Page 46 of Their Little Foursome

The sound of a knock on the door had both her and Lori jumping up and running to answer it. Once they stood in front of the door, they looked at each other and Beverly saw uncertainty in Lori’s eyes.

“Remember what Daddy said,” Beverly said. “He is bringing Blake home.” At the Little’s nod, she asked, “Ready?”

“Yes, together?”

“Together,” Beverly confirmed and with her hand over Lori’s they opened the door. “Thank god.” Beverly pulled Blake into her arms, hugging him as tightly as she could. “You scared the daylights out of me, young man. Your sister has been beside herself. Oh, god, I’m so glad you’re home!”

Muffled sounds came from her Little boy, not a single word intelligible.

“Babe, I think he’s trying to apologize, or maybe telling you you’re smothering him.” Gordon chuckled and while Beverly instantly set Blake back and told him to breathe, Gordon scooped up Lori. “How are you doing, sweetpea?”

“I’m better now,” she said, hugging his neck.

“We’re so glad you’re both back safe and sound,” Erika said as she and Sadie joined them at the door. “We’ll leave you alone for a bit.”

“I can’t thank you both enough for staying with us,” Beverly said. Though she managed to give each of the women a hug, it was one-armed because she simply couldn’t make herself let go of her Little boy.

“I’ll see you later, Lori,” Sadie said. “If you’re going to school tomorrow, I can take you.” She looked at Blake. “Oh, I guess you’ll want your brother to do that.”

“No!”

The sharp rebuttal had everyone looking at Lori who instantly flushed.

“I mean, I’d like to go with you and the other girls. If that’s okay?”

Sadie nodded. “We’d like that, just let me know in the morning.” She gave Lori a hug after Master Gordon bent down so she could reach her. Then she hugged Beverly hard around her waist.

“What’s that all about?” Beverly asked when Sadie looked up.

“I-I can’t help but see you differently now. I’m so sorry about all you went through before you found your way to Rawhide. I’m so glad you came to us even though it meant you had to leave your family.”

“Oh, sweetie, that’s the good thing about families. No matter how big they are, there is always enough love to go around. Don’t you worry, I’m the same Nurse MacIntosh you know and love.”

When Sadie giggled, Beverly said, “Now don’t you dare go around telling all the Littles that I’ve become some big old softie. I might have shed a bunch of tears today, but I promise you, I’ll still take my responsibilities very seriously.”

Sadie’s giggle turned into a bark of laughter. “And here I was thinking how it wouldn’t have been right to pull any pranks involving you or the infirmary anymore.”

“What do you mean ‘it wouldn’thavebeen right’?” Beverly asked, her eyes narrowing a bit.

“Nothing at all,” Sadie said vaguely. “Oh, I think I hear Daddy calling me. See you soon, Lori.” She gave Blake a quick hug on the way out the door. “See you later, alligator!”

Erika laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that girl leave a room quietly. Oh, don’t forget you are all invited to dinner. Let me know if you’d prefer tomorrow or the next night.”

“We will, and again, thanks for everything,” Gordon said. After Erika left, he pulled the door closed and for the first time since they’d been in the infirmary, their little foursome was alone.

“I’m sorry, Mommy. It was wrong to leave. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Blake’s apology made Gordon proud, but he noticed he hadn’t included Lori. He also noticed that Lori hadn’t been struggling to get down or demanding she be allowed to hug her brother.

Despite the apology offered and accepted by Beverly, there was a tension hanging in the air. One that Gordon especially didn’t like.

“I know there is a giant elephant in the room we need to discuss, but that’s going to wait for a bit. We need to eat lunch and then we are going to all fill out new forms?—”

“Why? We already filled out forms before we came,” Lori asked.

“Those forms covered when we came as a couple. The ones we need now will include all of us. As a family, roles are changing. Not in a bad way, just expanding. There might bedifferent expectations from each of us and before the day is over, we need to address what those differences are. Does that explain the need for new forms?”

“I guess,” Lori said.

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