Neil had no idea what to say, or even how to respond.... In truth he felt numb. But if there was one thing he did know, it was that the kind woman who was holding him was indeed a true "ANGEL", and not just in name alone! Crying soundlessly, Neil increased the strength of his hold upon her. Reading the sincerity shining forth from Angel's eyes he once again dropped his head upon her bosom. Comforted there, Neil answered her questions by emphatically nodding his head "YES" up and down against her breast....

She gently stoked him again.
“That is wonderful, Neil.” she said and smiled. “Well, let’s get you dressed and then you will be checked by the doctor. If he says yes, you can leave the hospital.”
The dressing went fast, because Angel was well experienced in it and after five minutes, Neil was ready dressed in a simply white button up shirt and marine blue shorts. Angel did not diaper him at the day, because she did not know about his frequency of accidents.

Sad, distant, and withdrawn Neil cooperated as Angela brought him back to his room, and got him dressed. Once she was finished, he got up on his bed, and clutching her teddy bear soundlessly curled himself into a fetal position. Even though he didn't say anything, he was overjoyed to see that she hadn't left the room to attend to any of the other children. Instead, she sat herself upright and proper with her hands folded primly in one of the room's chairs....

The two of them remained there in those positions without a word being spoken for almost another ten minutes. Every so often Neil would glance up. He wanted to make sure that she was still there....

Neil glanced up again as he heard heavier footsteps enter the room, and a deep commanding voice say, "So Angela, how's our little patient today, although if you're here I'm sure everything is well in order."

She couldn’t leave him. Not now, as he appeared to be so small and vulnerable. Oh my, she felt bad as she watched him lying on his bed.
“I am there bunny.” she said to him smiling. She did not know what to do, maybe she should read him a story, maybe she should.... but then she knew that the best thing would be to let him think about it himself and just be with him.

Finally the Doctor came. It was Dr. Harris, an elderly man with a well groomed appearance, gelled white hair and a neatly cut moustache. He was almost sixty years old and saw his work as a doctor rather as a kind of craftsmanship as an academic and scientific skill. He was almost the perfect representation of the ‘good ol’ Doc’.
Angel knew him all her life and like him a lot, but she.... wanted that the new pedactiran

“Well, he seems to be fine, everything healed well.” she said to the Doctor. “And everything is arranged... I just want to take him with me.”

Neil's grief caused him to feel almost as if he was in a trance. The rest of the afternoon passed like it was a blur. Luckily, Angel was always there, She was a constant... his anchor... his lifeline!

He heard and recalled snippets of the conversation between Angela and the doctor. He heard statements like, "I can't see any reasons why he couldn't be discharged.... The concerns are more emotional than physical.... I'm prepared for all that.... Hopefully love, consistency, structure, and discipline will help... I give you a lot of credit. What you're doing is truly wonderful.... I knew your father you know. He was a true gentleman, and a hero! You never knew him did you? I'm so sorry.... He'd be very proud of you, you know.... Not at first.... I'll be an emergency fosterparent, then hopefully, if it works out... adoption. And your neice, Alex? She's a candystriper here now, isn't she? You're raising her too.... aren't you? What does she think of the idea?"

The little boy hardly spoke all afternoon. Angela had tried to draw him out, and had been more than kind, but Neil was numb. Angela had finally gotten him discharged from the hospital. The two had walked out together with Neil holding her hand for dear life. He carried the old teddy bear she had given him.... It was his only possesion!

His first car ride since the accident was terrifying! Angela was a more than careful driver, but each time they neared another car, or made a sharp turn Neil would cower, cry, or pitifully beg, "Angewa, watch out.... Be careful."

The sun was starting to set as the car pulled up in front of the quaint, picturesque, antebellum farmhouse. Neil allowed Angela to gently lift him out of the car, and stand him on his feet. He quickly took her hand while at the same time he took in his new surroundings. Neil's eyes immediately fixated on the old wooden swing that was hanging from a gigantic willow tree by a babbling brook. Then uttering his first positive statement since learning of his parents' death, he looked into Angel's eyes and whispered, "Wook Angewa, a swing. I wike swings...."

