The Patron Saint of Butterflies(41)

“She’s trying to leave!” the nurse with the braces yells frantically. “I’ve been trying to explain things to her, but she won’t listen!”

Agnes and I stay close to Nana Pete as she shifts Benny in her arms. She beckons Dr. Pannetta out of earshot, and moves close to the opposite wall. Agnes and I follow.

“I do appreciate all you’ve done, fixing my grandson’s hand. I’m sure you saved his life and I will never be able to tell you what that means to me.” She takes a deep breath. “But please don’t prevent us from leaving now. I know the whole situation seems pretty bizarre, but we really do have to get moving.” She nods toward the nurses’ station on her left. “They have all my forwarding information. You can just send me the bill.”

Dr. Pannetta gives her a quick, tight smile. “This is a hospital, ma’am, not a jail. And we’re not wardens. You’re free to come and go at your discretion. I do have to warn you, however, that considering the rather—” He breaks off, upending his palms. “Well, to use your word—bizarre—circumstances in this case, we’re under a legal obligation to report the situation to Children’s Services.”


My stomach plummets when he says these words. I’m not sure what they are or what they do, but nothing about the words Children’s Services sounds good. We’ve got to get out of here now or we’ll all end up separated, placed in different homes. Maybe for good.

Nana Pete nods. “Yes, of course. I understand. And I appreciate your concern. But we really do have to go.”

Dr. Pannetta touches the edges of his beard with two fingers, as if deliberating this last statement, and then glances over at the nurses. The one with the braces nods. “Actually, I believe someone from Children’s Services has already been called,” he says, glancing down at the wide silver watch on his wrist. “They should be here in less than an hour, tops. Why don’t you wait until they come? They’ll ask you and the children some questions and when they’re done, I’ll sign you out.” He shrugs lightly. “Then you can leave. No big deal.”

I hold my breath, count to ten.

“I’m sorry,” Nana Pete says, turning away. “But we don’t have time to wait. We have to go now. Come on, girls.”

Dr. Pannetta reaches out and grabs her arm. “Just a minute, please!”

Nana Pete looks down at his hand. “I thought you said you weren’t a warden.”

“Yes.” Dr. Pannetta’s voice is tight, clipped, as he releases her arm again. He studies Nana Pete for a moment and then holds up his hand. “If you’ll just wait two minutes, I will give you Benny’s antibiotics.”

Nana Pete’s face turns white. “Oh. Well. Yes. Of course.”

We watch tentatively as Dr. Pannetta strides over to the nurses’ station, scribbles something inside a chart, and fills a small plastic bag with three or four bottles of pills. Handing the bag to Nana Pete, he takes Benny gently out of her arms and leads us down the hall.

“I had no choice but to sign you out AMA,” he says. “Against medical advice. That’s to cover our end of things. And I have to warn you it may not work to your advantage if anyone comes around later, asking questions.” He shifts Benny in his arms. “This little guy’s going to be just fine, as long as you make sure to give him his medicine regularly and bring him to someone professional to check his progress in a few days. A week at the most.”

“Thank you,” Nana Pete whispers. “I’ll make sure to do that.”

By now we are at the front entrance, a few feet away from the wall of sliding-glass doors. The Life Saver lady looks up from behind the information desk. She smiles at me and I smile back.

Dr. Pannetta hands Benny back to Nana Pete. “You take good care of him now,” he says. “I worked hard on those fingers.”

Nana Pete nods. “I promise I will.”

Dr. Pannetta looks over at Agnes and me. “And you make sure his hand doesn’t get stuck in any more doors, okay?” We nod. He walks toward the rubber mat in front of the glass doors. Agnes jumps back a little as they slide open.

“It’s okay, Ags,” I say, grabbing her hand. “They’re just automatic doors. They won’t hurt you.” But I have to pull her to get her all the way through. She keeps her hands up close to her mouth and walks on leaden feet. When we get outside, I glance back once. Dr. Pannetta is resting his arm on the front of the information desk, watching us. The Life Saver lady’s face is level with his elbow. I wave good-bye. The two of them raise their hands briefly in my direction, their faces clouded with bewilderment.

Agnes gets a little spooked out again when we reach the Queen Mary.

“Oh,” she says. “Oh, I can’t. I can’t. We’re going to burn in hell for this. Please let’s go back. Please.”

“Get in, Mouse,” Nana Pete says. Her voice is stern and sharp. “Right now.”

Agnes gives her a blank stare and then gets in the back, biting the inside of her cheek. We get Benny arranged carefully on her lap and then Nana Pete peels out of the hospital parking lot. The next thing I know, the Queen Mary is flying along a road called Route 81 South, going so fast that the trees seem to blur. I don’t say anything, but I get the feeling that we’re not in Connecticut anymore.