Hope you've all had a good weekend.
Continuing on with Audra...
Chapter 49. WHERE IS THE LOVE?
Dr. House and I were staring at each other so intently that we didn't hear Dr.
Lloyd come in.
"Audra? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I was looking for you or Dr. Cameron," I replied.
"Have you seen her?" Dr. House asked.
"She had to go talk to Dr. Cuddy about a patient," she replied.
He pushed himself away from the desk he was leaning against and headed out
without another word. We watched him go.
"What's wrong?" Dr. Lloyd asked once she'd taken a good look at my face.
I looked up at her and realized how much I missed spending time with her,
talking to her about good things and bad. "I don't think my dad likes me." Once I put it into words, I realized it was what I felt. The tears that threatened to fall when I was talking to Dr. House began to stream down my face.
"He doesn't know you." She handed me a tissue.
"And he never will. When I try to tell him about school, my friends, the things
I like to do, he doesn't care."
"Oh, honey!" she said. She put her arms around me.
When I finally stopped crying I told her, "We were visiting Grandmother but she
was asleep and he was arguing again with Grandfather."
"So they don't know where you are?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No."
"Well, let's go back there. Maybe they'll let you come home with me tonight.
You know, we never finished your grandmother's shawl." She took my hand and we
went to Grandmother's room.
"Where'd you go?" Dad was angry.
"I went to talk to Dr. Lloyd," I replied, sort of defiantly I guess. He didn't
like that at all.
"Don't you ever go off like that again!" he shouted.
"I'm sorry." I suddenly felt like a really little kid and I remembered Grand-
mother telling me to be good. "Very sorry."
"Now, Lars. The girl just wanted to say hello to a friend," Grandmother said.
She was awake now, but it didn't look like her nap had helped her feel any
better.
Even Grandfather said, "She can't spend all of her time in this room." Then he
turned to me. "Next time you want to wander off, you should tell us, Audra."
I think he was trying to be nice to me.
"Yes, Grandfather," I said. He might be strict but you always knew what his
rules are.
"Mr. Swenson, would it be alright if Audra came home with me tonight?" Dr.
Lloyd asked my dad. I was afraid he wouldn't let me. She couldn't tell him what
we were going to do, not in front of Grandmother because it would spoil the
surprise.
"Yeah, sure. Get her out of my hair for a night," Dad said. I was so glad I could
go that I didn't think about what he was saying.
"I'll stop by for you at about five." Dr. Lloyd smiled at me.
I nodded in agreement. It was already three o'clock. After she left I sat down
on the edge of the bed and told my grandmother, "I hope you're feeling better."
"Oh, yes, dear," she said. I knew that wasn't the truth. Dr. House always says,
'everybody lies', but I used to think that didn't include my grandparents.
Then I noticed that even they sometimes lied to me. Were they trying to protect
me? How many things had they told me that weren't really true? I especially
wondered about all they'd said about my father.
I tried to talk to Grandmother about school, but all she seemed to have strength
to say was, "That's nice, dear."
Finally it was five. When Dr. Lloyd came into the room I felt that I'd never
been so happy to see anyone.
"Ready to go?" she asked, smiling at me.
I felt a little guilty for leaving Grandmother, but, yes, I was more than
ready. We went to the hospital garage and got into the car.
"Do you mind if we meet Marty for dinner at the diner?" she asked as we drove
away from the hospital.
"Mind?" I felt a smile begin. By the time we arrived I was feeling, well, maybe
not 'good', but much better.
Mr. Wilson was waiting for us in a booth. "My two favorite ladies!"
Our waitress was one we'd had before. "Have you been away, dearie?" she asked
me.
"Kind of," I replied.
"Hamburger, medium, with tomatoes and an order of fries, right?" she rattled
off.
I smiled that she remembered and nodded. "And milk, no, make that a coke!" I
said.
She took Dr. Lloyd's and Mr. Wilson's orders and went away, but was back
quickly with our drinks.
"So, you two plan on working on the shawl tonight?" Mr. Wilson asked. It was
obvious Dr. Lloyd had told him.
"Yes. We're almost done, aren't we, Dr. Lloyd?" I said.
"Yes we are. Just have to put it together and finish the edges." The shawl was
made up of lots of triangles that were sewn together to make one large one.
It was supposed to be trimmed with a crochet edge. I thought it was going to
be gorgeous!
"I can help you put it together," he offered.
"That'll be great!" I told him.
So after we ate, we went to Dr. Lloyd's apartment. I didn't realize how much I
missed them all, even Ginger and Fred. Ginger took her usual place on my lap as
if I had never left. She rubbed her head against my hand until I began to pet her. We finished the shawl in less than two hours, and then had some ice cream to celebrate.
I wasn't surprised soon after when Mr. Wilson kissed Dr. Lloyd goodnight and
left. Then she gave me one of her T-shirts to wear as a nightshirt and made up
the bed in her spare room for me, just as she'd done several times before. She
handed me the toothbrush I'd used in the past and told me to brush good. I
guess it was a little strange, but I felt like I was finally home again.