The house was an old two floor farming house, which had a red painted front façade and white front porch which had been added to the house just recently, it had been built by Mr. Jones, the owner of the nearby farm who also leased the few acres of land that Angela owned. She had no use for it and had rented it out pretty cheap to him and in return Jones, an avid carpenter, did her several favours. Something that was priceless in a household without men.
Then Neil commented on the swing. The porch was a mixture of a birthday present and a ‘thank you’ for not charging anything after the bad harvest last year.
“Oh yeah, that one! It hangs there since I was a little child; it almost seems that is a part of that tree. But be careful, I don’t know if the wood is still stable.”, she said and lead him inside the house. Everything in this house look like it had been there since the dawn of time. The old carpet over the floor board, the high dresser which was made from oak or the little commode which was used to store shoes, but it still looked neat.
“That is the corridor. Always clean your shoes when you come in.” she said and opened the door to the living room. The door made a loud jar.
“Thanks to that, we always know if someone is at home.”, she joked.
The living room was a big room. The walls were covered with a white varnished wood panelling. There was a red sofa, two fitting arm chairs and a small coffee table in it. Some book shelves and the walls were covered with a mixture of small paintings (they all showed the sea and fjords) and old photographs.
On the other side of the room was a long table together with six chairs, a bowl with apples stood on the table. For of them looked like they were made to fit the table, the other were new rattan chairs. On the wall behind it was a large cabinet which was filled with the family’s china. The room had a smell in it that appeared to be a mixture of tea, polish and apples.
“What do you think?” she asked.

"It nice....", he said quietly and politely. Then timidly he asked, "Dis where I gonna wive now? Mama, an' Dada, an' me use to wive in de city, in a 'partment. I neber stay in de countwy, or a house 'efore...."

As he finished speaking, Neil who had not relieved himself since having wet the bed earlier that day, was overcome with a strong urge to make both a pee-pee, and a poopy. Dancing uncomfortably from foot to foot, he instantly used each of his hands to grab both his crotch, and his bottom. With desperation obvious in his voice, he whined, "Oh no! Miss Angewa, I gotta go potty.... I gotta go potty bad!"

Angel smiled.
„Well, the old cot was built by my Grandpa.“ she started. Then she heared Neil’s complain. She lifted him up and started to bring him upstairs.
“Oh my, why didn’t you say a thing?” she said while rushing to it.

Luckily for Neil, Angel was smart, responsible, and prepared. Thinking ahead, she had tried to prepare her home in advance for the arrival of a barely four year child. One of the steps she had taken was to locate Alexia's old potty chair in the attic, and place it in the bathroom of the bedroom she intended for the little boy to have as his own.

Neil watched as Angela did not hesitate. No sooner had he begun to complain than he felt himself whisked into the air, and taken briskly into a bathroom. Even as he was being carried, he could feel his marine blue shorts slip from his legs and fall onto the stairway beneath him as Angela's nimble fingers easily undid his button and his zipper. For the most part a full accident was avoided, as Neil could only see a small yellow stain on the front and a small brown stain on the back of his little undies, before Angel had slipped them off of him, and plopped him right onto Alex' old potty. Relieved that it had not been worse, he waited anxiously for Angela to excuse herself and allow him to finish....

Neil felt truly mortified by what happened next, as much to his dismay Angel did not leave but instead sat herself on the closed lid of the adult toilet seat, and with a stern expression said crossly, "All right young man, I'm waiting.... Now go ahead."

Neil felt his pale cheeks burn brightly with embarassment as no longer able to control himself, he both felt and heard his little poopies plunk noisily into the basin of the potty seat. Simultaneously he whined, "But Angewa.... What 'bout my pwivacy?"

She sighed and took the underwear. She tossed it in a nearby bucket, which she used to retreat her white nurses uniforms, and filled it with hot water and added washing powder and salt.

“No, bunny.” she said. “I don’t want you to fall down or anything. You are a little boy who just comes out of a hospital.”
She sighed. She hoped the accident was a one time thing.
“Now, do what you need to do.” she said. “Then we will drink some tea.”