Page 14 of Never Quiet

“Sh-she can’t hear?” He raked the back of his hand over his face.

“No. She uses sign language.” She reached out to wipe his tears. “She’s not two yet. Sometimes, she gets scared because she doesn’t hear someone walking behind her and stuff like that.”

He swallowed hard. “I bet that would be scary.”

“A couple of months ago, she grabbed the top of a candle because she thought it was pretty and Dad couldn’t get to her in time. She burned her fingers and cried so hard.”

“I hate burns most of all.” He folded his arm under his head and hissed against the pain.

“I do, too.” Mandy placed her hand over his forearm and patted him gently while she talked. “My sister’s name is Heather.”

“It’s pretty.”

“I think so, too. When they were trying to clean her fingers, she cried so hard. She didn’t want them to touch it.”

“Just leave it alone.”

“Sometimes, when accidents happen, treating it hurts more than the original thing that happened.”

“I was trying to do a backflip. It worked when I did it off my bed.” He released a whimper. “I did it over and over.”

Moving a little closer on her knees, she asked him seriously, “You know what I bet the problem was?”

“What?”

“You got used to the squishiness of your bed. When you tried to do it off the steps, there was no give, no bounce.”

His eyes went wide and he whispered, “Ow, ow, ow…it hurts, Mandy.”

“I know, sweetheart but it’s almost over and then your mom and dad will be able to take you home. You’re being so brave.”

“What game do you play? With your sister? Huh?”

“Oh, I lost my train of thought. So, when she’s scared, we play all kinds of games to take her mind off things. She’s learning her alphabet and everything so we recite it, taking turns. I know you’re very bright. Do you know it?”

He nodded. They went through it with Mandy saying a letter and waiting for Sterling to say the next one.

“Very good. Once we go through the alphabet, we go back through and try to think of animals that start with that letter. Some of them are really hard but we’re learning a lot about crazy creatures we didn’t know.”

“I love animals. I want to go first this time. Anteater!”

“That’s excellent, Sterling!” She grinned. “Buffalo.”

“Crocodile.”

On and on they played and by the time they got to the letter L, the stitches were finished.

“You’re all done, kiddo. You’re so brave. One of the bravest people I’ve ever met.”

“You mean it?”

“I do.”

“Mandy?” She waited with a smile. “I think…your sister is braver because if I couldn’t hear, I’d get hurt a lot more.”

She stroked her fingers through his hair. “Thanks. How do you feel?”

“I hurt and I’m hungry.”

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