Check Up
Balancing Aiden on his left hip and leading Elisa by her tiny hand Johnny approached the medical office's receptionist and explained that Child Protective Services had set up an appointment for both children.
The young woman obviously understood the circumstances because she bit the edge of her lip as she regarded the children and murmured, "Unthinkable to reject…"
Johnny cut off the rest of her opinionated thought. "We'll be right over there." He pointed to a play area set up as a waiting area for kids and then navigated a path to a tiny table and four just as tiny chairs.
"Why don't you grab one of those toys to play with until we see the doctor?" he suggested, gesturing towards a toybox filled with goodies. "I see a seat right over there where I can actually fit, but you can see me all the time if you play right here." He raised his eyebrows excitedly and smiled.
Despite his urging, Elisa clung to him.
He abandoned that idea for the moment.
Johnny placed a hand on top of Elisa's soft hair and guided both children to a seating area. Once seated he placed Aiden on the floor, but both children remained rooted against him with hands gripping Johnny's legs.
Leaning down over Elisa he whispered, "Honey, why not sit at that table and play with the cups and saucers?"
In response, she wedged herself between his thigh and the chair arm and stayed silent.
Aiden took three steps towards the play area and froze in place, then turned in a panic and raced back to Johnny. Cramming his thumb into his mouth he laid his chest and face across Johnny's leg and regarded the room from his safe perch.
Johnny rubbed his hands and reviewed some of the questions he had for the doctor. He hoped the pediatrician would help determine any health issues or problems with the kids, and felt relieved to have a specialist thoroughly check out both children.
Leaning down to kiss Aiden's cheek he viewed the room from the baby's perspective. Though he pinpointed two men, women and children comprised the majority.
The women, it appeared, watched him as well.
For a man who usually professed that a pursuit of females always steered his days, Johnny failed to recognize just how attractive he was to the opposite sex. At over six feet, fit, and with closely cropped dark hair and expressive brown eyes, he really didn't have to work to attract female attention.
Several mothers smiled at him, and Johnny nodded in return, preoccupied with his thoughts. It wasn't until the first one slipped over to claim the chair next to him that he realized he was the focus of the waiting room.
The visitor was blond and petite and complimented him on the children. Johnny thanked her but stopped short of revealing their background.
Luckily the nurse called her name seconds later and his admirer disappeared behind the examination room's door.
Just as quickly a bubbly redhead joined him and took her place.
Trained in observation, Johnny made a mental note that both children clung tighter to him each time someone appeared. Poor little things must have so much fear of loss clinging to them.
Obviously the medical office hoped to help law enforcement and Child Protective Services because they summoned him next. He swung both children into his arms and murmured a goodbye to the woman before following the nurse into the actual examination areas. Savvy to the fact that the fragility of the children lay just under the surface, two nurses enlisted Johnny's help in establishing preliminary procedures. By the time the doctor arrived Elisa and Aiden had relaxed enough to award the physician a calm reception.
Dr. Palmer introduced herself and took her time with the children, checking them thoroughly and gathering as much physical and observational data as she could. She assured Johnny that both displayed good health, and promised to call later that day or early the next with as much resultant information as she could ascertain from her tests.
Johnny peppered her with questions, all of which she addressed as well as she could. Truthfully her heart went out to the young man, and she admired both his role in saving the little ones and his willingness to step up and parent the children until family could be located.
A bit sheepishly, Johnny admitted his nagging concern that he had no idea of their names and confessed that he simply called them two names which had popped into his head, Aiden and Elisa. The doctor took a stab at discovering any clues and tried to elicit names but the children remained unhelpful, though they responded immediately when she referred to them as Aiden or Elisa.
Pointing to Johnny the doctor grinned widely and quizzed, "Who is that standing right beside you?"
"Johnzee," Elisa promptly responded.
Aiden parroted her, though his came out as something similar to Johzee.
"Johnny," he corrected them. "Remember we practiced saying my name last night, saying Johnny?"
The doctor regarded him. "Mr. Turturro, do you really want to object? Why not just let them call you Johnzee? You know that the name Johnzee means a sensitive, inspiring teacher, right?"
Johnny rubbed his chin, "No, to tell you the truth, I actually did not know that."
"Think about it," she advised. "because I personally believe it suits you."
Johnny left with enough free samples to keep him from making a trip to the pharmacy for some time to come. Not only did the medical facility send enough formula samples to keep Aiden fortified for a few weeks, but thermometers, pain reliever, fever reducer, and assorted bandages destined for his new residence filled two huge shopping bags.
Johnny's gratitude was endless. It touched him that the children elicited such generosity.
He juggled the bags and the kids and exited the office confident that the children had no physical delays.
Wonderful as his two little babies had been in the morning, the instant they returned to his car both children melted down into loud, racking, nerve shattering sobs.
For several seconds Johnny stood frozen, unable to grasp their Jekyll and Hyde conversion. He looked around the parking lot and grounds wildly, trying to pinpoint what could have caused such a horrible transformation. No matter what had instigated the reaction, Johnny still had to get the kids home.
Wrestling to secure Aiden in his car seat while the child stiffened every limb made the attempt torturous for both of them. Adding to the ear shattering noise Johnny muttered out loud, "What did I do to deserve this? Hmmm? What happened to those darling little angels I took to my mom's yesterday?"
He finally finished securing Aiden but the child continued to scream one loud protest after another.
Exhausted from that torturous struggle, Johnny moved warily to the other side of the car with Elisa, who instantly began to wail when he opened the door adjacent to her seat.
Johnny used one arm to deflect her kicks and the other to hurriedly position the harnesses.
Her screams nearly deafened him.
An older woman walking her dog paused to watch his struggle and offered, "Need some help?"
"No," he called wearily, "I believe I've got a handle on it now." Sure enough, he snapped Elisa's last restraint.
Backing out of the car he shut the door and sighed deeply.
"They missed a nap, didn't they?" The woman nodded in sympathy.
Johnny held out his hands in surrender. "A nap? Is that it? Is that why they turned into some unrecognizable kids out to destroy my sanity?"
"I'm pretty sure, yes."
"Oh wow," Johnny regarded her gratefully. "Wow. That honestly was the furthest idea from my mind. We just left the doctor and I thought it was a delayed reaction to their exam. Thanks for the clue. Any advice you want to share with me?"
The woman glanced at both kids through the window. "They'll fall asleep now, but if you can, let them sleep when you get home. And if I may impart a little wisdom, if you start the day by getting up early, then they need a morning nap. No matter when they wake though, they both need an afternoon nap- every single day. Don't skip it. Make it a routine and your life will run more smoothly than today did."
A slow smile spread across Johnny's face. "You're an angel, aren't you? One of those angels they send to earth to teach lessons to earth's dumbest inhabitants?"
She laughed at the question. "Afraid not. What I am, though, is a mother and a grandmother and so I have seen the gamut of behavior. Trust me, all parents make mistakes and misjudge naptime, or clothing, or a rash. Just remember that you're learning too and forgive yourself. You will have the same resume as an experienced dad soon, so don't get discouraged."
Johnny's head snapped up at the dad remark.
Without pausing to think he threw his arms around the woman. "Thank you, thank you, thank you my grandmother angel."
She laughed again, "You are more than welcome."
When he slid into his own seat and cranked the car seconds later he realized that his vehicle was shrouded in silence.
Glancing back he observed two very sound asleep children.
