Sunny's Love - By Anna Kristell
Chapter One
It was late afternoon in the small Mississippi river town of Clinton, Iowa and as the last patient of the day walked out the door of Dr. Thomas Rose’s office, a tired Sunny Drake quickly ran to the door to lock up for the evening. But before she could get the task accomplished, a man rushed in with a small child in his arms.
“My son was just injured, is the doctor still in?” The man was visibly upset as he cradled the small boy whose forehead sported a blood-soaked bandage.
“Yes, sir, follow me to the exam room. We’ll get this little guy taken care of. What happened?” Sunny asked as she removed the bandage gingerly. Tears were rolling down the chubby cheeks of the boy, but he allowed her to look at his injury.
“He was playing at the playground and fell off the swings. His nanny should have been watching him instead of talking on the phone.” The child’s father was visibly agitated with the nanny.
“Let me just get it cleaned up so the doctor can get a better look at it.” She smiled down at the little boy. Turning to his father, she said, “I’ll need for you to fill out some forms while we’re waiting for the doctor.”
“Whatever, just see to my son.” Sunny hurriedly cleaned the nasty gash. Realizing it would need sutures, she prepared everything for the procedure before leaving the room to summon Dr. Rose.
When she returned and handed the man the necessary paperwork, he was whispering to the little boy. As he rocked the child he said, “It’s all right, Bricey, Daddy’s here. You can be a big boy for the doctor. Daddy’s right here with you, every step of the way.”
The boy had stopped whimpering, seemingly content to be in his father’s strong arms. Sunny’s heart leapt at such a display of fatherly love. What a lucky woman his wife must be.
“Can you set him on the table…?” Sunny pointed to the exam table in the room while glancing at the chart for a name.
“Dupont, Chase Dupont. And this little trouper is Brice.” Mr. Dupont stood up and walked to the table, gently putting his son down. The boy clung to his father, but after some reassuring words were whispered, he agreed to stay put.
“Well, Brice, you certainly are a little trouper. I’ll have to see if we can find some stickers for you.” Sunny patted a chubby clenched fist. “Relax, sweetheart, your daddy is right here and so am I. My name’s Sunny.”
Dr. Rose entered the room. “What have we here, young man? It looks like you might have had a run in with a swing or a slide and you didn’t come out the winner.”
The boy giggled as his father explained what had happened. “I’m in town on business. My son was at the playground with his nanny. She was apparently not watching him as she should have been. Brice fell out of the swing and cut his head.”
“I see. Well let’s take a look. I won’t hurt you, Brice. I just want to have a look.” The kindly doctor carefully examined the wound. Dr. Rose was an old-fashioned family practitioner having been in practice for several years.
“Is it bad?”
“He’ll need some stitches, but he’ll be fine. Sunny, could you help me? Sheila’s already gone.”
“Yes, Dr. Rose. I think I have everything ready for you.”
“Excellent. Mr. Dupont, if you’ll stand right over here you’ll be out of the way, but still close enough to hold your son’s hand for moral support.”
Sunny assisted the doctor, smiling at the father and son duo while the doctor expertly stitched the child’s head. The small boy smiled up at her with tears rolling down his little boy cheeks once again. What a little charmer, she thought as she reached down and patted the hand his father wasn’t holding.
“Take him to your family doctor in a few weeks to have the sutures removed. There shouldn’t be much of a scar, just a small line. It shouldn’t be very noticeable at all.”
“Thank you so much. With Brice’s mother gone, I try my best, but sometimes the children just have to be in the care of someone else. It’s never the same as a mother.”
“Well, I’d say you’re doing a good job. Brice is a lucky little boy.”
Mr. Dupont walked out to the reception desk, where Sunny made a copy of his insurance card. As she handed it back to him, he smiled at her. She hadn’t noticed