Free as a Bird (16 page)

“Nooooo!”
I yelled. “No amblance. Don't want Mabel to go to heaven in an amblance.”

“Heaven? For goodness' sake, child, what are you talking about? The ambulance will take your friend to the hospital. But first you need to tell me where she is.”

I dint knowed how to tell her where Mabel was an even if I could I still dint want no amblance. Then I could feel somebody puttin a arm round me. I looked up an sawed it was Sister Irene. I was so glad I jus hadda hug her.

“Come … come with me. Mmmmabel's sick. I'll show you.” I pulled her hand an she followed me. We ran down those big church stairs an cross the street. I was gettin tired of runnin an I think Sister Irene was too. But we dint stop — nope, not a'tall. Ran down the lane, cross the park, an finally got all the way to Mabel's stairs. Sister Irene was breathin awful hard, but she looked underneath to see if Mabel was okay.

“Oh, dear, what's happened to you, Mabel?” Mabel dint answer. “Mabel, can you hear me?” Nope, Mabel couldn't hear a'tall. But then she moaned. “It looks like she's been beaten and might have a concussion. We need to get an ambulance immediately.”

“
Noooo
, Sister Irene. Don't let the amblance take Mabel to heaven.” My heart started jumpin round inside me awful bad. “If we let the amblance take her to heaven, I won't have nobody. Please don't let the amblance take Mabel.”

Sister Irene grabbed my hands real hard an looked me straight in the eyes — jus like Grace used to if she was tellin me somethin important. “I promise — when the ambulance comes it will take Mabel straight to the hospital where she can get help for her injuries. Mabel will not go to heaven if we get help now! Do you understand?”

I dint knowed how come, but I believed Sister Irene. She told me to stay with Mabel an hold her hand. An that's jus what I did. Sister ran back to the church an called 911. A liddle while later I heard the siren comin. I got awful jittery again, but dint let go of Mabel's hand — nope, not for a second.

An jus like Sister Irene said, that amblance dint take Mabel to heaven, after all. Nope, that's cause Sister Irene an me made sure it dint. We followed it all the way to the hospital in the sister's car. That's when a nother funny thing happened — the amblance went to St. Paul's Hospital. At first I dint knowed why that name stayed in my mind. But then I membered — it was my hospital, the same one I was born at. Gramma used to say, “You came into this world on February 19, 1957, at St. Paul's Hospital. And it was one of the happiest days of my life.” Yup, she really used to say that — over an over.

“Mabel is being treated right now, dear,” said Sister Irene after talkin to the doctor. “Besides having a concussion and cuts, she has a mild case of pneumonia. The doctor said it was fortunate you found her when you did. You're a hero!”

I dint knowed why she was callin me that. I weren't no hero. Heroes was strong an smart an braver than anybody else.

“The doctor said we can go in to say hello in a short while. Let's sit in the waiting room.”

Sister Irene took my hand an we sat on some chairs. Even after we sat down she held on to me. I liked that — yup, I liked to feel her warm hand holdin mine. An even when she looked at all the scratches an blood all over em — she dint let go — jus rubbed em gentle.

“Now that I know you can talk, will you tell me your name?” asked Sister Irene. She looked at me with her awful nice brown eyes — yup, she had brown eyes jus like Gramma's.

“My name's Ruby Jean Sharp. Gramma named me Ruby cause she said I was a precious jewel an called me Jean cause she said it meant I was a gift from God. Cept I'm not really precious or a gift from God.”

“If that's what your grandmother thought, then it must be true.”

“That's cause Gramma loved me — yup, she loved me even after the doctor tole her I was a retard. He said I got a extra chromosome — dunno what that is — but if I dint have it Mom an Harold wouldn't have left me at Woodlands.” I dint member sayin so many words all at one time — nope, not since I was liddle. Back then me an Gramma talked a lot — yup, like two liddle love birds.

Funny thing bout talkin to Sister Irene that night … once I got started I couldn't seem to stop. I tole her bout Mom leavin me at Woodlands when I was eight … bout Peter slappin me … an bein put in the bad kid room. I told her how I dint like the uniforms touchin me an how the Boys broke my pink hair band from Grace … an how Susan an Norval was my only friends at Woodlands, cept for Mrs. Gentry.

“Cause of Mrs. Gentry I went to live with Nan an Pops. I had my own room — it had pictures on the wall, an a soft bed all fluffy an white, an a radio I could listen to at night so's I could fall asleep. But then Pops went to heaven in an amblance an they was gunna send me back to Woodlands. I dint want to go back there — nope, not a'tall.” Maybe after bein silent for so long I jus had a lot to say. Dint think Sister Irene minded. So I talked an talked till I dint have nothin else to tell her.

“Well, Ruby Jean, that's an amazing story. And Mabel was fortunate you were there for her tonight.”

Jus then a nurse came over to where we was sittin.

“If you want to say hello, the patient can see you now — but only for a few minutes.”

Sister Irene held my hand an we walked down the hall. When we came in the room I thought it was an angel in bed an not Mabel. She looked clean an white — yup, white bandage round her head, white gown an white sheets too. She looked beaudiful. When she sawed us she smiled a liddle.

“Don't know what would've happened to me if you hadn't come along, kid.”

