will be here with her minivan. You know that she has one for Aidan. He's only a bit older than this little girl." He nodded his chin toward the baby.

"I don't make the rules, Kyle. I just enforce them. You understand. You do the same thing out there on the streets."

He smiled at the older woman. "If you ever decide to give up nursing, I'm sure we can find you a job on the police force," he joked.

"Ha! I'm eighteen months out from retirement. I'm not switching careers now."

They both turned their attention to the hospital entrance and watched as Sibby pulled her silver Toyota Sienna up to the front and jumped out, then came around to open the sliding door that revealed a rear-facing child safety seat.

"Hey Pattie, long time no see," Sibby said to the nurse.

"True. What's it been? Ten months since you had Aidan. Planning for another yet?"

"Yes, to the ten months, not sure about having another. At least not anytime soon." She smiled at the woman in the wheelchair. "Hi. I'm Sibby, Kyle's sister. And you are…"

"I'm not sure. I know that sounds weird, but it's the truth."

Sibby looked up at Kyle who said, "That's part of the whole story, Sib. I'll explain it all to you as soon as we get to my condo. For now, can you strap the baby into the seat? I'm not sure what…"

"Of course. Give me that precious bundle." She took the baby from him with the confidence of a seasoned parent and had the child comfortably positioned and ready to ride in a matter of minutes.

Pattie locked the wheels of the chair and Kyle helped the woman stand. Slowly, they walked her to the front passenger seat of the minivan and helped her up into the vehicle. Then Kyle leaned over her and reached in, careful not to put any of his own weight on her. He pulled the seat belt across her chest and clipped it.

"Is this belt okay? Does it hurt?" he asked.

"It's fine," she replied. "I'm just so tired."

"That's to be expected," Pattie chimed in. "You'll feel better in a few days. Stay off your feet if you can, and take good care now." With that she turned on a heel, unlocked the now empty wheelchair and pushed it back inside the building, disappearing from view.

Kyle turned back to the woman in the passenger seat. "Sibby will bring you to my place. I'll follow in my car and meet you there."

"Thank you," she said, closing her eyes.

Kyle looked over at his sister who had climbed back into the minivan and was getting ready to drive away.

"See you there," he said. "Go slow."

"Yes, detective," Sibby said in a tone meant to kid him before putting the minivan into drive and pulling out and onto the road that would bring her to his home.

Suddenly, Kyle remembered the state of his condo, the mess he'd left behind. His sister was never going to let him hear the end of it.