| Chapter Thirteen Forty Days And Counting |
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| �Daddy? What�s wrong with Wendy? Why can�t she come out of her room? Did she do something really really bad?� Sarah asked. Mark took a seat on the steps and pulled Sarah onto his lap. �No Sarah. Wendy isn�t feeling very well right now, and the doctor said Wendy needs time to heal.� Sarah looked at Mark with puzzled eyes. �Heal, Daddy?� �Yes Sarah. Something was said to her that shocked her and sometimes that can make a person not feel well. We have to give her a lot of attention right now and give her lots of hugs. Do you think you could help me with that?� Sarah nodded and smiled. �I�m just on my way up to get her for supper. The doctor says we need to get her to doing things so she can take her mind off of her hurt.� �How many days has she been in there now, Daddy?� �It�s been three days, Sarah. When the doctor examined her just a few minutes ago, he said she needed stimulation and to not let her grieve any more.� �I tried talking to her earlier, but she wouldn�t look at me. She just said she wanted to be alone.� �You were in there?� Mark asked. �I snuck in this morning while Jessica was still asleep.� �Wendy was awake then?� �Uh huh. She was sitting by the window.� Mark knew that Jessica usually got up around 6 a.m. and it was unusual for Wendy to get up that early. �What time did you go into the room? Do you know?� Sarah looked at Mark. She knew it had been earlier than she was allowed out to wander so she didn�t want to tell him. �Sarah it�s important that I know what time it was.� �If I say, it just might get me into trouble,� she replied. �Not this time sweetheart. It�s important that I know.� �Well I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I think around 2 in the morning. I looked in and she was sitting in the window. She was crying, but then she stopped when I called her name. She didn�t talk to me back so I closed the door. I peeked in on her again at, uhh I think it was around 4 or 5, and Daddy, she was still sitting in the window. She was still crying too.� Mark gave Sarah I big hug. �Thank you sweetheart for telling me what you did. For once I�m glad you were up and about and I�m glad you decided to check on your sister. Now I need you to do me a big favor and I need you to be quick about it. Go back down to Mr. Parker�s office and tell the doctor I need to see him before he leaves. Then I want you to go find Patricia for me and tell her to please come up here as quickly as she can.� �Yes, Sir,� Sarah jumped up and headed down the stairs like a little bullet. Mark turned and headed for Wendy�s room. When he opened the door, Wendy was back in the window. In her hands was the crumpled note from Ricky. �Good morning, Dad. Jessica whispered. �I asked Wendy if she was going down to eat and she said no. I asked her about a shower and a fresh change of pajamas but she said no again. I think she is going to stay just like she is until Ricky comes back home.� �No she isn�t,� he replied. Mark turned and started digging through Wendy�s closet and drawers for some clean things. Wendy paid him no mind and continued to stare out the window. Jessica decided it would be best if she left while she had the chance. When she walked out the door, Camille was sitting in the chair just outside. �I think it�s great that you really want to help and all, and I�m impressed at your dedication to my sister by sitting out here all the time, but I think this morning you should come with me.� Camille looked past Jessica and toward the stairs. Patricia, Sarah and the doctor were coming down the hall toward them. Camille stood and took hold of Jessica. �I think you�re right. Let�s go,� she replied. Patricia and the doctor heard all the opening and closing of doors and drawers just as they entered the room. �What�s going on in here?� she asked. Mark motioned for them to go into the hall. Once he closed the door, he explained to them about Wendy and staying up all night. �I�m worried about her, but I think her not sleeping is only making this worse.� �You don�t think she has slept at all?� Patricia asked. �I don�t think she has slept much at all these last few days, but I don�t know what to do.� �I have examined her, and I don�t see anything wrong with Wendy. Other than her sadness, physically she is fine. I think the best thing for her is stimulation, but I don�t recommend your doing this until she is fully rested. Let me give her something to help her sleep and tomorrow morning get her up. Get her bathed and dressed and take her outside. It�s supposed to be nice tomorrow, chilly, but nice for November. Don�t let her alone for even a minute. Make her eat something or she is going to be put in the hospital. Put her to bed around 9 and give her a sleeping pill so she can�t sit up all night long and dwell on her sadness. Hopefully, in a few days she will snap out of it. It won�t last forever.� Mark, Patricia and the doctor re-entered Wendy�s room. The doctor sat his bag down on the table to look for some sleeping pills. Mark went to the window and spoke to Wendy. �Come on Wendy. It�s time for you to get some rest.