Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?<\/p>\n
By Kate Chamberlin<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n
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#33. The Wedding<\/p>\n
One of the many boxes the Social\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can newlyweds afford a home like this?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
Ken saw her look around and wanted to tell her that wasn\u2019t any of her business, but, knew it wouldn\u2019t do any good to alienate the Social Worker. \u201cGrace and I waited to get married until after we graduated from college and had jobs. She\u2019s a Natural Sciences teacher and I\u2019m a Professor at the Eastman School of Music.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace won\u2019t be working for a while, will she?\u00a0 How will you keep up payments on your bills?\u201d she pried.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace and I agreed from the beginning that we\u2019d live on my salary. We\u2019ve put her salary into savings. Now, aren\u2019t you here to see where William will sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 The vertical spindles were close enough so William couldn\u2019t get his head through them. The change table, \u00a0was a safety rail atop a sturdy dresser with drawers for William\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The SW wrote something on her clipboard, and actually said, \u201cThank you.\u201d as she left.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what she thought,\u201d Ken said that evening when he visited Grace. \u201cShe didn\u2019t say much of anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m taking William down to the nursery,\u201d the maternity suite nurse said as she bustled in to Grace\u2019s room on her\u00a0 whispering, crepe-soled shoes.<\/p>\n
Ken saw Grace\u2019s face go pale and he put his hands over her clenched fist before she could say anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you two ready for your complimentary steak and sparkling grape juice dinner? The candles are already lit. I\u2019ll take William into the nursery so you can enjoy your last quiet, romantic dinner together.\u201d She winked at\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 them. A young candy-striper ushered Grace and Ken to the dining room.<\/p>\n
It was a sure sign that William would be going home with them in the morning. They\u2019d won the war.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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