“That's okay, Mabel. Yer my friend.” Mabel looked awful surprised when I said that.

“Well, for crying out loud — so the cat didn't get your tongue, after all. I'm sure glad you're my friend too. But I'm getting tired of calling you kid. Got a name?”

“My name's Ruby Jean Sharp.”

“You don't say? Well, that sure is a nice name. I knew another Ruby once — nice old lady.”

Jus then the nurse came in an reminded us we had to go soon. She said we could come back in the mornin.

“Hey, Nurse, where's all my things?” Mabel asked. “I got a lot of important stuff, you know.”

“I'm sorry. But there wasn't anything besides the clothes you arrived in,” the nurse said.

Mabel growled a liddle an looked awful mad bout that.

“Oh, but there was this pretty locket,” the nurse said. “I didn't want it to get lost, so I put it in this drawer for safekeeping.”

She opened the liddle drawer. Inside was a gold necklace that looked a awful lot like the one Gramma gave me. I picked it up an opened it. Funny thing bout that — there inside was the picture of me an Gramma. I held the picture up so Mabel could see, but she dint look so good. Sides bein splotchy red her eyes were fillin with tears.

“Mabel, how come you gotta necklace jus like the one Gramma gave me?”

Sister Irene took the locket an looked at the liddle picture inside. She closed it an put it back in my hand. “Mabel, it looks like there's something you need to tell Ruby Jean.”

When she dint say nothin I took the pictures I found on the ground side Mabel's cart outta my pocket an showed em to Mabel an Sister Irene too. But Mabel still dint say nothing. She jus looked out the window instead.

Finally, she said, “When you live on the street you do things … things that aren't very nice. Before I got to know ya, Ruby Jean, I saw you sleepin on the bench in the park. I guess you were out so cold and tired you didn't even notice when I pulled that pack out from under your head.” Sister Irene gave Mabel some tissue to wipe her eyes. “After we got to be friends I wanted to find a way to give it all back — honest.” She looked at me with awful sad eyes — yup, they was more sad than I ever seen. “It just got harder and harder to do as time went by. But honest, I was gonna give it all back. I was only wearing the necklace so nothing happened to it — well, and because it was so pretty.”

I looked at that liddle locket Gramma gave me when I was eight. I thought bout how she gave it to me cause she loved me — yup, loved me a awful lot. I reached out for Mabel's hand an put the necklace in it.

“Mabel, yer my friend. I want to give you this present.”

Mabel tried to give it back to me. “I can't take it. I stole it and I should never have done that. You've been a good friend to me, Ruby Jean. I'm sorry for what I've done. Please take the necklace back.”

“Nope. Gramma gave it to me cause she loved me. An now I'm givin it to you … cause I love you, Mabel.”

Mabel cried something awful after that. When the nurse came back into the room again she got cross with us.

“Seriously, you two have to leave right now so the patient can get some rest. Can't you see how upset she is from her ordeal. You come back tomorrow. Now off you go.”

When me an Sister Irene was back inside her car I suddenly felt awful tired. I hoped nobody'd moved into Mabel's place under the stairs. It was a cold an rainy night an it sure would be a nice place to sleep.

“Ruby Jean, I was wondering if you'd tell me something?”

“Yup, I'd do anythin for you, Sister Irene. You helped me an Mabel.”

“Well, then can you tell me how you ended up living on the streets?”

That was a hard question Sister Irene asked me. But I did my best to tell her the answer. “It's not that I wanna be homeless, Sister Irene. I jus dint never wanna go back to Woodlands. Bad's it is to be cold an hungry an have no home — it's bedder than bein yelled at an called names, or bein bossed round all the time an hit — and it's specially bedder than bein touched in places where ya don't wanna be touched.

“I had a nice home when I lived with Gramma. But she went to heaven. Nex best place in the world to live was with Nan an Pops. But when Pops went to heaven I was fraid of goin back to Woodlands. So I made myself a promise. I told myself, ‘Ruby Jean, you never goin back there — nope, no matter what.' So that's why I sleep on the streets, Sister Irene.”

“Hmm, I see.” Then Sister Irene put her hand on mine. “Well, for tonight — would you come and sleep at my home?”

Sometimes I can jus tell bout a person — if they're good or bad. And I could tell Sister Irene was a nice lady — yup, awful nice.

“Okay, I'll sleep at your place tonight, Sister Irene.” I was secretly glad I dint have to sleep outside cause it was awful cold an wet.

I dint member ever sleepin so good as that night on Sister Irene's sofa. Sides bein real tired, I think I jus felt safe there. I slept all through the night but all mornin too.

“Good afternoon, Ruby Jean,” Sister Irene said when I woke up. “My goodness, but you were tired. You must have needed a good, long sleep. Are you hungry?”

I was still tired an could've slept some more, but I liked to eat. Yup, probly my favourite thing to do in the whole world. “Sister Irene, do you have toast an tea?”

She laughed. “Yes, but I'd be happy to make you something more interesting — like an omelette or porridge.”

“That's okay. I like toast an tea best.” I dint have toast an tea since I left Nan an Pops's place. Sister Irene let me make my own breakfast in her liddle kitchen. An it turned out to be the best breakfast I ever had in my life — yup, the best.