� Wendy let Mark pull her from the window and seat her on the bed. He pulled off her pajama top and replaced it with the clean one that Patricia handed him. Patricia held her bottoms and some clean underwear. Mark motioned at Patricia and she took over. �Honey, stand up and lets get you into some clean bottoms.� With her help, Wendy stood and went through the motions of removing her dirty pajama bottoms. She let Patricia slip off her dirty underwear and replace them with fresh ones. She lifted each leg again and let them slide into her clean pajama bottoms. Wendy looked around the room, but she never spoke. Mark turned her bed down as Patricia ran a brush through Wendy�s hair. �I don�t want to go to sleep,� Wendy whispered. �The doctor says it�s what you need so we will obey the doctor.� Mark said. He took hold of Wendy and she sat down on the bed. Mark propped up her pillows and guided Wendy into a somewhat laying position. Wendy started to cry. �I don�t want to sleep.� Patricia took a seat on the edge of Wendy�s bed. �I know you don�t but you need to sweetie, or you�re going to get very sick.� The doctor handed two little round pills to Patricia along with a cup of water. �See if you can�t get her to take them.� Patricia handed Mark the cup, then showed Wendy the little pills. �Honey please take these so you can feel better.� �I don�t want to. I want Ricky!� She cried. �Wendy. I want you to do as you�re told and take them.� Mark scolded. �I don�t want to sleep,� she said again barely above a whisper. Patricia took one pill and put it gently up to Wendy�s lips, but Wendy wouldn�t open her mouth. �One quick swallow and it will be all done,� she promised. Wendy shook her head no, turned her head away and closed her eyes. �I can just give her an injection,� the doctor said as he turned and went back to his bag. Wendy heard the doctor and started crying. �Nooooooooo I don�t want to sleep.� Wendy looked at Mark. �Please Daddy, I don�t want to sleep.� �I�m sorry sweetheart, but the doctor says it�s what you need, and that is what you�re going to do!� Wendy started heaving heartfelt sobs. Mark gently lifted her from the bed and pulled her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. Wendy looked up at her father, then when she glanced over to Patricia, she caught sight of the doctor with needle in hand. Wendy started kicking and crying hysterically. �No Daddy, No don�t make me sleep. I don�t want to sleep. I don�t want to sleep.� Wendy wiggled and squirmed as Patricia tried to get hold of her arm. Wendy kept flailing so that no one could get hold. Loosing his grip but not his patience, Mark re positioned her. He wrapped his arm around and held her close. He wrapped his other arm around behind her knees, then pulled them around his side. �Her bottoms!� is all Mark said. Patricia knew what he meant and so did the doctor. Patricia grabbed the waistband of Wendy�s pajamas and pulled them down just enough so two little cheeks showed. �Nooooooo, �Wendy wailed. The doctor swiped her left cheek quickly, then stuck Wendy with the needle. �Nooooohooohoooo,� wendy screemed. When the doctor finished giving Wendy the injection, Patricia pulled her pajama pants back up. Wendy lay in her father�s arms and cried. Patricia and the doctor quietly left the room. Wendy lay sobbing in her fathers arms. �Why did you let him do that?� Wendy asked. �I don�t want to sleep.� Mark held Wendy close to his chest and rocked her back and forth. �Just hush now and close your eyes.� Wendy did as her father said and she closed her eyes tight. �Please stay with me,� she whispered. �I don�t want to be alone.� Mark leaned down and kissed Wendy on the forehead. �I will stay with you as long as you want me to.� Mark continued to rock and cradle Wendy. In less than fifteen minutes, Mark tucked his sleeping child into bed. �Will you please stay with her?� he asked Patricia when he left the room. �I need to go get Jacob today. I was suppose to be there already, and I�m so late. I should be back in an hour or so.� Patricia and Mark walked down the hall together. �Go. The doctor said she would sleep most of the day. He left me this prescription and said to give her one each night for the next few nights so we won�t have this problem again. He said she needs to sleep. He said if she fights you on it, you know how to give injections, so he left this bottle just in case you needed it.� Mark turned and looked at Patricia when they reached the front door of the school. �Patricia I don�t know what I would do without you. We make a great set of parents.� Mark grabbed Patricia, kissed her on the cheek then took off down the steps. Patricia stood in the doorway of the school and smiled. . Jacob was so happy to see Mark, that when the man from the detention center opened the door to the outside, Jacob threw his arms around Mark. �Well I�ve missed you too son. How are Nathan, David and Ricky?� �Well, Nathan stays to himself most of the time. I haven�t gotten to see Ricky or David except at meals. They are in a different part than me and they have a different room for school too. Nathan did tell me he hates detention and he isn�t ever going back once he gets out.� �Well that is good to hear, and I hope young man, that you feel the same.