The List
Chapter Four
Joe watched her walk away then followed the disappearing nurse into the back where she left him at the entrance to a room. Joe followed Annabell's cries and came through the curtain seperating the patients from the hall.
The nurse there gave Annabell to Joe. Joe took her and began rocking her, speaking gently. "The doctor has already seen her," the nurse informed him. "She's just teething."
"Teething?" Joe asked, a perplexed look on his face.
"Her teeth are coming in and it's hurting her. To help ease the pain and help the process along, give her a teething ring to chew on. The ones that you have to get cold first are best, but the others work well also."
"Thanks," Joe told her, smiling down at a gurgling Annabell. "What about Valerie?"
"The doctor is seeing her now," the nurse told him. "Why don't you take Annabell back to the waiting room? Someone will let you know when you may see her."
Joe carried Annabell and the diaper bag back to the waiting room and looked for Vanessa. Not seeing her, he sat down.
Vanessa entered a few minutes later and seeing Joe with the baby, came and sat down beside them. "How is she?"
"She's teething," Joe told her. "She's okay."
"I meant your....the mother," Vanessa said.
"Aw, come on, Vanessa. You know I'm not married," Joe said quietly, looking into her eyes.
"But you are her father?" she asked, looking down at the familiar way he held Annabell. Joe just looked at her, his eyes reflecting hurt at her question.
"Then what are you doing here with a baby and her mother?" Vanessa demanded.
"Look, she needed help, so I volunteered. That's all there is to this," Joe assured her.
"Who?" Vanessa demanded. Joe remained silent. "That girl who kissed you today," she said, her eyes widening in realization. "But, she's still in high school."
"Shh!" Joe hissed. He explained to her about keeping Annabell for a couple of days before school started and about bringing them over to the hospital tonight.
Vanessa leaned over and kissed Joe. "Thanks," he said. "But what was that for?"
"For being such a wonderful guy," she told him.
"Sir," a nurse said, coming from the back. "You can see your wife now but you need to leave the baby out here."
"I'll watch her," Vanessa volunteered, holding out her arms for the Annabell.
"Thanks," said Joe, putting Annabell in her arms and following the nurse from the room.
"Hey," Joe said softly, going over to stand by Valerie. "How are you feeling?"
"Relieved," she answered with a smile. "Thank you so much for everything."
"My pleasure," Joe replied gallantly.
"Sir," the doctor said, coming into the room. "I'm Dr, Williams. Your wife is suffering from exhaustion. There's no need to keep her overnight but she does need absolute rest for at least twenty-four hours."
"I'll see that she gets it," Joe promised before the doctor left.
"Joe, you can't stay at my house," Valerie told him, her eyes wide.
"You're right about that," Joe agreed with a little laugh as she stood up. "But you can stay at my house."
"I can't!" she said, startled at the proposition.
"Valerie, you don't have a choice. If you don't care about yourself enough to get some rest, then think of Annabell," he told her sternly as they returned to the waiting room.
"Everyone is going to find out about her," Valerie said sadly.
"Are you ashamed of her?" Joe demanded.
"Never!" Valerie shouted, her eyes flashing angrily at the thought. "Just of what I did."
"People make mistakes," Joe told her. "Granted, some are doozies, but Annabell is a miracle. You have to accept that and treat her as such."
"So, I'm suppossed to advertise I'm a sixteen-year-old unwed mother?" she demanded.
"No," Joe said. "But you need to stop hiding."
They reached the waiting room and found Vanessa and Mrs. Bender, her ankle bandanged and propped up on the leg of the wheelchair, playing with Annabell.
"Vanessa, Mrs. Bender, I would like you to meet Valerie Gambill. Annabell's mom," Joe introduced the ladies.
"Hello, Valerie," Mrs. Bender greeted her. "You have a lovely daughter."
"Thank you," Valerie replied, smiling tenderly at her daughter as she took her from Vanessa.
"How's the ankle?" Joe asked Mrs. Bender.
Vanessa's mom made a face. "Bad sprain," she replied. "I'm on crutches for at least a week."
"That's too bad," Joe said. "Thank's for watching Annabell," he added to Vanessa, bending down and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
"She's sweet," Vanessa responded. "What did the doctor say about you?" she asked Valerie.
"Complete rest for twenty-four hours," Joe answered for her. "I'm taking her and Annabell home with me. Mom might enjoy having a baby around for a little while."
"If you need any help, call me," Vanessa offered, standing up. Joe gave her another kiss, this one on the cheek, then he, Valerie and Annabell followed Vanessa and her mom out of the hospital.
"I'll swing by your house so you can get what you need," Joe told Valerie once they were ont heir way. "But first, let's stop and get Annabell's teething rings."
