Page 78 of Her Braun
Kay lifted Sophia's leg a little higher and took a good look at that bottom of her foot. They'd cleaned out the cut and searched for any extra pieces of glass but hadn't found anything.
"I spun around and threw out my arms like Elsa and I hit the lamp. And the lamp hit the window. And then," she sighed, her voice turning a little teary, "the glass was everywhere. My mom came running and I felt so bad I stepped back instead of standing still like my mom told me to and that's when I cut my foot."
Okay. That made sense.
Earlier, when Kay had started the exam, Sophia's mother had been more upset than her daughter, talking over everyone else, demanding all kinds of things. Her energy and excitement had turned the area into a bit of a chaotic pit of anxiety.
Baldwin had taken the mother for a walk to sit in one of the courtyards so she could breathe.
It didn't take long to calm Sophia down.
Kay smiled and looked up. "Did it make you feel better when we stitched up your bear's foot first?"
Sophia nodded and lifted the bear's foot so she could see the neat cross-stitch that Kay put into his felt foot. "Charlie said it barely hurt." Sophia giggled. "Bearly."
Kay laughed along with her young patient as the curtains behind her parted and Kay saw Thuy walk in with a rolling cart. "Look! It's a rainbow!"
Sophia gasped when she saw what Kay was talking about. Lifting her hand she pointed at the bandage rolls in turn from left to right. "Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Black, and White!"
Thuy smiled at her. "What color do you and your bear want?"
Kay stood up and stretched her legs. "What's Charlie's favorite color?"
Sophia thought about it for a moment and then she spoke. "Charlie likes whatever I like."
Kay nodded and Thuy answered with another nod.
"Charlie and I want orange! That way everyone can see it and ask us what happened! Then, we can tell them how brave and strong we were!"
Kay beamed at her. "That's a great idea. You were both so brave!"
Thuy gestured at the cart. "Do you want me to bandage up the daring duo, Doctor?"
Kay nodded. "That would be great. Thank you, Thuy."
Thuy sat down on the stool and reached for the orange roll. "Do we start with Charlie first or you?"
Sophia looked at Charlie for a moment before she answered. "I think we should start with me first." She looked at Thuy before looking up at Kay. "I want to show Charlie that it's going to be okay."
"That's a great idea," Kay agreed."
The curtain opened behind her and Kay turned to see Baldwin stepping through. He leaned in and spoke to Kay in low tones. "Mom's seated in the waiting area. She's calm now."
Kay nodded. "Do you know why she was so upset?"
Baldwin turned and looked at Sophia who was giggling over something Thuy said. Then he turned back to Kay. "She's having a custody fight with her ex and was worried that he could use this against her. She was more upset at herself than anything."
Kay let out a pent-up breath.
That made sense to her.
Sophia hadn't mentioned her mother being angry. Likely the tension between her parents made everything more upsetting than it would be normally. Baldwin was a shrewd judge of character, and she lifted a hand to touch his shoulder. "Thank you for keeping an eye on mom."
"No big deal, boss. I know how close we look when it's a kid getting hurt."
Kay grinned. "I'm glad Sophia's safe-"
Before she could finish her thought a voice called out from the nurse's hub.
