LITMIR.BIZ

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was sleeping in a cot next to Rina’s hospital bed. She went over and gently shook his shoulders. His arousal was so fast that he startled her. Then she remembered he was used to waking up on a moment’s notice. He was wearing gray sweats and had on tennis shoes that looked as big as boats. His bleary eyes scanned her face. A glance and he knew something was wrong. He put his arm around her shoulder and led her into the hallway.

      “What is it?”

      “Hannah’s fine, Daddy.”

      Decker took a deep swallow and brought his hand to his chest.

      “I scared you,” Cindy said. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to do—”

      “Do about what?”

      “There’s no one in the nursery—”

      “What?”

      “For about forty-five minutes,” Cindy said. “I tried calling the operator and the front desk, but no one ans—”

      “Who’s with the babies now, Cindy?”

      “No one—”

      “Good God!” Decker started jogging. “You left Hannah alone?”

      “I’m sorry, but I just didn’t know—”

      “Why didn’t you call me?”

      “I didn’t want to wake up Rina—”

      “Cindy, for God’s sake, use some common sense! It’s better to call and wake Rina up than to leave Hannah alone—”

      “I’m sorry—”

      “Jesus!”

      “Daddy, you’re going the wrong way.” She tugged on his arm and steered him to the left. “This way.”

      Quickly, they ran down the common nursery hallway, nearly bumping into Darlene. The plump nurse looked at them wide-eyed, then started marching toward Nursery J.

      “What’s wrong?”

      “Where were you?” Cindy asked.

      “Nursery B,” Darlene said defensively. “If you needed something, why didn’t you ask Marie?”

      “Because I can’t find Marie.”

      “What?” Darlene exclaimed. “Then who’s with the babies?”

      “Good question!” Decker snarled.

      “No one in there for the last hour maybe,” Cindy said.

      “That’s crazy!” Darlene said. “I passed Marie a long while back. She said she was on her way back to Nursery J.”

      “Then she didn’t show up,” Decker said.

      When they arrived at the nursery, Darlene stopped and said, “Detective, you’re going to have to wait here, because you’re not suited up.”

      “Cindy, go in and tell me Hannah’s okay.”

      “Right away.”

      Darlene faced Decker. “I’m very sorry. I don’t know how this hap—”

      “It happened because you were careless,” Decker snapped.

      “I don’t appreciate your rudeness, Detective.”

      “And I don’t appreciate hospital negligence.”

      Darlene folded her arms around her chest. “I don’t think there’s any sense in pursuing this conversation.”

      “I agree,” Decker said. “So why don’t you forget about my manners and just get back to work.”

      Red-faced and shaking, Darlene opened and closed her mouth. Then she turned and disappeared within the inner sanctum of the nursery. Decker looked down at his sides and saw his hands clenched into fists. Slowly, he uncoiled his fingers. Cindy came back a moment later. She was breathless.

      “She’s fine, Daddy. Sleeping like …” Suddenly, Cindy broke into tears. “I’m sorry.”

      Decker hugged his daughter tightly. “No, I’m sorry, Cynthia. I shouldn’t have belittled you like that. That was terrible.” He laughed nervously. “A heap of thanks for all your help, huh?”

      “But you were right,” Cindy dried her tears on his sweats. “I shouldn’t have left Hannah. I should have just called you.”

      “As long as Hannah’s okay.”

      Cindy pulled away and nodded. “She’s fine. I’ll just go back—”

      Decker pulled her back into his arms and hugged her again. “Cindy, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

      She smiled. “It’s okay, Daddy.”

      Decker said, “I’m checking Rina and Hannah out just as soon as Rina gets the final okay from her doctor. This place is a security nightmare. You better believe Rina’s doctor as well as the administration are going to be hearing from me. Some heads are going to roll.”

      “Daddy, Darlene is a single parent—”

      “I don’t care, Cynthia. If this is a typical example of her competence, it stinks!”

      “What about Marie?” Cindy said. “Isn’t she at fault, too?”

      “Cindy, as far as I’m concerned, the both of them aren’t fit to run a chicken coop!”

      Cindy broke off and whispered, “Daddy, you’re shouting.”

      Decker stopped. “Dad on the rampage, huh?”

      Calm down, Deck.

      “I’m all right, Cindy.” Decker gave her a forced smile.

      And remember to unclench your jaw.

      Sighing, Cindy hooked her arm around her father’s. “I understand your feelings. I’d be upset, too. As a matter of fact, I am upset! I was panicked, seeing all those babies and not knowing what to do. Watching Hannah has really turned into an awesome responsibility.”

      Decker digested that. “You’re right. It’s not what you’re supposed to be doing. It was just that Rina needed me very badly. But now, you and Hannah need me more. You go on home. I’ll stay with Hannah.”

      “Daddy, I didn’t mean that.”

      “I know. I just want you to go home and get some sleep, okay?”

      Cindy looked down.

      “Princess, it has nothing to do with trust. You’re as capable as I am, we both know that. We also both know that I’m not going to be able to sleep a wink until Hannah is out of here. You know how I am once I get a bug in my brain. So humor me, okay?”

      “I understand. Would you like me to look after Rina?”

      “No, I’d like you to go home and get some sleep.”

      “I can sleep on your cot, Daddy. If Rina needs something, I can get it for her. Besides, I’ve gotten to know Hannah. Maybe Rina would enjoy hearing all about her. How often she sleeps, how often she eats, how many ounces she drinks, how often she poops.”

      Decker laughed. “That’s really nice, Cindy. And yes, I think Rina would really like to hear all about Hannah.”

      “It’s her first daughter.”

      “Yeah.” Decker winked at her. “Something special about those first daughters.”

      Cindy smiled.

      Decker said, “Go bunk down in the cot. When Rina wakes up, tell her we switched places. Don’t tell her what just happened. No sense scaring her.”

      “I’ll just tell her you were giving me a sleep break.”

      “That’s

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