"Thank you," she told him. It took only minutes to pick up the teething rings and then they were on their way to Valerie's. When they arrived, the lights in the living room were on.
"Honey! Where have you been?" demanded an older woman who favored Valerie. "We've been worried sick."
"I thought Annabell was sick," Valerie explained to her mother and father who had come running when he heard voices. "She's not though," she added quickly. "She's just teething."
"But Valerie is," Joe added, still standing in the doorway, holding a sleeping Annabell. "The doctor said she needed at least twenty four hours of complete rest."
"I told you I had a feeling we should come back early," Mrs. Gambill told her husband.
Mr. Gambill was looking at Joe. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"This is Joe Hardy," Valerie introduced him to her parents. "The boy who watched Annabell when I came back last week," she continued. "When Annabell started running a fever, I didn't know what to do, so I called for Joe."
"Thank you," Mrs. Gambill said, smiling over at Joe. Mr. Gambill never said anything but the way he kept staring suspiciously at Joe made Joe think Valerie hadn't told her parents who Annabell's father was.
"I'd better get home," Joe said, giving Annabell to Mrs. Gambill. "Nice meeting you."
"Thanks for everything, Joe," Valerie said again as he left.
It was a quarter till eleven when Joe pulled into his driveway. He got out of the car, stretched and yawned, then headed inside. His parents were in the living room, getting ready to watch the eleven o'clock news before retiring. "Thanks for letting me use your car," Joe said to his mom, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Night."
"Night, honey," Mrs. Hardy said, smiling fondly up at him.
"Goodnight, Son," Mr. Hardy said from his chair.
"Night, Dad," Joe replied then headed upstairs. Going into his room, he pulled out a pair of pajamas from the dresser drawer and tossed them on his bed. Then he pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and laid it on the dresser. Frank came to the doorway and watched as Joe reached into his left pocket and pulled out his keys.
"Everything all right?" Frank asked, watching Joe drop the keys onto the dresser.
"Yeah," Joe answered, pulling his shirt off.
Frank waited to see if he would elaborate, but all Joe did was put on his pajamas. "Well, night then," Franks said and went back to his own room.
"Night," Joe responded, picking up his dirty clothes and following Frank as far as the bathroom. He dropped the clothes in the hamper then brushed his teeth while Frank turned off his light and crawled into bed. Ten minutes later, both boys were asleep.
"Up and at'em, Joe," Frank said, coming into Joe's room the next morning and pulling the cover off of Joe. "Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes," he added before leaving Joe to get up and get dressed.
It was their standard routine. His mom would wake Frank up and tell him breakfast would be ready in half an hour then Frank would get ready before waking Joe who complained if it were more than ten minutes before he had to be downstairs.
Frank went downstairs to see if his mom needed any help, but as he entered the kitchen, the phone rang. "I've got it," he told his mom, who stood near the stove, and his dad, who was in front of the refrigerator holding a jug of orange juice.
"Hey, how did it go?" came a voice Frank recognized instantly as Vanessa's.
"How did what go?" Frank asked, confused.
"With the baby?" Vanessa clarified.
"Joe told you about that?" Frank demanded.
"I was there," she said.
"What are you talking about?" Frank demanded an explanation.
"If you don't know, then I'm not sure I do," Vanessa answered, frustrating Frank even more. "I'll talk to Joe at school. Bye," she said, hanging up.
"This is really starting to annoy me," Frank said, slamming down the phone.
"Who was it?" asked Mrs. Hardy.
"Vanessa," Frank answered.
"What did she want?" Mr. Hardy inquired.
"I don't know," Frank said. "She didn't know for sure," he added. "Apparently, only Joe knows and he's not talking!"
"Calm down," ordered Mr. Hardy. "We can't confront Joe with anything until we have talked to the counselor."
"Frank, would you watch the pancakes?" his mom asked. "I need to put in a load of clothes."
"Sure," Frank agreed, coming over to the stove. "Want me to go get our clothes first?" he asked.
"I raided your hamper before I woke you," she replied with a smile, heading for the laundry room.
Frank flipped the pancakes and got down some plates. "I can't stand Joe keeping secrets from me," he grumbled to his father.
"Fenton!" Mrs. Hardy called to her husband from the laundry room, her voice urgent.
Frank and Mr. Hardy rushed in to see what was wrong. She stood by the washer, Joe's pants lying on top, his pockets turned inside out. In her hand she held a medicine bottle which she had opened.
Mr. Hardy took the bottle and looked at the little yellow pills. "What's Joe doing with a bottle of valium?" he asked, looking as confused and scared as his wife.