Chapter 50. THE HOUSE DETECTIVE
I lead Allison, holding Alex, out to the Wilson's backyard and find her a
chair.
"The kids are still in the pool?" she asks. She obviously hears their laughter
and the splash of water. It's good to see my daughter having such a great time
with her friends. She sees us and pulls herself out of the pool to come over.
"We are having an outrageous time!" she tells us. "I wish Alex was bigger so
he could come play with us."
"Greg, why don't you hold him at the shallow end?" Allison suggests.
I look at my tiny son and wonder 'why not?', then take him from her arms. "OK,
tiger, this'll be like your bathtub, only much bigger with lots more water."
He seems to stare at me as I carry him to the pool, Gretchen at my side. When
we get there I sit in a chair nearby and ask my daughter to take off my Nikes
and socks and roll-up my jeans. I remove the little shortall Alex is wearing
over his diaper, but I leave the diaper on. No sense asking for trouble.
Now this is gonna be tricky. How do I sit down on the dry top step and hold
the baby in the water on the step below? Gretchen anticipates the problems in
logistics and helps me. What neither of us expected is that we've gathered an
audience. All of the kids want to see Gretchen's baby brother, even the girls
who met him at our house a few days ago. I hold the baby under his arms, a hand
supporting his head, and let his legs dangle into the water. It's warm and Alex
seems to like it on his tiny feet.
Even when the kids go back into the deeper water, I'm surrounded by adults
curious to see what kind of son Gregory House and Allison Cameron produced.
I smile to myself. I've felt such pride in and love for my daughter since I
met her eleven months ago. And I already love this little boy. The love for
your children isn't a given, of course, but the fact that they carry a part of
you in their genetic code should make you feel that they're special. I still
wonder about parents who don't seem to feel that or show it, like my father
and Allison's mother. And then there's Audra's father.
When the girl told me about her dad, I wondered at first if it was just a
nine-year-old's view. True, he'd basically abandoned her to his parents after
his wife died. Was it just that his mother's illness was distracting him from
his daughter?
Audra didn't seem to think that was it. I'd come to appreciate her shrewd
judgment. In fact, she interested me a good deal. Beneath the waif-like
prettiness and the strict adherence to good behavior was a sad kid who was
trying to make the best of a rather bleak life.
Then she told me about the mystery of where her father spent his afternoons. I
was curious about that. Something didn't fit.
One morning soon after Audra talked to me, Allie and I were woken by loud noises
just outside. It was way too early and the sound was way too cacophonous. We
looked at each other, bewildered. I rubbed my eyes, but that didn't stop the
racket.
I reluctantly got out of bed, reaching for my cane. I tend to be less steady on
my feet when I first get up in the morning.
The noise seemed to be coming from the back of the house. I went into the
kitchen to look through the window. Our old friends Oscar, no Oliver, and the
other one (who remembers workmen's names?) were on the patio, stacking boards.
I'd completely forgotten they were due back this week to start working on
Gretchen's booth. I guessed I wouldn't be sleeping in for a while.
I returned to the bedroom to find an empty bed. My first clue to my wife's
whereabouts was the sound of running water. OK, I could handle that. In minutes
I'd joined her in the shower. Her growing stomach was a beautiful sight to see,
but it was beginning to come between us. Still, by the time we came out to the
walk-in closet/dressing room, we were not only very clean, but also thoroughly
satisfied.
Gretchen was at the table when we made it to the kitchen, excited to see what
was happening on the patio.
"They're really going to build it!" she exclaimed.
"You knew they'd be back as soon as it was warm enough," I told her.
"Knowing and seeing are two different things," she preached.
I smirked at her, then began to drink the coffee Allie had put in front of me.
After breakfast, Gretchen grudgingly went out for the school bus, and Allison
and I left for the hospital. It had to be better than watching Oliver and
what's-his-name ("David" Allison reminded me. "Whatever" I replied.) As good as
they were, they weren't Norm.
I had a mission anyway, a mystery to solve. My plan was to put in an hour in the
clinic and check on the progress of my latest patient (I'd diagnosed him
the day before). That way when I disappeared in the afternoon, no one would be
looking for me.
My plan worked like clockwork. I spent my hour with sniveling kids, malingering
college students, and adults who didn't know their, well, you know. On my way
to check my patient, I saw Audra's father come in to see his mother, and after
lunch, I saw him leave again at about 1:30. I was ready to follow him. He was
completely unaware of it.
First he stopped at a bank and used the ATM, then continued on. I remembered
that Audra said he'd argued with her grandfather about money, but whose?
He didn't go far. In fact, before long, he pulled up at a place I knew well,
one I'd been to many times in the past, the local Off Track Betting establishment. Things were beginning to fall into place. We had ourselves a gambler.