And a Little Child Shall Lead Him
Chapter 1
"I remember you."
Spencer looked to his right where a young girl with green eyes and curly brown hair sat lookinge up at him. He didn't answer her however because he wasn't sure it been her that had spoken.
"I remember you. I saw you. Before." She tried to clarify for him. When he didn't reply she continued on. "At the store. Do you remember me? I said hi. You said hi back." She finished explaining.
They both sat in chairs about 3 feet apart with their right arms extended, each with a lab technician leaning down in front of them getting ready to draw blood.
Spencer cocked his head slightly and said hesitantly, "Yes. I remember you. You were with you mother at the store buying jello and 7-Up. It was lime jello. Hello again." For a brief second he felt inane with his answer and the situation even seemed surreal as both of them grimaced almost at the same time with the needle stick. Spencer looked back at her after a brief glance down to see blood filling the tube, and a silent exclamation of "hallelujah!" for only needing one poke to get blood.
She girl continued on without even looking down to see if the technician drawing her blood had struck gold.
"Yep." She stated. "I was with Mom. I didn't feel good, but I couldn't stay home alone and I had to go with her. She's out there at the desk filling out papers. Always more paperwork." she sighed sounding much older than her age. Obviously, she had heard that statement several times from an adult who was tired of filling out forms. She shrugged her head toward the door and the waiting room beyond.
"Do you have cancer too?" She asked seriously with a tilt of her head.
He felt his eyes widen slightly and his eyebrows rise and without conscious thought, looked up for help from the technician who was securing a cotton ball with tape over the puncture sight in the crook of his elbow. She looked back at him with the slightest, but kindest smile before turning away and moving to the counter with his tubes of blood.
He slowly turned his head back to the little girl as the other technician finished with taping a cotton ball to her arm. From the corner of his eye he caught a look of surprise changing quickly to curiosity and he realized she was interested hear his answer.
At the short hesitation from him, the wizened child looked calmly into his eyes and stated as a matter of fact, "Yep. You're new at this."
Suddenly they both looked to the doorway as they both heard a sharp, shocked voice say, "Elizabeth Amanda May!" They looked back at each other and the girl shook her head slightly back and forth and said gravely, "When she uses my whole name like that, I know it's not gonna be a good thing."