when me mam comes to visit?’
The nurse plucked Billy carefully from his bed and carried him down the ward beside the two girls, but turned left into the play area, chatting busily to Billy as Kathy, Jane and Tommy slipped out of the swing doors and back on to the corridor. They hurried along since Kathy was mortally afraid of pursuit; whatever would she do if Billy chased after her? But they reached the hall without incident and Jane plonked Tommy back into the pram with a sigh of relief. ‘Wharra great elephant you are,’ she said, seizing the pram handle. ‘I’m awful sorry about Billy, queen, but it’s like I said, he’s in the best place. The doctors and nurses all know him and I’m sure they’ll make him better in no time. Now what should we do? Do you want to go straight round to Dorothy’s Tearooms and tell your mam your Billy’s in hospital or do you want to get the messages?’
‘We’ll get the messages first, then I’ll go home and make the tea so’s Mam can come in to a hot meal. After that, I suppose I’d better go to the tearooms,’ Kathy said, after some thought. ‘Mam doesn’t usually get home until quite late and she mustn’t miss visiting, but there’s no point in worrying her before I have to. Which shop is first on your list?’
The day that Billy returned from hospital, Kathy and her mother sat up late, mulling over what they should do. As soon as Mrs Kelling had returned from visiting Billy on that first evening, she had gone straight round to Mrs Hughes. She had asked the older woman, bluntly, just why she was no longer willing to child mind Billy and after some initial hesitation Mrs Hughes had admitted that Billy had been having ‘queer turns’. Though these had not lasted long and could not, she had said firmly, be described as fits, they had worried her. ‘I’ve got six little ones in me house from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon and it worried me that someone might give young Billy a whack when I weren’t lookin’,’ she confessed. ‘I have me niece, Emmie, to give me a hand but, as you know, she’s simple. Oh, she loves the kids – Billy’s a real favourite wi’ Emmie – but she ain’t reliable when a kid comes over queer. So I thought it best to say I’d not have him no more.’
‘Just what do you mean by “queer turns”?’ Mrs Kelling had asked suspiciously. ‘He never had queer turns at home, not that Kathy and I can recall.’
‘Well, that’s just it. He never threw himself about or screamed, he’d just sit starin’ at the wall with his mouth open, dribbling down his front like a newborn babby for five or ten minutes. You could speak to him, try to give him something, pick him up even, but he wouldn’t take no manner of notice. Then he’d give a sort of shudder and be right as rain, playin’ and shoutin’ with the other kids as though nothing had happened. Which,’ she added judiciously, ‘it hadn’t, if you get my meaning.’
Mrs Kelling had known what she meant but still thought her neighbour had been dilatory in not informing her of such strange behaviour. However, it was no use blaming Mrs Hughes. The doctor had advised that it was best to keep Billy at home with his mother or sister.
‘From what we know of Billy’s condition, a fit can be sparked off by over-excitement, a quarrel or a fight with another child, or even frustration if he is denied something he badly wants,’ Dr Trelawney had said. ‘Fortunately, Mrs Kelling, your son is a healthy young animal with excellent recuperative powers. He may have no more than two or three fits a year and by the time he’s five or six he could have got over them altogether. But until then, you must learn how to deal with those fits so that Billy does not do himself – or anyone else – harm. You say Kathy is sensible and responsible but, in my opinion, Billy will need a mother’s care at least for the next twelve months.’ He had smiled very kindly at Mrs Kelling.
The nurse plucked Billy carefully from his bed and carried him down the ward beside the two girls, but turned left into the play area, chatting busily to Billy as Kathy, Jane and Tommy slipped out of the swing doors and back on to the corridor. They hurried along since Kathy was mortally afraid of pursuit; whatever would she do if Billy chased after her? But they reached the hall without incident and Jane plonked Tommy back into the pram with a sigh of relief. ‘Wharra great elephant you are,’ she said, seizing the pram handle. ‘I’m awful sorry about Billy, queen, but it’s like I said, he’s in the best place. The doctors and nurses all know him and I’m sure they’ll make him better in no time. Now what should we do? Do you want to go straight round to Dorothy’s Tearooms and tell your mam your Billy’s in hospital or do you want to get the messages?’
‘We’ll get the messages first, then I’ll go home and make the tea so’s Mam can come in to a hot meal. After that, I suppose I’d better go to the tearooms,’ Kathy said, after some thought. ‘Mam doesn’t usually get home until quite late and she mustn’t miss visiting, but there’s no point in worrying her before I have to. Which shop is first on your list?’
The day that Billy returned from hospital, Kathy and her mother sat up late, mulling over what they should do. As soon as Mrs Kelling had returned from visiting Billy on that first evening, she had gone straight round to Mrs Hughes. She had asked the older woman, bluntly, just why she was no longer willing to child mind Billy and after some initial hesitation Mrs Hughes had admitted that Billy had been having ‘queer turns’. Though these had not lasted long and could not, she had said firmly, be described as fits, they had worried her. ‘I’ve got six little ones in me house from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon and it worried me that someone might give young Billy a whack when I weren’t lookin’,’ she confessed. ‘I have me niece, Emmie, to give me a hand but, as you know, she’s simple. Oh, she loves the kids – Billy’s a real favourite wi’ Emmie – but she ain’t reliable when a kid comes over queer. So I thought it best to say I’d not have him no more.’
‘Just what do you mean by “queer turns”?’ Mrs Kelling had asked suspiciously. ‘He never had queer turns at home, not that Kathy and I can recall.’
‘Well, that’s just it. He never threw himself about or screamed, he’d just sit starin’ at the wall with his mouth open, dribbling down his front like a newborn babby for five or ten minutes. You could speak to him, try to give him something, pick him up even, but he wouldn’t take no manner of notice. Then he’d give a sort of shudder and be right as rain, playin’ and shoutin’ with the other kids as though nothing had happened. Which,’ she added judiciously, ‘it hadn’t, if you get my meaning.’
Mrs Kelling had known what she meant but still thought her neighbour had been dilatory in not informing her of such strange behaviour. However, it was no use blaming Mrs Hughes. The doctor had advised that it was best to keep Billy at home with his mother or sister.
‘From what we know of Billy’s condition, a fit can be sparked off by over-excitement, a quarrel or a fight with another child, or even frustration if he is denied something he badly wants,’ Dr Trelawney had said. ‘Fortunately, Mrs Kelling, your son is a healthy young animal with excellent recuperative powers. He may have no more than two or three fits a year and by the time he’s five or six he could have got over them altogether. But until then, you must learn how to deal with those fits so that Billy does not do himself – or anyone else – harm. You say Kathy is sensible and responsible but, in my opinion, Billy will need a mother’s care at least for the next twelve months.’ He had smiled very kindly at Mrs Kelling.
Similar Books
