It was as if they just gave up on their babies, even though they were still living.
So, I made it a priority to help organize the walk-a-thon and raise money so these kids could have a good ‘home.’ They could play games and enjoy their lives, for however long as they would grace this earth.
“Nothing is ‘to me.’ I’m just happy for you. I know you haven’t seen, or been, with anyone since Reggie. I know how it’s affected your life. Not to mention having that crazy bitch always up your ass.” She shook her head. “No, honey. I’m just seriously fucking happy.”
I winked at her. “Bennett’s a way better man than Reggie. I can tell you that with only a few encounters with him. And the man’s phenomenal in bed.”
Somebody behind me gasped, and I turned to find a woman around my height with long blonde hair up in a high ponytail at the top of her head.
The same woman who’d been in the exam room with her brother.
Then there was the man beside her. The same one that’d just left my bed only hours before.
The combination of the grin and his laughter was lethal and I barely refrained from pouring the pitcher of Kool-Aid over my head to cool myself down from all the sexual vibes pouring off of him.
“Hey, Len,” he said laughingly. “Melissa.”
He nodded his head at Melissa who, for her part, refrained from saying anything obnoxious that usually poured out of her mouth when she was nervous.
“Bennett,” she said. “It’s good to see you again.”
Bennett nodded. “This is my sister, Payton. I’m not really sure if you were introduced the other day when I was getting stitches. She’s a nurse on the OB floor, and I thought she’d like it here.”
I grinned. “Thank you, Payton. That’s very kind of you to come. We can use all the help we can get.”
“How about you take them for a tour, and I’ll finish pouring the drinks?” Melissa said kindly.
I studied her, making sure she was indeed comfortable with me doing that, and smiled full out at her. “Thanks, Melly. I’ll take them now.”
I headed into the building with Bennett on one side of me and Payton on the other, explaining what we did at Truman Smith.
“I’m usually here twice a week. I started clinicals here while I was in school and fell in love with the kids, as well as the staff. We have over a hundred beds here, and the children range in age from four months all the way up to seventeen years,” I said as Bennett opened the door for me. “Each child has a specific reason for being here, and we try to cater to each of their individual needs.”
“Ohh,” Payton breathed, taking in the colorful paintings on the walls and pillars. “It’s beautiful.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it is. Last August, we had a couple of painters come in to paint it, and they had a new man on the team that made the murals for the kids. It started out small, but when he saw the reaction the kiddos had to the walls, he kept going until the entire place was filled to the brim with happiness.”
Payton wiped her eyes. “My little girl, Harleigh, was born premature. I can’t even imagine what would’ve happened to her if she’d had any lasting effects as some micro-premies do; but this place, wow. It’s gorgeous.”
I patted her shoulder. “You want to meet some of our patients?”
Bennett curled his fingers around my ponytail and gave it a small tug before dropping it and saying, “Please.”
“Starla!” I said, calling to the nurse manager in the middle of the station. “Do you need anything? I’m going to show these two around.”
Starla took in the two people on either side of me, and shook her head, studying us closely. “No, honey. But Paulie could use a visitor if you want to go say hi.”
I sighed. “Paulie’s one of our littlest residents. He was born a normal baby, but his family failed to strap him into his car seat properly when he was still an infant, and they crashed the car. Paulie was thrown from the car and suffered quite a bit of head trauma in the process. He’s had extensive swelling on his brain, and they don’t expect him to ever live a normal life again. Now, he’s here with us.”
As I walked them around to a few of the rooms, I was humbled by how good the two of them were with the kids.
Truman Smith was a very hard place to stomach at times, but they did wonderfully with them all.
They were truly good people and I knew that the residents of Truman Smith would forever have a friend in the two of them.
“Okay, ladies!” Starla called. “It’s time for our moveable kiddos to go for a walk!”
Starla clapped excitedly, and I couldn’t help the excitement I felt.
I grabbed onto Bennett’s hand, and smiled at him while jabbering lightly.
“This is where I needed your help!” I decreed. “I’ll help you get Paulie into his chair and you can push him, is that all right?”
He nodded, his dark, fathomless eyes taking in everything as he agreed. “Yeah, baby. I’ll do that. I have a couple more hands, though, if you need them.”
I raised my brow at him. “What? Where?”
He turned and pointed towards the door, and that’s when I saw all of the women I’d met just yesterday, and their husbands, standing at the door looking quite lost.
I gasped.
“Oh, the kids will be so happy!” I breathed.
He winked. “Anything for the kiddos. I’m here if you ever need me.”
And, somehow, I believed him.
He had a baby of his own.
He knew what could happen. He knew that these kids could’ve just as easily been his own.
And I admired him for that.
Many parents didn’t think that way.
And it reinforced the decision that I would continue to see him.
He was a good man.***He was the devil!
Bennett was a horrible, no good, very bad person.