Oh, Mr. Porter

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Mrs. Buckland was carried back to the Northeast Precinct without incident. Dylan rode with the children as they were transported to St. Joseph's Hospital on Caroline Street. It wasn't the nearest hospital, but it was the one with the best nursing staff to handle children in this situation.

They were met at the door to the ambulance entrance by Sister John Anthony, in her sailboat cornette and white habit. Behind her was a phalanx of younger nuns and nurses, ready to take the children in hand. Before they could be examined by a doctor or one of the trained nurses, Sister wanted them to have a hot bath and something clean to put on. Besides, they could tell a lot by seeing a child in the tub.

"Where are those babies? I was told there'd be babies, Mr. Shay."

Dylan climbed from the back of the ambulance and took one of the infants from the attendant. "Here you go, Sister. This is the little girl." He jogged back to the ambulance and took the second infant. "And here's the little boy. According to what I was told, they're two days old. The only nourishment they've had in that time has been the milk given to them by the Public Health nurses today. Their mothers are in that second ambulance." He leaned in. "The one girl isn't right in the head. I don't know if she'll be able to be of any assistance at all. The other girl hasn't spoken at all."

Sister gestured for one of the other nuns to take the baby from Dylan. "Don't worry, Mr. Shay. We shall take good care of all of them."

"Uh, Sister?"

"Yes, Mr. Shay?"

"May I come back later and check on them? The babies, I mean."

She smiled at him, her wrinkled old face softening. "Certainly, Mr. Shay. But not for a couple of days yet. These tykes are going to have a hard row to hoe. I want them fat as little piggies before they start receiving visitors."

Dylan herded the rest of the children inside to the waiting nuns and nurses. Phyllis and Rosella came out of the wagon without trouble. Theresa was sitting in the corner of the wagon rubbing her rag doll against her cheek, and sucking her thumb for all it was worth. Dylan called to her, and she seemed to make herself smaller. He climbed back up inside.

"Theresa, darlin', you need to come out now. No one's going to hurt you. I promise." He held his hand out to her.

She shook her head, her brown braids whipping about.

He sat down beside her. "Theresa, didn't I talk to you at the house? Was I mean to you there?" She shook her head again. "That's right. I wasn't mean. I was nice. I didn't make you do anything you didn't want to do, did I?" Another head shake. "You can't stay in there. They have to use this ambulance to pick up sick people. You're not sick, are you?"

He thought he caught her smiling around her thumb. "You know, if you come out, you can get a good hot bath, some clean clothes, and a nice meal. Wouldn't you like that?"

She seemed to ponder on it, then nodded.

He stood and held out his hand again. She considered his outstretched hand, tucked her ragdoll under her other arm, then put her hand in his. He led her out of the ambulance and through the doors of the hospital. "Sister, this is Theresa. She hasn't told me her last name yet. One of the babies Sister John Anthony took belongs to her." He turned to Theresa. "Theresa, this is Sister John Boniface."

Theresa was still holding his hand. She gave him a funny look at the mention of the nun's name.

"All the sisters here have men's names. And they all start with John. I don't know why." He smiled over her head at Sister John Boniface. "You'll have to ask them yourself. Now, can you go with Sister? She'll see you're taken care of. I'll come see you in a few days. I promise."