� �I�ve learned my lesson,� Jacob replied. It was just a little after five, when Mark made another visit to check on Wendy. He had been up several times as well as had Patricia, but Wendy was still asleep. When Mark peeked in the room, Wendy was sitting in the window staring out into the courtyard. Mark pulled the door ajar and turned to Camille. She had taken up residence in a chair just outside Wendy�s door. �Camille, run quick and find Patricia. Tell her I need her to help me.� �Yes sir.� Camille sat her book down on the chair and ran downstairs. Since her punishment, Camille had made it a point to watch out for Wendy, so she sat in the chair every afternoon until bedtime. Mark walked across the room and took a seat in the window next to Wendy. �Good Evening sweetheart. How are you feeling?� �I�m feeling not so tired Daddy. I guess I needed to sleep after all.� �Well you are up just in time for supper. I think you should go get bathed, change into your uniform, and then we will go down to supper together.� �I�m not leaving my room until Ricky comes back!� �Then you�re going to miss an awful lot because he won�t be coming home until the first week in January.� Wendy turned and looked at Mark. �Forty days is after Christmas isn�t it. How could that dumb Judge be so heartless?� A light knock came and then the door opened. Patricia peeked in. When she saw Mark and Wendy sitting and talking, she smiled and entered the room. �Good Evening, sweetie.� Patricia reached over and hugged Wendy. �Hi Mama,� she whispered into Patricia ear. Patricia kissed Wendy on the cheek. �I�m happy to hear you talking and not so sleepy.� �We were just talking about getting ready for supper,� Mark reminded. Wendy turned from the window. �I�m not leaving this room until Ricky comes back home.� �Are you grounding yourself?� Patricia asked. �I don�t want to be out there and I won�t be happy until he comes back.� �Ok, I�ve heard all I want to hear on this subject.� Mark stood and went to Wendy�s closet. He dug through and pulled out one of her Navy blue jumpers and a white blouse to match. He tossed them onto Wendy�s bed. He went to her drawers and pulled out underclothes and tossed them onto the bed as well. Wendy watched, but didn�t move. Mark looked through her stockings, found a white pair and tossed them onto the bed. Mark went to the window and lifted Wendy�s chin. �You cannot and you will not hide away in this room and pout until Ricky comes home. You haven�t even asked about your brothers and I think that is selfish young lady! Supper is in forty-five minutes and when I come back upstairs, I want you bathed, dressed and ready to go. Do you understand me young lady?� �I don�t want to!� Wendy replied. �You�re about to take a trip across my knee young lady!� Patricia reached for Mark�s arm. �Mark, let me talk to her.� Mark looked at Wendy. Her face was sullen but defiant. Though he was happy she was feeling well enough to fight with him, he hoped she would do as he asked because he didn�t really want to spank her. �I will be back in a few minutes and I expect to see you out of that window.� Mark turned and left the room. When he returned ten minutes later, Patricia and Wendy were both gone. Mark peeked out the door and looked at Camille. �Patricia took her in to take a bath.� Mark smiled and held out his arm. �Would you care to join me for supper?� Camille giggled. �You�re so funny sometimes.� Mark escorted Camille to the dining hall. Mark made his rounds and talked to his children, then headed back upstairs to Wendy and Patricia. When Mark entered the room, Wendy had on her blouse, and stockings. Her jumper still lay on the bed. Patricia was brushing Wendy�s hair. When she finished, Patricia helped Wendy with her jumper. �Well shall we go eat?� Wendy looked at Patricia, then back to Mark. �Daddy, I took a bath and got dressed, but I don�t want to go down there. I want to eat in my room tonight.� Mark realized that progress had been made and he needed to meet her half way. He pulled her close and held her tight. �I love you, and I don�t think it�s good for you to hide up here. Tonight I will let you, but you have to go down and get it yourself.� Wendy sat down on her bed and reached for her shoes. �Don�t let anyone ask me stuff because I don�t want to talk to anyone.� Wendy walked down with Mark and Patricia. She stood in the hall and waited for the line to get short. She grabbed her food and headed back to her room as quickly as she could. When she finished eating, she took her tray back down, then ran to her room. She didn�t look at or talk to anyone. Just before bed, Jessica returned to her room. Wendy had put on pajamas and was sitting in the window again. Before she could speak, Mark entered the room. He saw Wendy seated in the window. He immediately went to her, took hold of her hand and pulled her from the window. �It�s time for you to take your medication and crawl into bed.� Mark had a glass of water and the two tiny pills that would help Wendy sleep. �I can get to sleep without them tonight,� she said. �Do you need to go down the hall?� �No sir, I just did that.