OCR Text |
Show 5-3 To the right of the path stretched grass, open to the sun, bordered on two sides by high lilac bushes and on the other two by the hospital. Tall maple and oak trees shaded the grass on the left and I could feel the coolness from under the trees as I started up the path. Then I began to notice men sitting on benches and sprawled on the grass under the trees. The men all wore dull gray robes and some were bandaged around their heads and hands. A few had crutches lying beside them and one or two sat in wheelchairs. They reminded me of the men at the train station, and I wondered if they were the same men. I realized they must be my father's patients and thought of asking one of them where he was. But I was afraid to leave the pathway and go up to them. None of them seem to notice me. Suddenly a woman in a long white dress, with a white scarf covering her hair, came out of the door and headed toward me. I thought she was a nurse until she got closer and I saw the heavy cross hanging from the belt around her waist. I knew she was a nun. I was not well acquainted with nuns and had all the typical Presbyterian child's misconceptions about their lives. I knew Father liked working with them and said they were cracker-jack nurses. She smiled as she passed by. "Excuse me, ma'am," I said. She stopped and turned back to me. "I'm looking for Dr. Metcalf. I've brought his lunch." "You must be Annie. He told me you were coming for a visit." She reached down and shook my hand, waiting while I put down the lunch basket. Her hand was dry and cool and I noticed a ring on her other hand, a ring like Mother's wedding ring. "Wait here a moment while I see to Dick's dressing. Then we'll find him. I'll be just a moment." |