A Father in the Making. Carolyne Aarsen

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      Chapter Three

      “So you’re saying he can’t talk because of the trauma he experienced?” Mia rubbed her index finger over her chin in a nervous gesture. Nico lay on the hospital bed, looking small and helpless, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. His brown hair was tangled and messy and his eyes red and bloodshot from the smoke.

      “Physically, he’s fine. For that we can be thankful.” Dr. Brouwer looked over at Shannon, the Emergency Department nurse, who was also his wife. “Do you mind watching Nico for a moment?”

      Shannon nodded, then gave Mia a comforting pat on her shoulder.

      As Mia followed Dr. Brouwer out of the cubicle she shot another quick look at her son, but Nico kept looking up as if trying to find something on the ceiling.

      As Ben Brouwer closed the door of an empty examining room behind them, he gave her a tentative smile that made her even more wary. “We’ve done all we can for Nico,” he said, folding his arms and resting his hips against the door behind him. “The fact that he’s not talking is not connected to anything physical. It’s often called Selective Mutism. Sometimes that term applies to shy children, children who will speak at home, but not in public, or in Nico’s case, children who won’t speak after a stressful trauma. A counselor can properly diagnose this.”

      “So he might not talk again?”

      “The mutism is generally temporary, but because it’s psychological rather than physical we have no way of knowing how long it will last.”

      “So why is Josh okay?”

      “Each child is different. Stress manifests differently in them. It might be Nico’s way of controlling a world that, a few moments ago, fell apart for him in a dramatic and traumatic way. I would highly recommend seeing a counselor. I can set up an appointment with a Dr. Schuler in Cranbrook if you want.”

      Mia nodded. “Please. I want Nico to get help as soon as possible. And what do I do for him until then?”

      “Give him peace and quiet. Return as much as possible to some type of routine. And don’t pressure him to speak.”

      Peace and quiet. Mia could do with some peace herself, she thought, rubbing her chin again.

      “Do you and your children have a place to stay?” Dr. Brouwer continued, his deep voice soothing. A good doctor’s voice, Mia thought. “I understand from the paramedics that your apartment is unlivable.”

      She and her children had no place to return to. They had nothing but what they wore.

      “Evangeline and Denny have offered us a place on the ranch,” she managed to say.

      But she wasn’t sure she wanted to stay there. Nate created emotions a mother of four children had no right to feel. Emotions she didn’t dare let in her life again.

      “I suggest you take the offer. Moving Nico away from town and away from the physical reminder of what he has just been through would be a good solution.”

      Mia massaged her forehead, the headache that had hovered at the back of her eyes all day now increasing. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and retreat from thinking and planning.

      Only her bed was probably a charred hulk.

      Please, Lord, help me not to cry. Help me to focus on Nico. Please be with my little boy. Help me to get through all of this.

      “I don’t have a choice,” she said quietly, her voice trembling in spite of her prayer. She waited a moment to compose herself then looked up at Dr. Brouwer. “Thanks so much for your time and your care. How is Jeff Deptuck?”

      “He’s okay. Some smoke inhalation but he’ll be fine. Angie is with him now.”

      In spite of the circumstances Mia had to smile. Jeff had had a crush on Angie from the moment he met her. Every book club meeting he would alternately tease or flirt with her and for the most part, she seemed oblivious.

      Guess it took rescuing her from a burning building to finally get her to notice him.

      Just then another one of the ED nurses came to the doorway asking for him, and Dr. Brouwer pushed away from the examining room table. “Bring Nico and Josh to the office next week for a follow-up. Hopefully Nico will be back to his usual, chatty four-year-old self by then.”

      “I hope so,” Mia replied. “Thanks again for all your help.”

      He laid a light hand on her shoulder. “You take care of yourself, as well, okay?”

      Her only reply was a quick nod and then she followed him out of the room and back to the cubicle where Nico now sat, buttoning up his shirt. He looked up at her, then back down, his face still showing no expression.

      “He told me he wanted to do it himself,” Shannon said, giving Mia a quick smile.

      “He talked to you?”

      Shannon looked over at Nate, her expression holding a tinge of sadness. “He got his point across.”

      Mia’s heart folded in on itself and she walked over to her boy, who looked so small on the large bed, and gave him a tight hug. “I love you, Nico,” she murmured, resting her chin on his head. He still smelled like smoke. He needed a bath.

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