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A Daddy for Christmas

By MaryAnn Diorio PhD, MFA

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Who said each Christmas would be easier as the years went by? Julie Melitto wiped a tear from her eye and secured the last ornament on the artificial Christmas tree. Five years had already passed since her husband Mike’s death, and things had only gotten worse. Finances had tightened. Work had grown more demanding. And loneliness ate at her like never before.
She swallowed hard, put the lid back on the cardboard ornament box, and piled it on top of the other empty boxes of decorations. Now to take them back to the garage until the first week in January.
Julie picked up the pile of boxes and nearly tripped over Max, the scrawny, wire-haired mutt she’d adopted from the rescue shelter the summer before on a trip back from the library to return an overdue book. Behind the confining bars of his cage, the pup had peered out of the shelter window, his forlorn face begging to be loved. And Julie hadn’t been able to resist. Within five minutes of her entering the shelter, the orphan dog was joyfully licking the face of his new owner. 
And he’d been licking her face ever since, helping to fill the void of loneliness in which she and her young daughter had dwelt for far too long.
Max yelped. Julie put down the boxes and stooped down to check on the poor creature. “I’m sorry, Max. I stepped on your paw, didn’t I?” She took the dog’s paw into her hand and rubbed it gently. “Sorry, buddy. Next time, I’ll be more careful.”
A rustle behind her caught Julie’s attention.
“Mom, can I go play over Aubrey’s house?” Ten-year-old Laney’s eyes pleaded for a yes.
“But, it’s Sunday, sweetheart. Don’t you want to be home with our family?”
“We have no family, Mom. Ever since Dad died, we haven’t been a family.”
Julie heaved a long sigh and sat down on the sofa. “What have we been then?”
“Two people living alone in the same house.”
Laney’s words pierced the core of Julie’s heart. Her perceptive daughter was right. Things hadn’t been the same since Mike’s death. “Don’t you think Aubrey’s family wants to be alone together as a family on a Sunday?”
“But I feel more like part of her family than of ours.”
Julie sent up a desperate prayer for wisdom. “Well, what can I do to help us feel more like a family?”
Laney put her hands on her hips. “Get our family a daddy. That’s what. A family needs a daddy, and our family doesn’t have one.”
Tears stung Julie’s eyes. “It’s not that easy, Laney. I just can’t go out and buy a daddy at the store. If God wants this family to have a daddy, then He’ll have to send us one.”
“But there must be something we can do to help God.”
Julie smiled. “I don’t think God needs our help, sweetie. He’s pretty powerful on His own.”
Laney scrunched her face into a pout. “Then why hasn’t He sent me a daddy yet?”
Julie swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’ve wondered that myself, Laney. Five years is a long time to be without a daddy.” 
And a husband.
Eye brimming with tears, Laney joined her mother on the sofa. “My school’s Daddy-Daughter Christmas Party is coming up in two weeks. It will be the first one I’m old enough to attend. What if I don’t have a daddy to take me by then?”
Julie’s heart ached at the look in her daughter’s eyes. They were Mike’s eyes. Dark and round and deep. “How about if we ask God to send you a daddy in time for the Daddy-Daughter Party?” Her maternal instinct to comfort had moved her to go out on a limb, and it was scary.
Laney’s face brightened. “Do you think He will?”
“Well, we can ask, can’t we?”
“Then let’s ask, Mom. Please?”
Julie stifled her misgivings. “Okay. Why don’t you pray?” Laney’s faith was far stronger than her own. 
Laney folded her hands in her lap. “God, I want so much to go to the Daddy-Daughter Christmas Party, but I don’t have a daddy to take me. Would you send me a daddy in time for the party? I’ll thank You forever and ever. Amen.”
“Amen.” Julie choked out the word as she blinked back doubtful tears.
* * *
After dropping Laney off at school the next morning, Julie made her way to the medical office building in downtown Philadelphia where she worked as a pediatric nurse. Traffic had been especially heavy, and finding a parking space in the parking garage had proven a task of gigantic proportions. By the time she reached her office, every muscle in her body had twisted into a tight knot.
She slipped through the door five minutes late, just as her boss, Dr. Letitia Kendrick, emerged from an examining room. 
The pediatrician gave her a sideways glance. “Julie, I need you right away in Room 2. A little boy has a high fever and is showing possible signs of meningitis.” Dr. Kendrick scowled. “Since you were late, I put him in the room myself.”
