The Earth Painter (28 page)

Doctor Coats stood and walked to the hospital room door. “I’ll ask the nurse to bring you some ice cream when she changes the bandage on your arm. She’s going to give you some medicine too. I’ll come back later and maybe you can tell me how you got that awful burn on your arm. The infection isn’t healing as we’d hoped. Maybe the new medicine will help.”

Theo didn’t look up or answer. What was to become of him? What would we do now? I tucked another pillow behind him on the bed as he drew. I was not made for this. I was a
Khai-Ree
, not a nurse.