Chapter Four
Joe watched her walk away then followed the disappearing nurse into the back where she left him at the entrance to a room. Joe followed Annabell's cries and came through the curtain seperating the patients from the hall.
The nurse there gave Annabell to Joe. Joe took her and began rocking her, speaking gently. "The doctor has already seen her," the nurse informed him. "She's just teething."
"Teething?" Joe asked, a perplexed look on his face.
"Her teeth are coming in and it's hurting her. To help ease the pain and help the process along, give her a teething ring to chew on. The ones that you have to get cold first are best, but the others work well also."
"Thanks," Joe told her, smiling down at a gurgling Annabell. "What about Valerie?"
"The doctor is seeing her now," the nurse told him. "Why don't you take Annabell back to the waiting room? Someone will let you know when you may see her."
Joe carried Annabell and the diaper bag back to the waiting room and looked for Vanessa. Not seeing her, he sat down.
Vanessa entered a few minutes later and seeing Joe with the baby, came and sat down beside them. "How is she?"
"She's teething," Joe told her. "She's okay."
"I meant your....the mother," Vanessa said.
"Aw, come on, Vanessa. You know I'm not married," Joe said quietly, looking into her eyes.
"But you are her father?" she asked, looking down at the familiar way he held Annabell. Joe just looked at her, his eyes reflecting hurt at her question.
"Then what are you doing here with a baby and her mother?" Vanessa demanded.
"Look, she needed help, so I volunteered. That's all there is to this," Joe assured her.
"Who?" Vanessa demanded. Joe remained silent. "That girl who kissed you today," she said, her eyes widening in realization. "But, she's still in high school."
"Shh!" Joe hissed. He explained to her about keeping Annabell for a couple of days before school started and about bringing them over to the hospital tonight.
Vanessa leaned over and kissed Joe. "Thanks," he said. "But what was that for?"
"For being such a wonderful guy," she told him.
"Sir," a nurse said, coming from the back. "You can see your wife now but you need to leave the baby out here."
"I'll watch her," Vanessa volunteered, holding out her arms for the Annabell.
"Thanks," said Joe, putting Annabell in her arms and following the nurse from the room.
"Hey," Joe said softly, going over to stand by Valerie. "How are you feeling?"
"Relieved," she answered with a smile. "Thank you so much for everything."
"My pleasure," Joe replied gallantly.
"Sir," the doctor said, coming into the room. "I'm Dr, Williams. Your wife is suffering from exhaustion. There's no need to keep her overnight but she does need absolute rest for at least twenty-four hours."
"I'll see that she gets it," Joe promised before the doctor left.
"Joe, you can't stay at my house," Valerie told him, her eyes wide.
"You're right about that," Joe agreed with a little laugh as she stood up. "But you can stay at my house."
"I can't!" she said, startled at the proposition.
"Valerie, you don't have a choice. If you don't care about yourself enough to get some rest, then think of Annabell," he told her sternly as they returned to the waiting room.
"Everyone is going to find out about her," Valerie said sadly.
"Are you ashamed of her?" Joe demanded.
"Never!" Valerie shouted, her eyes flashing angrily at the thought. "Just of what I did."
"People make mistakes," Joe told her. "Granted, some are doozies, but Annabell is a miracle. You have to accept that and treat her as such."
"So, I'm suppossed to advertise I'm a sixteen-year-old unwed mother?" she demanded.
"No," Joe said. "But you need to stop hiding."
They reached the waiting room and found Vanessa and Mrs. Bender, her ankle bandanged and propped up on the leg of the wheelchair, playing with Annabell.
"Vanessa, Mrs. Bender, I would like you to meet Valerie Gambill. Annabell's mom," Joe introduced the ladies.
"Hello, Valerie," Mrs. Bender greeted her. "You have a lovely daughter."
"Thank you," Valerie replied, smiling tenderly at her daughter as she took her from Vanessa.
"How's the ankle?" Joe asked Mrs. Bender.
Vanessa's mom made a face. "Bad sprain," she replied. "I'm on crutches for at least a week."
"That's too bad," Joe said. "Thank's for watching Annabell," he added to Vanessa, bending down and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
"She's sweet," Vanessa responded. "What did the doctor say about you?" she asked Valerie.
"Complete rest for twenty-four hours," Joe answered for her. "I'm taking her and Annabell home with me. Mom might enjoy having a baby around for a little while."
"If you need any help, call me," Vanessa offered, standing up. Joe gave her another kiss, this one on the cheek, then he, Valerie and Annabell followed Vanessa and her mom out of the hospital.
"I'll swing by your house so you can get what you need," Joe told Valerie once they were ont heir way. "But first, let's stop and get Annabell's teething rings."