Julie gulped. What a way to start a Monday morning! She dropped her purse at the nurse’s station, threw her coat over the back of a chair, and hurried toward Room 2. Dr. Kendrick followed her into the room and closed the door. 
A little boy of about four years old lay on the examining table. Next to him stood a tall, dark-haired man, concern written all over his strikingly handsome face. Must be the boy’s father. 
The man held the child’s hand firmly in his own, while the boy’s eyes were riveted on him.
Dr. Kendrick addressed the man. “Mr. Carbone, this is my nurse, Julie Melitto. Julie, this is Mr. Nick Carbone. His son Joey is a new patient.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Carbone. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.” Julie hated to have to say that to patients, but the truth was, the only reason they brought their children to the office was a medical one. 
“Nice to meet you, too. Please call me Nick. I’m not one for ceremony.” Despite his worry over his son, kindness shone through his eyes.
Julie smiled. “Thanks, Nick.” The sound of his first name on her lips seemed to lessen the strain in the room. 
Dr. Kendrick studied Joey and then turned toward his father. “What has he been complaining of?”
“He’s been saying that his head and neck hurt.” 
Dr. Kendrick drew closer to the child. “Now, Joey, I’m going to lift your head and neck to check a few things. It won’t be hard, and it will help me find out what the problem is and how to fix it. Is that a deal?” Dr. Kendrick gave the boy a big smile.
The child looked up at his father and cried. “I want Mommy!”
The man squared his jaw. “Mommy’s in Heaven, Joey. But I’m sure she’s watching us from up there.”
“But I want her down here!”
Julie’s heart clenched. She was no stranger to single parenting and to a child who grieved for a deceased parent. She took the little boy’s other hand. “It’s hard when someone you love isn’t here to be with you, isn’t it?”
His lower lip quivering, Joey nodded through tear-laden lashes.
Julie managed a smile. “I’m a mommy, you know. Would you like me to pretend I’m your mommy just while Dr. Kendrick examines you?” Julie couldn’t believe she’d made such an offer. 
“Uh-huh.” The little boy tightened his grip on her hand. “Shall I call you Mommy?”
Julie glanced up nervously at the boy’s father, afraid she’d offended him. But the look on his face told her otherwise. She turned back to the child. “Only if you want to.”
“I do.” He drew in a sniffle.
Dr. Kendrick placed a hand under the child’s upper back and attempted to flex his neck, but it would not flex. She then turned toward Julie. “What was his temperature?”
Julie’s face grew hot. In all the hustle of arriving late, she’d forgotten to take the child’s temperature. “So sorry. I forgot to take it.” She released Joey’s hand and grabbed the forehead thermometer from a side table. “I’ll take it now.”
Dr. Kendrick raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She never reprimanded her employees in front of patients, but a stiff reprimand was sure to follow later. 
Julie scanned the boy’s forehead. “One hundred two degrees.” She squelched the concern in her voice. 
A worried look crossed the doctor’s face as her gaze sought the boy’s father. “You son needs to go to the Emergency Room right away. I’ll call ahead and tell them you’re coming.” She turned to Julie. “Please arrange for an ambulance.”
Julie nodded. “I’ll call right away.”
Nick looked flustered. “What’s your diagnosis, Doctor?” 
“It looks like meningitis to me. Especially with the high temperature, headache, and stiff neck. He needs to get to the hospital right away.”
“Will he be all right?” Panic lined Nick’s face.
Dr. Kendrick managed a tentative smile. “When diagnosed early, patients do just fine. But we don’t want to waste any time.” She motioned toward Julie. “Julie will take over from here. I’ll be in touch with the hospital for updates and inform you accordingly.” And with that, she left the examining room.
Julie immediately dialed for an ambulance. Once the call was placed, she turned toward Nick. The helpless look on his face tugged at her heart. “The ambulance is on its way.” She pointed to Joey’s jacket, lying on a nearby chair. “The attendants will wrap him in a thick blanket, so don’t forget to take his jacket with you.”
“Thanks.” Nick’s voice sounded strained. “What happens when we get to the ER?” His dark eyes reminded her so much of Mike’s. 
“They’ll probably do a spinal tap to determine if it is, indeed, meningitis. They’ll also start him on an IV.”
