Fran gasped. “On top of the human tragedy, your poor husband is having to deal with that, too.”
“Leandros told Yannis it’s a nightmare, and there’s still no phone, internet or television service to that area. He got hold of him through the help of the police to let me know what has happened. I’ve been asked to stay put here until he joins us. Yannis said it shouldn’t be long now.” Kellie’s teeth were chattering.
“Come on. We need to get ready and go downstairs. Knowing your husband, he must be absolutely devastated and is going to need you more than he’s ever needed anyone in his life.” Now would be the time for Kellie to draw close to Leandros and put the plan they’d talked about last night into action.
Both of them showered and dressed in a daze. Fran put on white linen pants with a spring-green-and-white-printed top. She tied her dark honey-blonde hair back at the nape with a white chiffon scarf. After slipping on white sandals, she announced she was ready. Nothing seemed real as they packed up and carried their bags downstairs to wait for Leandros.
To Fran’s surprise, the main doors of the hotel were open for patrons to walk out and enjoy coffee at the tables set up in front of the building. Warm air filtered inside and a golden sun shone out of a blue sky. Up and down the street, life appeared to be going on as usual. You would never have known there’d been a natural disaster twelve miles away from here last evening.
A waiter approached them. “The tables in front are full. If you’ll walk around to the patio in back, we’ll serve you out there.”
“Thank you,” Fran said before taking Kellie aside. “Yannis is sitting outside in his car by yours. Let’s stow our luggage and then tell him we’ll be in back of the hotel. We need breakfast with our coffee. He can show Leandros where to come. I feel like soaking up some sun until he arrives. Don’t you?”
“I guess so,” Kellie answered in a wooden voice.
They walked over to their car and put their cases in the back. “This hotel seems to be a popular place. Go ahead and talk to Yannis while I get us a table before they’re all taken.”
“Okay.”
Fran followed the stone pathway to the rear of the hotel where blue chairs and tables were set with bright blue-and-white-check cloths. There was an overhang of bougainvillea above the back door, and further on, a small garden. Too bad the wind had denuded most of the flowering plants. There were only a few red petals left.
She took a seat in the sun while she waited, thinking she was alone. But all of a sudden she heard a strange sound, like a whimper. Surprised, Fran looked around, then up. Maybe it was coming from one of the rooms on the next floor where a window was open.
Again she heard the faint cry. It didn’t sound frantic and it seemed to be coming from the garden area. Maybe it was a kitten that had been injured in the storm. Poor thing. She jumped up and walked over to investigate.
When she looked in the corner, a gasp escaped her lips. There, on its back in the bushes, lay a dirty black-haired baby with cuts from head to toe—
Fran couldn’t fathom it. The child was dressed in nothing more than a torn pink undershirt. The little olive-skinned girl couldn’t be more than seven months old. Where in heaven’s name had she come from? A groan came out of Fran. She wondered how long the child had been out here in this condition.
Trying to be as gentle as possible, Fran lifted the limp body in her arms, petrified because the baby had to be dying of hypothermia. Her pallor was pronounced and her little lids were closed.
“Fran?” Kellie called out and ran up to her. “What on earth?”
She turned to her friend with tear-filled eyes. “Look—I found this baby in the garden.”
A gasp flew from Kellie’s lips. “I can see that, but I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
“I know. Quick—get me a blanket and drive us to the hospital. I’m afraid she’s going to die.”
Kellie’s eyes rounded before she dashed through the back door, calling in Greek for help. Within seconds, the staff came running out. One of them brought a blanket. Fran wrapped the baby as carefully as she could and headed around the front of the hotel. Kellie ran ahead of her to talk to Yannis.
“He’ll drive us to the hospital.”
He helped Fran and the baby inside the backseat of his car. She thought he looked as white-faced as Kellie, who climbed in front. She looked back at Fran. “What do you think happened?”
“Who knows? Maybe the mother was on the street around the corner when a microburst toppled the stroller or something and this dear little thing landed in the garden.”
“But she’s only wearing a torn shirt.”
Both of them were aghast. “I agree, nothing makes sense.”
“Do you think she could have been out there all night?”
“I don’t know,” Fran’s voice trembled. “But what other explanation could there possibly be, Kellie? The baby has superficial cuts all over.”
“I’m still in shock. You don’t suppose the mother is lying around the hotel grounds somewhere, too? Maybe concussed?”
“It’s a possibility,” Fran murmured. “We know what tornadoes can do. The one in Dallas tossed truck rigs in the air like matchsticks. Sometimes I feel that’s all we see on the news back home. I just have never heard about a tornado in Greece.”
“They get them from time to time. Leandros told me they usually happen near coastal waters.”
The baby had gone so still, it was like holding a doll. “Tell Yannis to please hurry, Kellie. She’s not making any more sounds. The police need to be notified and start looking for this baby’s parents.”
Once they reached the emergency entrance, everything became a blur as the baby was rushed away. Fran wanted to go with her, but the emergency-room staff told her they needed information and showed her to the registration desk.
The man in charge told them them to be seated while he asked a lot of questions. He indicated that no one had contacted the hospital looking for a lost baby. Furthermore, no mother or father injured in the storm had been brought in. So far, only a young man whose car had skidded in the downpour and hit a building had come in for some stitches on his arm.
When the questioning was over he said, “One of our staff has already contacted the police. They’ve assured us they’ll do a thorough investigation to unite the baby with her parents. An officer should be here within the hour to take your statements. Just go into the E.R. lounge to wait, or go to the cafeteria at the end of the hall.”
When they walked out, Kellie touched Fran’s arm. “I think we’d better eat something now.”
“Agreed.”
After a quick breakfast, they returned to the E.R. lounge. “If the baby lives, it will be thanks to you and your quick thinking. Had you been even a couple of minutes later arriving at the patio the baby might not have had the strength to cry and no one would have discovered her in time.”
Hot tears trickled down Fran’s cheeks. “She has to live, Kellie, otherwise life really doesn’t make sense.”
“I know. I’ve been thinking the same thing.” They both had. Kellie had been praying to get pregnant and it had been Fran’s fate not to be able to conceive. What a pair they made! She found two seats and they sat down.
“I wish Leandros would get here. After seeing this baby, I’m worried sick for what he’s had to deal with. Lives were lost in that tornado. He’ll take their deaths seriously.”
“It’s too awful to think about. I’m still having trouble believing this has happened. When I saw her lying in those bushes, I thought I was hallucinating.”
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