“…Eyeballs…” Book III: 37. The Home Visit
Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?
By Kate Chamberlin
As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they’re all the warp and woof of what goes into the tapestry of life we call Family. The daily living skills and techniques demonstrated by the fictional characters in these stories are valid, tried and true.
Book III: Wife and Mother
#33. The Wedding
#34. The Honeymoon: Lake Pocotopaug
#35. The Honeymoon: Freedom Trail
#36. The Baby Can’t Go Home
#37. The Home Visit
One of the many boxes the Social Worker wanted to check into, had to do with where the new-born would live…IF he was allowed to leave the hospital with his blind mother. The SW was prompt for her appointment with Ken in the modest split-level home.
“How can newlyweds afford a home like this?” she asked.
Ken saw her look around and wanted to tell her that wasn’t any of her business, but, knew it wouldn’t do any good to alienate the Social Worker. “Grace and I waited to get married until after we graduated from college and had jobs. She’s a Natural Sciences teacher and I’m a Professor at the Eastman School of Music.”
“Grace won’t be working for a while, will she? How will you keep up payments on your bills?” she pried.
“Grace and I agreed from the beginning that we’d live on my salary. We’ve put her salary into savings. Now, aren’t you here to see where William will sleep?”
Ken showed her into the light, airy corner room they had prepared for William. Pale blue walls coordinated with the blue Tyler-plaid drapes. The wooden crib had a firm mattress made up with white linen sheets and a blue quilt that matched the ruffle surrounding the mattress. The vertical spindles were close enough so William couldn’t get his head through them. The change table, was a safety rail atop a sturdy dresser with drawers for William’s clothes where Grace had everything close at hand, but, not close enough for a curious child to grab. A lidded diaper pail stood ready on the floor next to the change table. The comfortable rocking chair’s arms seemed poised to embrace a nursing mother and her babe. The day-bed sported a variety of stuffed Teddy Bears, Snoopy Dogs, and cuddly kittens, not to mention a Dapper Dan waiting patiently to teach his boy how to zip his coat, button his shirt, snap his pants, and tie his shoes.
The SW wrote something on her clipboard, and actually said, “Thank you.” as she left.
“I don’t know what she thought,” Ken said that evening when he visited Grace. “She didn’t say much of anything.”
“I’m taking William down to the nursery,” the maternity suite nurse said as she bustled in to Grace’s room on her whispering, crepe-soled shoes.
Ken saw Grace’s face go pale and he put his hands over her clenched fist before she could say anything.
“Are you two ready for your complimentary steak and sparkling grape juice dinner? The candles are already lit. I’ll take William into the nursery so you can enjoy your last quiet, romantic dinner together.” She winked at them. A young candy-striper ushered Grace and Ken to the dining room.
It was a sure sign that William would be going home with them in the morning. They’d won the war.