“Will Joey have to be admitted to the hospital?”
“If the result of the spinal tap shows meningitis, then yes.”
“For how long?”
“It depends on the type of meningitis. If it’s viral, he’ll go home relatively soon. If it’s bacterial, a minimum of seven days or up to twenty-one days, depending on the type of bacteria.”
A sober look crossed Nick’s face. “I didn’t realize it would take that long.”
Julie startled at her sudden desire to reach for his hand, but she restrained herself. “It will pass quickly.”
A knock on the door interrupted her. The receptionist entered. “The ambulance is here.” Behind her stood two men. The receptionist moved aside to let them in.
Julie turned to the boy. “Joey, these nice men are going to take you to the hospital where the doctor will give you medicine to make you feel better.”
“Can you come with me?” Joey extended his arms toward her. 
Julie’s heart tightened. “Your Daddy will go with you. I’ll come visit you later.” She gave Nick a questioning glance. Was she intruding where she had no business intruding?
Relief flooded Nick’s face. “That would be very kind.”
“Promise me you won’t forget to come.” Tension edged Joey’s voice.
The pleading look in the child’s eyes touched the core of Julie’s soul. She patted him on the arm. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Please don’t feel obligated.” Apology was written all over Nick’s face. “I’m sorry for Joey’s behavior. I’ve never known him to attach to a woman like this since his mother died.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
He lowered his gaze and then raised it again. “Thanks. You’ve done more for us than you know.”
Heat flooded Julie’s face. “Consider it part of my job.” But her words were only half the truth. This father and son had stirred deep places in her heart that had lain stagnant for far too long.
The ambulance attendants approached Joey’s bed. “Are you ready for the ride of your life, Buddy? No amusement park can stand a chance against the ride provided by the Dynamo Ambulance Service, piloted by superheroes Mike the Man and his sidekick, Pete the Powerhouse.”
Joey’s eyes widened. “You’re superheroes?”
Mike gave Joey a high five. “The best of the best. Now hold on tight.” The men carefully lifted Joey from the examining table and onto the stretcher.
Julie’s heart warmed at Mike’s gesture. Medical people had a special gift of using humor to ease fear and suffering. For the first time since his arrival, Joey had a smile on his face.
As Mike the Man and Pete the Powerhouse placed Joey on the stretcher, Julie turned toward Nick. “I’m sure Dr. Kendrick will be in touch with you. Can she reach you at the number on the chart?” 
“Yes.” He hesitated. “Wish us luck.”
She smiled. “I’ll do one better than that. I’ll pray for you.”
Nick’s eyes softened. “Thanks. Joey’s mom was a prayer warrior. I never developed the habit, but I guess it’s time I do.”
Without thinking, Julie touched Nick’s forearm. A warm sensation flowed through her. “Don’t worry. Joey’s going to be all right.”
“I hope so. He’s all I have left.” Nick’s voice hitched.
Julie’s heart moved toward this man. “I know the feeling.”
Nick arched an eyebrow. “You do?”
“Yes. I lost my husband to cancer five years ago. My daughter is all I have left.”
“I’m sorry.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “It’s hard raising a kid all alone.”
Julie nodded and sighed. “I hear you. Still, life goes on.” She offered a smile. 
But the tough part was watching life go on all by herself.
* * *
Holding Joey’s jacket, Nick bit his lower lip as he slid into the ambulance’s passenger seat. As he fastened his seatbelt, he felt as though he were hanging on for his very life. Truth be told, he was. While Kelsey was alive, he’d never realized how much he’d needed her and relied on her. He’d been so caught up in his job that he hadn’t given her the time and attention she’d deserved. 
But her tragic death two years before in a car accident had jolted him into reality. He still blamed himself for her death. He’d grown jealous of her relationship with Christ, her commitment to her church, and her unwillingness to engage in things he considered fun but she considered sin. If it hadn’t been for his vicious attack on her faith that night, Kelsey might still be alive. But his words had grown heated and, instead of retaliating and getting into strife, she’d chosen to take a ride until he cooled off. 
But she never returned.
He’d learned later that a car had run a red light at an intersection and had rammed into the driver’s side of Julie’s car. She’d died instantly.
Nick ran a hand over his face to wipe away the stinging tears that welled up at every memory of her. At the unbearable realization that not only had he lost her forever, but he’d also lost her without the opportunity to make things right between them. Ever since, tormenting guilt and bitter remorse had clawed at his heart, ripping it apart.
