NOW WILL YA LEAVE ME ALONE? part 18

NOW WILL YA LEAVE ME ALONE? Part eighteen

Max

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Mary Ellen now sat beside Max, gently stroking his head. With tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat, she whispered, “There, there, Max. You’ll be all right. We’ll take good care of you.”

Then leaning over, Mary Ellen kissed Max on the tip of his nose and in a voice only the brave but injured dog heard said, “Thank you for saving my friend.

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“Mary Ellen, get your coat! Let’s go!” Dr. Morgan shouted through the walls as he lifted his bag from his desk. With Dr. Morgan in his library and Mary Ellen in her room a few doors away, he hoped she heard his voice. In a heartbeat, he heard her feet running down the hall as she shouted, “Is Mom coming, too?”

“Yes. She’s in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on a casserole. She spoke with Tommy’s uncle and volunteered to make dinner for everyone.”

Mary Ellen looked toward the kitchen and smiled as her father took his jacket and his wife’s coat off the rack. She knew her parents overextended themselves to help her friend, and that made her extremely happy and grateful. Yet, a look of concern came on her face as a note of worry crept into her voice as she said, “Dad, last night after you bandaged Tommy, I noticed he was limping and also biting his lip and squinting as if he was trying to hide a lot of pain. Just how hurt is Tommy. Dad? Really? I just want to know. What can we do for him? What can I do to help him?”

Dr. Morgan leaned over and affectionately kissed the top of his daughter’s head and said, “Whoa, honey, slow down!”

He sat on one of the lower steps of the staircase and pulled her towards him, so they were almost eye-to-eye. He grasped both her hands and said, “Actually, he’s a lucky young man. If not for Max, his injuries would probably be much worse.”

Mary Ellen quickly interrupted, “Dad, what do you mean?”

“Okay, first of all, his left ankle and knee must stay bandaged for the next six weeks. It’s really amazing that neither was broken, as far as I could tell, but the scrapes are pretty bad and deep. The injuries will need daily cleaning, then clean bandages must be applied to cover the wounds. The sprain is painful enough to cause him to limp. He won’t agree to x-rays or further tests even when I said they wouldn’t cost him anything. Although I’m sure there isn’t any major damage to the bones, I can almost guarantee they’re badly bruised, which is just as painful as a break. If Max hadn’t tripped him, I’m positive the car would have hit him directly. I only wish the driver had stopped.”

Mary Ellen loudly gasped! “Dad,” she almost screamed, “The driver didn’t stop?” She was horrified.

“No, Mary Ellen, Tommy told me as I examined him that the driver slowed and when he saw Tommy stand, quickly drove away. I’d surely like to find out who that person is and have him arrested. It’s just like ..” His words stopped, but his mind held onto the thoughts of the accident so long ago. Like his wife, he didn’t feel quite ready to explain to his daughter why she was an only child. He looked at Mary Ellen’s confused face.

“Getting back to Tommy,” he said before she asked any questions, “I think in his excitement and shock about what happened, he never realized he’d been hurt so badly. Then, running to our house, did more damage and tear to the cartilage in his knee. I hope I’m wrong about that. Without x-rays or scans, I can’t be positive, but that’s what I suspect. When he tried not to fall on Max, he lurched his body in one direction and twisted the muscles in his back. The bruises on his left leg, hip, knee, arm, and head, along with the cuts to his leg, shoulder and head were all a result of when he hit the ground and slid on the wet cement. He should have gotten stitches for the cut to his head, but he proved you right. He sure is stubborn! After I disinfected the wounds, I carefully shaved as much hair as needed, then closed the laceration with butterfly bandages.

He shook his head in amazement as he then hugged Mary Ellen, pulled her closer for comfort, as much for himself as for her and continued, “He’ll have a headache for a few days as I suspect a mild concussion. There were large scrapes on his elbow, leg, hip, and shoulder that I also wrapped in gauze. I did find another scrape on his head, right behind his left ear, that I assume he received when his head bounced on the wet ground. That proved more difficult to bandage, but I did manage to over it with a smaller gauze pad. He’s really lucky he wasn’t hurt even more but, Mary Ellen, he’ll be very sore for quite some time.”

“Dad, you’ve seen how stubborn he is. Well, maybe not as stubborn as he is proud. He won’t want to admit he can’t take care of Max. Do you really think he’ll be able to take care of him? Or will that only make him worse? And who’ll take care of him? You know his uncle works long hours and isn’t always there to take care of Tommy. He’s pretty much on his own. I’m really worried about him, Dad.” She was almost breathless when she finished her last word.

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Thank you for reading Now Will Ya Leave Me Alone? I’m working on another segment. Please stay tuned to see what else might happen to Tommy and Mary Ellen.