"Thank you," she told him. It took only minutes to pick up the teething rings and then they were on their way to Valerie's. When they arrived, the lights in the living room were on.
"Honey! Where have you been?" demanded an older woman who favored Valerie. "We've been worried sick."
"I thought Annabell was sick," Valerie explained to her mother and father who had come running when he heard voices. "She's not though," she added quickly. "She's just teething."
"But Valerie is," Joe added, still standing in the doorway, holding a sleeping Annabell. "The doctor said she needed at least twenty four hours of complete rest."
"I told you I had a feeling we should come back early," Mrs. Gambill told her husband.
Mr. Gambill was looking at Joe. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"This is Joe Hardy," Valerie introduced him to her parents. "The boy who watched Annabell when I came back last week," she continued. "When Annabell started running a fever, I didn't know what to do, so I called for Joe."
"Thank you," Mrs. Gambill said, smiling over at Joe. Mr. Gambill never said anything but the way he kept staring suspiciously at Joe made Joe think Valerie hadn't told her parents who Annabell's father was.
"I'd better get home," Joe said, giving Annabell to Mrs. Gambill. "Nice meeting you."
"Thanks for everything, Joe," Valerie said again as he left.
It was a quarter till eleven when Joe pulled into his driveway. He got out of the car, stretched and yawned, then headed inside. His parents were in the living room, getting ready to watch the eleven o'clock news before retiring. "Thanks for letting me use your car," Joe said to his mom, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Night."
"Night, honey," Mrs. Hardy said, smiling fondly up at him.
"Goodnight, Son," Mr. Hardy said from his chair.
"Night, Dad," Joe replied then headed upstairs. Going into his room, he pulled out a pair of pajamas from the dresser drawer and tossed them on his bed. Then he pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and laid it on the dresser. Frank came to the doorway and watched as Joe reached into his left pocket and pulled out his keys.
"Everything all right?" Frank asked, watching Joe drop the keys onto the dresser.
"Yeah," Joe answered, pulling his shirt off.
Frank waited to see if he would elaborate, but all Joe did was put on his pajamas. "Well, night then," Franks said and went back to his own room.
"Night," Joe responded, picking up his dirty clothes and following Frank as far as the bathroom. He dropped the clothes in the hamper then brushed his teeth while Frank turned off his light and crawled into bed. Ten minutes later, both boys were asleep.
"Up and at'em, Joe," Frank said, coming into Joe's room the next morning and pulling the cover off of Joe. "Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes," he added before leaving Joe to get up and get dressed.
It was their standard routine. His mom would wake Frank up and tell him breakfast would be ready in half an hour then Frank would get ready before waking Joe who complained if it were more than ten minutes before he had to be downstairs.
Frank went downstairs to see if his mom needed any help, but as he entered the kitchen, the phone rang. "I've got it," he told his mom, who stood near the stove, and his dad, who was in front of the refrigerator holding a jug of orange juice.
"Hey, how did it go?" came a voice Frank recognized instantly as Vanessa's.
"How did what go?" Frank asked, confused.
"With the baby?" Vanessa clarified.
"Joe told you about that?" Frank demanded.
"I was there," she said.
"What are you talking about?" Frank demanded an explanation.
"If you don't know, then I'm not sure I do," Vanessa answered, frustrating Frank even more. "I'll talk to Joe at school. Bye," she said, hanging up.
"This is really starting to annoy me," Frank said, slamming down the phone.
"Who was it?" asked Mrs. Hardy.
"Vanessa," Frank answered.
"What did she want?" Mr. Hardy inquired.
"I don't know," Frank said. "She didn't know for sure," he added. "Apparently, only Joe knows and he's not talking!"
"Calm down," ordered Mr. Hardy. "We can't confront Joe with anything until we have talked to the counselor."
"Frank, would you watch the pancakes?" his mom asked. "I need to put in a load of clothes."
"Sure," Frank agreed, coming over to the stove. "Want me to go get our clothes first?" he asked.
"I raided your hamper before I woke you," she replied with a smile, heading for the laundry room.
Frank flipped the pancakes and got down some plates. "I can't stand Joe keeping secrets from me," he grumbled to his father.
"Fenton!" Mrs. Hardy called to her husband from the laundry room, her voice urgent.
Frank and Mr. Hardy rushed in to see what was wrong. She stood by the washer, Joe's pants lying on top, his pockets turned inside out. In her hand she held a medicine bottle which she had opened.
Mr. Hardy took the bottle and looked at the little yellow pills. "What's Joe doing with a bottle of valium?" he asked, looking as confused and scared as his wife.