Kelsey was his life, and now that she was gone, he had no life. The black hole her sudden death had left had sucked him into its whirlwind and had dragged him down to its very depths. Since then, he’d operated on autopilot. Just going through the motions of life. But only because of Joey. 
Now that he needed to be strong for his son, he longed instead for Kelsey’s comforting arms to tell him everything was going to be all right. That it was all a bad dream from which he would awaken to find her still there.
But it wasn’t a bad dream. It was stark reality. 
Losing her had ripped his life apart, but losing Joey would kill him outright.
The ambulance sped along the busy street, its siren forcing cars to the sides to make a way. 
Nick glanced back at Joey lying on the stretcher in the back of the ambulance, the other attendant at his side. Nick’s heart went out to his son. If only he could take the illness away from him.
He turned his gaze forward again. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, affectionately called CHOP among the locals, loomed in the near distance, its high, multi-windowed façade arousing angst within him. Would Joey be admitted to one of those rooms? 
The ambulance pulled into the Emergency Room entrance. The imposing building. with its bold red letters above the main doors, made Nick’s pulse quicken. 
Within seconds, the two ambulance attendants opened the back doors to remove Joey. Nick followed after them.
At the sudden movement, the child shouted. “Daddy?”
“I’m right here, son.” Nick waited as the attendants removed the stretcher from the ambulance. Then grabbing Joey’s hand, he hurried beside him as the men whisked the stretcher through the doors of the ambulance entrance. 
A nurse awaited them inside.
Mike the Man stopped the stretcher in front of the nurse. “You should have received a call from Dr. Kendrick’s office. Suspected meningitis.”
“Yes.” The nurse nodded. “Please put him in Room 7.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mike the Man looked at Joey. “Hold on tight. Superhero Mike whizzing you to Space Headquarters.”
Joey giggled.
Nick followed close behind, the cold feeling in his stomach turning to ice. 
The nurse followed the stretcher into the examining room and turned toward Nick. “Are you the boy’s father?” 
“Yes.”
“What’s your son’s name?”
“Joey. Joey Carbone.”
The nurse approached the examining table. “I’ll take his vital signs before calling the doctor.” 
Nick stepped out of the way.
The nurse proceeded to take Joey’s blood pressure and temperature. “His temperature is 104 degrees.” 
Nick stiffened. “That’s up two degrees since we left the pediatrician’s office.”
“The doctor will be right in to do a spinal tap. Meanwhile, I’ll prepare an IV drip. That’s our usual procedure in cases like Joey’s.”
While the nurse prepared the IV, the doctor walked in. “I’m Doctor DiBona.” He smiled and offered a hand to Nick. “So, tell me what’s been going on.”
Nick repeated the story from start to finish, including Dr. Kendrick’s suspected diagnosis. “So that’s the reason we’re here.”
Dr. DiBona nodded. “I’m going to do a spinal tap on Joey. My medical instinct tells me Dr. Kendrick is right, that it’s meningitis, but we always test to confirm. Meanwhile, so as not to waste time waiting for the results, we’ll start him on antibiotics right away. They won’t hurt if the test result is negative, but they’ll help with a head start if the test is positive. If the results show a bacterial meningitis, your son will have to be admitted for the duration of the course of the antibiotics, which could be anywhere from seven to twenty-one days.”
Nick’s stomach roiled. First, he’d have to get a ride back to Dr. Kendrick’s office to pick up his car. Then, he’d have to go back home to get Joey several changes of clothing and his favorite stuffed animal. After Kelsey died, Joey had regressed to sucking his thumb again and carrying around his teddy bear. Although he’d started to move back toward normal, four-year-old behavior, he still had to have his stuffed animal with him when he went to bed each night. 
With the help of the nurse, the doctor readied for the procedure. He looked at Nick. “I’m going to give him a little Xylocaine, a local anesthetic, so he won’t feel a thing. Once I’ve drawn the fluid, I’ll send it to the lab for testing. We should have the results within forty-eight hours. Meanwhile, we’ll get him started on IV antibiotics just in case it’s bacterial.”
