Dr. Andrew Brown whistled a happy tune as he walked into his office that morning. Edna Harper, his retired Army nurse, glared at him with her face showing her distaste for all things cheerful, especially in the morning. Andy removed his gloves and placed them in his coat pocket. He then removed his coat and hung it neatly on the coat rack, making sure each sleeve had been completely pulled out. He then removed his hat and placed it on the post above the coat.
"Good morning Edna," he said with a smile walking over to her. She nodded and handed him that morning's mail. He flipped through a few pieces before noticing that Edna was frowning at something behind him.
"Edna, what's wrong?" he asked her. Again instead of words she chose actions and pointed in the direction she had been staring. Andy turned, saw what was there, and turned back. His cheerful demeanor had changed into that of confusion, and his face showed it.
"Edna why is there a small child asleep in our waiting area?" Andy asked her. Edna shrugged.
"She was there when I got in this morning!" she told him.
"Have you tried waking her?" he asked, turning back to look at the child. She was four, maybe five years old. She had a lot of light brown, curly hair holding a maroon colored beret. The hat matched the maroon colored mittens, overcoat, and skirt, all adorned with black trim that matched her tights and shoes, which lay neatly on the floor.
"I thought I'd wait until you got here," Edna told him. He nodded, understanding why she might do that. Andy placed the mail in his hands back on the desk, the looked at with the not looked at. Quietly he walked over to the girl and kneeled down so he could be at eye level. Gently he shook her shoulder and after just the slightest of shakes her eyes opened to look at him. She smiled widely.
"Hi," she said and a voice so young and filled with warmth Andy smiled too.
"Hi. Are you lost?" he asked her in his most gentle of tones. She shook her head, still smiling.
"No. Are you?" she asked him. He paused for a few moments before shaking his head.
"What's your name?" he asked her.
"Gracie," she smiled, the word making her laugh a little.
"Gracie what?" he asked her.
"Gracie Gracie," she said and laughed again. He laughed and helped her up to her feet.
"Well hi Gracie Gracie, my name is Dr. Brown," he introduced himself as she stood up and slipped her feet back into her shoes, her tiny little hand holding on tight to his big one.
"Good morning Dr. Brown," she said as they walked over to Edna's desk.
"Good morning to you too. Gracie, this is my friend Edna," Andy said as Edna walked out from around her desk.
"Good morning Edna," Gracie said.
"Well good morning Gracie, did you enjoy your rest?" Edna asked her. Gracie nodded her head up and down excitedly. Edna smiled. She had to smile; it was a cute kid! Andy kneeled down again to be at the child's eye level.
"You know Gracie, I bet your parents are worried about you! Do you know where they are?" Andy asked her. Gracie's smile faded into a pout and she shook her head as forcibly as she had nodded it. Andy frowned.
"Well, do you know where you live? Do you know where your house is?" he asked her. Again she shook her head. Andy looked up at Edna who shrugged. He sighed.
"Maybe you should call the police…" he suggested. Edna nodded and picked up the phone. Andy looked back down at the girl who was still looking at him.
"Why don't we get you some breakfast, huh? What do you think?" he asked her. The girl's smile lit up again and she nodded. Andy smiled and he stood up.
"We'll be a Joy's," he told Edna. She nodded.
The man and child walked out of the office hand in hand, but when they got to the slushy part of the road Andy offered to carry her across the street. Being a child and fascinated by the difference of perspective she nodded again. So Andy picked up the child and carried her to the other side of the street where he set her down and again took her hand. Then he walked her slowly down the way to Mama Joy's Diner. Gracie was interested in everything they passed. She had seen it all the night before, but that was in the dark and all closed up. Now every building was lit and full of life. Gracie looked inside every window she could see in, and Andy waited patiently.
When they finally reached Mama Joy's he picked her up and placed her on the stool. He then took her mittens, hat, and coat and placed them on the stool next to her, on top of his. Gracie immediately began playing with the cream containers and Nina walked over and filled Andy's mug with coffee.
"Who's the munchkin?" she asked him, motioning her head toward the curly haired girl. Andy sighed.
"I was hoping you could tell me," he said, taking a sip of his coffee. Nina gave him a questioning glance.
"We found her asleep in the waiting area this morning. She doesn't seem to know where her parents are or where she lives," he explained. Nina's eyes widened in surprise. She set down the coffeepot and took a few steps to the side toward Gracie.
"Well hello there. I'm Nina," Nina introduced herself. Gracie looked up from her tower of cream to Nina.
"I'm Gracie," Gracie said, smiling because Nina was pretty.
