Montana Hearts by Charlotte Carter Page A

front of the mirror, she slid a red ping-pong ball over the end of her nose, painted her lips and circles on her cheeks a bright red and pulled on a ridiculous orange wig covering her blond hair. A pinafore apron decorated with colorful appliqued balls and her new volunteer pin completed her costume.
    â€œYou rock, Suzy-Q,” she said, doing a little jig in front of the mirror.
    She fluffed her outrageous wig one last time before heading to the pediatric unit. Years ago she’d been a patient in a pediatric oncology ward. Leukemia had nearly felled her at the tender age of four. All those chemo and radiation treatments she’d had as a child had taken their toll, eventually weakening her heart to the point that she’d needed a new ticker.
    As she walked down the hallway toward the pediatric unit, she caught the all-too familiar institutional scent of antiseptic and floor wax that had perfumed so much of her life.
    At the nurses station, the nurse on duty stared at her a moment. A slender woman with dark hair wearing light blue scrubs, she laughed. “They told me a clown was coming, but wow! You look great. The kids will love you.”
    â€œI certainly hope so.” Sarah dug into her tote and handed Lori Tame a badge to pin on her brightly colored nurse’s jacket. In bold red letters it read MY HERO. “Hey, thanks.”
    â€œYou’re welcome.” Sarah had the greatest respect for nurses and all they did, particularly pediatric nurses. Itcould be a tough, heart-breaking job. “Anything special I need to know about your patients before I make my rounds?”
    â€œWe have eleven patients on our census this morning. If you have the time, the little boy in two-seventeen could use some extra attention. Shane’s our only cancer patient at the moment and he’s on a chemo drip. His parents both work long hours so he doesn’t get many visitors.”
    â€œI’ll make the time,” Sarah promised.
    One room at a time, she visited the children. For adolescents she demonstrated Dr. Zoom and gave them a few tips about ventriloquism. She had a ton of groaner knock-knock jokes for kids in their middle years. Younger children she gave finger puppets that she’d made, doctors with silly glasses and patients in gowns that flapped open just like the ones the children were wearing.
    When she reached room two-seventeen, she peered around the door. Her lungs constricted on painful memories of her own childhood chemo experience and her heart went out to the youngster in the bed. No more than six or seven, his bald head and face looked like a full moon, but much paler. He appeared small and fragile, vulnerable as he stared transfixed by a cartoon show on the television. An IV hooked up to his arm pumped poison into his bloodstream in the hope of curing whatever cancer afflicted the youngster before it had a chance to kill him.
    Before stepping into the room, she took a deep breath, forced her fear for the child’s future to the back of her mind and locked it there. Giving him a chance to smile,a laugh or two, could help him win his life-threatening battle.
    â€œHey, there. Somebody told me the cutest kid on the floor was in this room. Have you seen him?”
    Startled, he blinked and glanced toward Sarah. “Nuh-uh.”
    â€œYou haven’t seen him?” She gestured broadly, arms held wide, as though she were in the circus big top playing to an audience of thousands. “He’s got to be here some where.”
    â€œI don’t think so.” He spoke in a tiny, almost fearful voice, apparently unsure what to make of her.
    â€œMaybe he’s under the bed.”
    His eyes widened. He shook his head.
    Making a big deal of it, she got down on her knees to look, then quickly duck-walked to the other side of the bed and popped up, surprising the boy.
    â€œMy name’s Suzy-Q and I’m a clown. Are you sure you haven’t seen that cute kid they told