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“All right,” I say.
“No!” Annie says. “Aunt Klarice, don’t move me, it hurts!”
I’m not proud of this, but I’m about to snap at her that I hope it hurts so she remembers not to be stupid next time. I don’t because before I can reply, the dream man says, “It’s okay, sweetheart. I used to be a corpsman in the Navy. Do you know what that means?”
“Like a doctor?” Annie sniffles.
“Close enough for tonight,” he replies. “Now listen. I’m going to put an arm under your knees and take the weight off of them so when I pick you up, the ankle isn’t jostled as much.”
“Okay,” she says with a trembling voice.
I watch as he reaches down and lifts her up effortlessly. She cries out but her cry ends in an almost startled, “Oh… Okay. Okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
“See?” he says. “I told you.”
The smile Annie gives him manages to cut through all of my frustration and anger and warms me as he carries her carefully up the stairs. I remember the door at the last second and rushing past him to open it.
The other kids are downstairs. The twins wear a look of combined concern for Annie and excitement at the fact that something out of the ordinary is happening. Michael’s face radiates only concern. Kaitlyn starts out looking confused but when she sees Annie crying and the dream man setting her on the couch, that confusion becomes terror.
She begins to cry loudly and rushes to Annie’s side, wrapping her chubby little arms around her and saying, “Annie, are you gonna die?” through her sobs.
The dream man does something incredible then. He gently disengages Kaitlyn’s hands and holds them in his. Instead of freaking out like I expect her to, she quiets and stares at him, sniffling.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he says gently. “My name’s Valentine. What’s your name?”
“Like Valentine’s Day?” she asks.
He chuckles. “Yes, like Valentine’s Day.”
“Oh,” she says. “My name’s Kaitlyn.”
“Hello, Kaitlyn,” he says. “Your sister just got a little booboo on her foot, okay? She’s going to be okay and you’re going to help me make her feel better. How does that sound?”
Kaitlyn bobs her head up and down in agreement and Valentine smiles. “Okay, sweetheart. This is what I want you to do. I want you to go to Annie’s room and bring her a pillow to put under her foot. Can you do that for me?”
She shakes her head. “I’m going to bring her my squishy pillow. That’s my favorite.”
“Oh,” Valentine says. “That’s a very good idea. Squishy pillow it is.”
Kaitlyn charges upstairs and I stare at Valentine like he’s some sort of god. In keeping with his godlike image, he quickly assigns tasks to the other kids. Aaron and Andy are sent for an ace bandage, medical tape, and ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet in the upstairs bathroom, and Michael is charged with making cocoa for everyone. “Make sure Annie gets hers first,” he instructs.
“Yes, sir,” Michael says.
I was just about to collapse in shock. I haven’t heard Michael call anyone sir since before his father died.
I’m still processing this miracle when Kaitlyn patters up to the couch, holding the soft pillow we got her for her third birthday. “Lift your leg up, please?” she says importantly to Annie.
Valentine helps her lift her leg and Kaitlyn carefully sets the pillow under her foot. She watches intently as Annie gently lowers her knee and sighs comfortably. Then she nods importantly and walks to the other side of the couch. She pats Annie’s cheeks and says, “You’ll feel better now.”
Annie smiles at her and says, “Thank you, sweetheart.”
The twins return with the medical supplies and as Valentine bandages Annie’s ankle, he explains to her what happened.
“When you rolled your ankle, you overextended all of the tendons on the outside. Fortunately for you, you didn’t tear any of them, just sprained them. You’ll need to keep it wrapped and elevated for at least twenty-four hours, so no school tomorrow.”
“Oh no,” Annie says sarcastically. “Whatever shall I do?”
The other kids laugh, including Michael who busies himself passing cocoa to everyone, Annie first, while Valentine finishes with. “After tomorrow, you can go back to normal activity, just take it easy for a few weeks to allow the bruising to heal.”