"Would you like something to eat?" Nina asked her. Gracie nodded. "Well what can I get you?"
"Can I have some chocolate chip pancakes, please?" Gracie asked her. Nina nodded, smiling.
"Of course you can, I'll be right back," Nina said walking back into the kitchen, giving Andy a shrug as she went. Andy shook his head, took another sip of coffee, and turned back to the girl, who was rebuilding her fallen tower. He cleared his throat.
"So Gracie, were you born in Everwood?" he asked her.
"What's Everwood?" she replied, not looking at him. He frowned.
"This town is Everwood…"
"Oh, no. I was born far away," she explained.
"Well, where were you born?" Andy asked her. Not born in Everwood would make her parents harder to find.
"Over the water…" she answered. Andy really frowned and Nina placed a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of the child. Gracie thanked her and picked up the syrup. Nina asked Andy if he wanted anything. He declined but watched the girl eat for sometime. Eventually two of the local police strolled in through the door. Andy waved them down and the two, very unhappy men walked over to them. The young girl turned her sticky face to the men and told them each 'good morning.' The two men removed their hats and replied the same.
"Okay, Gracie, can you tell me where your parents are?" one of the policemen asked her. They had moved her to one of the booths and bought her an ice cream sundae, living up to the idea that ice cream makes kids loose with their words. But, Gracie only shook her head and laughed. The other cop walked over to Andy, who was still sitting at the counter, on his fifth cup of coffee. The cop sighed.
"She has no identification on her at all. We checked her coat, hat, even the gloves. This is why people should put collars on their kids…" the cop told him. Andy gave him a questioning stare but decided to drop it.
"So what's going to happen to her?" Andy asked him. The cop shrugged.
"I dunno. You have a spare room?" the cop asked him. Andy's eyes widened in surprise.
"What?"
"Okay, well, uh, this is your room, uh, the bathroom's down the hall… You can handle that, kind of thing, by yourself, right?" Andy asked her as Gracie climbed up onto the bed. She sat down and bounced a few times, smiling. She looked back at him and nodded. He smiled and nodded too.
"Good, good. Now, I, uh, I should probably tell you, Gracie, that I have two kids of my own. A girl, a few years older than you. Her name's Delia. Oh, wait here…" he said taking out his wallet and sitting down next to her on the bed. He pointed to a picture of his daughter.
"This is Delia, she's nine. And, this is my son, Ephram, he's fifteen," Andy said turning to a different picture. Gracie looked on with unusual enthusiasm.
"That's a funny name," Gracie said laughing. Andy laughed a little too.
"Yea, I suppose it is. It's Hebrew. It means 'one who is fruitful,'" Andy told her. The girl looked up at him without comprehension, but she smiled anyway. Andy bit his lower lip.
"It means, uh, his name, it stands for a person who it productive, uh, flourishing. Do you understand?" he asked her. She nodded enthusiastically. Andy smiled.
"Good, good. You're a very smart little girl," he told her.
"You too," she said and started laughing.
Ephram Brown unlocked the door to his house and walked inside. He placed his homework laden bag on the floor and hung up his coat. He walked back toward the kitchen and got a few steps past the dining room before stopping. Without turning around he took a few steps backward and looked into the dining room. His father, the great Dr. Brown, was seated at the table across from a young, curly haired girl who was actually more on the table itself than the chair. They were playing a board came. The young girl laughed and so did his father.
"Uh, Dad? What are you doing?" Ephram asked him. Andy turned to him.
"Oh hi. I'm playing Candyland™," Andy answered him.
"And losing!" Gracie yelled, throwing herself into a fit of giggles. Andy laughed too. Ephram sighed.
"Can I talk to you?" Ephram asked, motioning for his father to join him. Andy nodded and excused himself for a few moments from the girl. Andy stood up and walked over to Ephram and down the hallway a few steps.
"Hi, how was school?" Andy asked him. Ephram looked at him in surprise.
" 'How was sc-?' Dad! Who's the kid?" Ephram demanded.
"Oh, isn't she cute? Her name's Gracie," Andy said smiling. Ephram frowned.
"Why is she here? Have you now decided to give up being a doctor and start babysitting for a living?" Ephram asked him. Andy shook his head.
"No, nothing like that. She spent the night in the office. No one knows where or with whom she belongs. So, until they find something, she's staying with us. Don't worry, she doesn't bite," he said patting his son's shoulder before walking back to the board game. He sat down and looked over the board.
"Did you move something?" he asked her. Gracie grinned before breaking out into more giggles. Ephram rolled his eyes and sighed.