For Them, We Must

Broken Bones and Warm Souls.

"This is Oakley?" Oakley answered her phone.

"Mrs. Dutton? This is Leah Cortez, I'm the nurse at Parker Elementary," The voice said through the phone. "I have your son, Lee, with me and we are pretty sure his arm is broken."

Oakley stopped walking down toward the barn. She had been trying to avoid the ice snow on parts of the road so she didn't look at the number calling her.

"What?" Oakley asked.

"He's okay," the nurse said. "But he jumped from the swing and landed on his right arm."

"Can you put him on?" Oakley broke out into a run to her truck.

"Ma'am, I promise he's-"

"Let me speak to my son," Oakley snapped as she got into her truck.

"Momma?" Lee's voice came through the speaker.

"Lee? Baby...are you okay?" Oakley gunned her truck down the path.

**

"Okay, Mrs. Dutton," the doctor walked into the exam room. "Good news and bad news."

"Story of our lives, doctor," Oakley sighed.

She was sitting on the bed with Lee tucked into her side. His arm was laid over a pillow in his lap. After racing to the school, Oakley took Lee to the hospital to get x-rays done of his arm.

"His arm is not broken," The doctor said. "But he's fractured it in two spots."

Oakley took a deep breath. She pressed a kiss to Lee's forehead.

"We're going to get him into a sling," The doctor nodded. "He'll have it for a few weeks...baby Advil is going to be his friend and for the first days, let's try and take it easy."

"You hear that?" Oakley tugged gently in Lee's longer locks.

"Yes ma'am," Lee nodded.

Oakley gave the doctor a sad smile.

"Just need you to fill out a few forms," the doctor went to open the door. "Lee, if you wanna walk down with the nurse you can get fitting for your sleeve?"

"Okay," Lee hopped down, holding his arm close to his chest.

Oakley walked over to the reception desk and signed a few forms. The doctor came over to her.

"Kids are pretty resilient," He smiled. "He'll be better in no time."

"Thank you," Oakley nodded, knowing her eyes were red and she probably looked crazy now coming down from her high earlier. "Just hasn't been the best few weeks and now...like you said, he'll be fine."

"So," the doctor said. "Your...husband?"

Oakley stopped writing and looked up at him.

"What?" Oakley asked.

"Is there a husband?" The doctor said. "I don't mean to be too forward but, I just thought I'd try?"

Oakley blinked back at him, finishing her last signature. She sat the pen down and stepped away from the desk.

"I do have one," Oakley nodded, Lee walking up to her. "Have a husband."

"Right," the doctor nodded. "Sorry, of course."

"Yeah," Oakley patted Lee's head "Ready buddy?"

Oakley and Lee walked outside and got into her truck. Oakley sighed as she started the engine and glanced back at Lee in his seat.