At Last (The Idle Point, Maine Stories)(94)
"I've missed you too." You're the other half of my heart. You always will be. She whispered a silent prayer then pushed forward. "I want to tell you why—"
Sophie's scream shattered the mood.
They were at her side seconds later. Sophie threw herself against Noah, sobbing wildly. A small gull, horribly tangled in fishing line, lay dying on the beach. A barbed hook was embedded in the side of his neck. He had lost a great deal of blood; it puddled beneath him on the hard sand. Gracie knew instantly that it was a lost cause and she shook her head at Noah when Sophie wasn't looking.
"It's okay, Soph." He held her close while she cried. "Gracie is an animal doctor. She knows what to do."
Gracie did indeed know what to do but it wasn't something she would tell the child. Sophie had dealt with enough of life's ugliness. She wasn't about to visit any more of it on her.
"He's hurt!" Sophie cried, turning toward Gracie. "Make it stop hurting him, Gracie! Make it stop!"
It would only be a matter of a few minutes. Gracie could tell by the gull's shallow breathing, the utter lack of fear at human contact. She was about to shrug off her coat and wrap the bird in its folds when Noah offered up his jacket instead. She thanked him then motioned for him to divert Sophie's attention while she quickly wrapped the dying bird in his jacket.
"What are you going to do?" Sophie asked, keeping her face pressed tightly against her father's shoulder.
"I'm going to keep him comfortable," Gracie said, walking the fine line of truth and falsehood.
"You'll make it stop hurting him?"
"Yes," Gracie said. "I promise you I will."
#
Sophie wanted to follow Gracie around back to find Doctor Jim but Noah wouldn't let her.
"You're cold and wet," he said to his daughter. "Let's go upstairs and get warm first."
He should have known the quiet afternoon was too good to be true. Her crying about the injured seagull suddenly turned into a mini-temper tantrum. The tantrum fell short of kicking and biting but it wasn't a whole lot of fun for either one of them. Sophie was crying so hard she could hardly breathe by the time he got her upstairs to her room. So much for progress. Every time Noah felt like he'd gotten a handle on fatherhood, he hit another speed bump.
"Take off your clothes," he told Sophie, "and put on your robe while I start a bath for you."
"I don't want to take a bath."
"A nice warm bubble bath will make you feel better."
"I don't want to feel better."
"I don't want you to catch cold, Soph."
She made a run for it. He managed to catch her at the top of the staircase. He tucked her under his arm and carried her back to her room.
"I want to help the bird, Papa," she said, struggling against his efforts to remove her wet clothes. "I have to find Gracie and help her."
"Gracie is an animal doctor," he reminded Sophie, "and so is Doctor Jim. They'll make sure the bird doesn't hurt anymore."
"But I am the one who found him. He'll be looking for me."
"He's being cared for, Sophie. I'll bet Gracie will be up here by the time you finish your bath and put on your nightgown." How did you draw the line between the painful truth and a comforting lie?
Sophie didn't seem convinced but most of the fight drained out of her. He wasn't above taking advantage of that fact.
#
"There was nothing we could have done, Gracie." Doctor Jim put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a swift hug. "He didn't have a chance."
"I know that," Gracie said. "I know all about the food chain and the ways of nature. Believe me, I've dealt with that and more down in New York." She knew the difference between a lost cause and convenience. In fact, knowing that had cost her her position at the hospital where she'd worked. "It was the look in Sophie's eyes..."
"The little one's been through a lot," he said. "It's natural you'd want to protect her."
"She's not mine," Gracie said. "I don't know how Noah wants to handle this." Every parent treated the topic of death in a different way. She only knew she didn't want to lie to Sophie.