� Mark pulled back the covers on Wendy�s bed. �Crawl in then,� he ordered. Wendy crawled in and let her head rest on her pillow. Mark held out the glass of water and the two tiny pills. �I don�t need those. I can sleep by myself Dad, I promise.� Mark raised his brow, then lowered it. �Very well. I trust that you will get some sleep. No getting up and reading. No sitting in the window either. I want you to stay in this bed, close your eyes and get to sleep.� Wendy nodded. She closed her eyes and snuggled down under the covers. Mark tucked the covers in around her and kissed her on the top of her head. He then hugged Jessica and headed for the door. �Wendy?� �Yes Daddy?� �I�m happy you ate something tonight and I�m happy you�re sleeping, but I�m going to check on you tonight and if you�re not in bed sleeping you�re going to be in trouble. I don�t want to see that bottom out of bed. Do you understand me?� Wendy nodded. �If I find you up in the middle of the night, I�m going to put you over my knee and give you a shot. You won�t have the choice of taking the pills so are you sure you don�t want them now?� �I don�t need them.� �Goodnight, then.� Mark made his rounds through the girl�s dorm. He tucked in the girls and read two bedtime stories to Nadia and Sarah, then tucked them in. When he walked by, he peeked in on Wendy. She was lying quietly in her bed but Mark knew she wasn�t asleep yet. He headed to the boys dorm and said goodnight to them. He spent a few minutes with Jacob, then headed to the parent room. Mark and Patricia watched L.A Law, then the news. When it was over, Mark headed for his own bed. As he passed through the cafeteria he stopped and looked out. The moon was full and as Mark�s eyes scanned the old building, they stopped at Wendy�s window. He hoped all would be ok with her, and soon. As he turned away, he thought he caught a glimpse of something. He went closer to the window and stared up. An outline of a child could be seen in the window of Wendy�s room. Mark grew angry. He went the nurse�s room and took out the medication that the doctor had left. He filled a syringe, grabbed some alcohol and a piece of cotton, then headed upstairs. When he opened Wendy�s door, she jumped. �Daddy no!� she cried. Wendy leaned toward the glass, but it didn�t matter to Mark what she pleaded for. �Come here!� he ordered. Wendy stood, then jumped from the window to her bed. She bounced on her bottom and threw her feet under her covers. �I�ll go to sleep right now!� she cried. �You bet you will!� Mark pulled the covers away, sat down and pulled Wendy across his knee. With head hanging toward the floor and feet resting on her pillow, Wendy grabbed for her pajama bottoms, but Mark smacked her hands away. She knew better than to put them back again. Mark reached for the waistband and pulled them down. Wendy wiggled and kicked a little. �I told you if I caught you up, you would get a shot!� With feet kicking her pillow in protest, Wendy cried. �Daddy pleaseeeee.� �You hold still now!� he ordered. Wendy continued to whine but she stopped kicking. She knew she was going to get it so she had best hold still. Mark dabbed some alcohol on the cotton and swiped it across her left cheek. Not thinking, Wendy threw her hand back. Mark gave Wendy a quick smack to her other cheek. �Owww.� �Move your hand!� Wendy obeyed. Jessica was awake now, but she chose to lie very still. Mark swiped her left cheek again. He placed his hand on her hip and held her tight, then Mark stuck the needle in. �Oww oww owww,� Wendy yelped. When all the sleeping medication was gone, Mark pulled the needle out and sat it on the bed behind him. He picked up his hand and gave Wendy a quick smack, then another. �Owwww,� Wendy cried. �I know you haven�t been feeling well, but that doesn�t give you reason to disobey what I tell you.� Mark gave Wendy another quick smack right over the spot where she had gotten her shot. �Owwww, Daddyy don�t smack me there,� she cried. �I think that is exactly what you need.� Mark picked up his hand again and applied five sharp spanks right on top of Wendy�s shot spot. �Owwwweeeeee,� Wendy cried. �I�m sorry.� Mark pulled up her pajama bottoms then helped Wendy to her feet. �I love you Sweetie, and I only want you to get better. You need to sleep and you need to eat. Tomorrow we will try again, but for now it�s time for bed.� Wendy didn�t answer. She wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged her dad. Mark pulled her covers down and pointed. Wendy crawled into her bed and lay on her side. Mark pulled her covers up and tucked her in. �Close your eyes,� he ordered. Wendy obeyed. Mark picked up the shot and left the room. Wendy turned on her side and stared at Jessica. Tears ran down her cheeks as she reached in through the back of her pajamas and rubbed her bottom. �Wendy I know you�re sad and you miss Ricky, but you have to snap out of it, and I mean soon. Everyone misses you.� �I�m sorry,� Wendy whispered. She closed her eyes and wondered if Ricky was thinking about her too. Wendy didn�t want to feel so sad but she just couldn�t help herself. She opened her eyes but the room seemed fuzzy. She hated the way the shots made her groggy. She felt funny all over. Soon she couldn�t fight the medication any longer and she drifted off to sleep. |