After the procedure, the doctor removed his gloves and threw them in the hazardous waste container. “The fluid looked clear, but I still suspect meningitis because of the stiff neck. As I mentioned, however, it’ll be about forty-eight hours before we have the test results. Meanwhile, Joey will be taken to a hospital room on the fourth floor where you can stay with him.”
“Thanks, Doc.” While Joey fidgeted on the gurney, Nick stood nearby and looked around the room. Hospitals made him uneasy, with all of their instruments, wires, and persistent beeps. They were constant reminders of human suffering and pain. Pain he’d so often tried to erase from his mind, but to no avail. 
In the two years since Kelsey’s death, the memory of it had not stopped hounding him. Waking him in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Sending panic coursing through his veins. Driving him mad with remorse. The horrific image of Kelsey’s lifeless body lying on a stretcher still tormented him. Upon her arrival at the emergency room, he’d been required to identify her body to spare her widowed mother the agony. His heart clenched at the horrific memory.
Nick rubbed his eyes in a futile attempt to erase the haunting, recurring images from his mind. The utter hopelessness her death had brought. The dark night of the soul that had followed and had continued to envelop him ever since. 
If only he hadn’t started the argument. If only she hadn’t left to avoid strife. If only he could turn back the clock.
These unending regrets, along with countless others, ate at him like squirrels gnawing on wood. Would he ever find peace again?
The nurse returned to the examining room. “Mr. Carbone, we’ll be sending Joey up to the fourth floor. You can follow the attendant to his room.”
Her words hurled Nick back to reality. He tightened his fists, his heart laden with fear for his son. Would Joey die, too? Most patients with meningitis recovered, but there were those who didn’t. He pushed the frightful thought out of his mind. 
As the attendant took hold of the stretcher, Joey looked around. “Daddy?”
“I’m here, son. We’ll be going upstairs to a nice room where you can get better.”
“But I want to go home.”
Nick’s heart squeezed. “I know, son. But you have to stay here for a few days so the nurse can give you medicine.”
“Why can’t I take medicine at home?”
“Because the medicine here has to come into your arm through a special needle. We can’t do that at home.”
The attendant smiled at Joey. “Wait till you see your new room. You’re going to love it. It has toys and games and Spider Man painted on the wall.”
“Wow, Joey! You love Spiderman.” Nick made a feeble attempt at seconding the attendant’s excitement.
“I don’t want a room with Spiderman. I want to go home.”
“I’ll be with you as much as I can. During the day, I have to go to work, but before and after work, I’ll come visit you. There will be nice nurses to stay with you during the day, while I’m at work.”
Nick followed the attendant into the elevator, up to the fourth floor, and to the patient room. The sound of dishes clattering in the hallway filled the air as the kitchen help distributed lunch trays. 
The attendant opened his eyes wide and smiled. “Wow, Joey! You’re just in time for lunch.”
“I’m not hungry.”
But upon seeing his new surroundings, Joey brightened. “Look, Daddy! Spiderman is on the wall beside the bed.”
Nick forced a smile. “That’s so cool.”
With the nurse’s help, the attendant moved Joey from the stretcher to the bed. “Now that was easy, wasn’t it?” The nurse carefully arranged the wires of the IV and secured it to the bed. She then raised the back of the bed to a sitting position. “Are you comfy?”
“Uh-huh.”
She then showed Joey the buzzer attached to the head of the bed. “See this little red button? If you need me, just press it and I’ll come.”
Joey reached for the buzzer and pressed it. The nurse laughed. “You don’t need to press it if I’m already in the room. Only when you need to call me if I’m not in the room.” 
She turned to Nick. “I’m Mrs. Ricketts, the charge nurse for this floor tonight, so I’ll check on him throughout the night.”
Nick pointed to a large recliner in the corner of the room. “May I sleep there tonight?”
She smiled. “That’s what it’s for.” She placed a blanket over Joey. “There is a vending machine down the hall, and the cafeteria is on the first floor. It’s open all night.”
“Thanks.” 
After the nurse left, Nick sat on Joey’s bed. “You’re a real trooper, Joey Carbone. I’m so proud of the way you’re handling this.”
“Do you think Miss Julie will come to visit me?”
“She said she would.”
“But what if she forgets?”
“I don’t think she’s the type who will forget.”
Joey squeezed his father’s hand. “I really like her, Daddy.”
Dare Nick speak aloud the words that stirred in his heart? “I do, too, Joey. I do, too.”


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