Breeze of Life Read Online Free Page B

Factory.” I gave Harper a confused frown before quickly locking it away and putting on my best fake smile. I shook Cody’s hand. It was huge in my own tiny one. He was much taller than Harper and far wider too. His arms were just as heavily tattooed as Harper’s and his hair was a wiry tangle of curls. He was a little intimidating but his friendly smile and loud bark of laughter eased my nerves. Cody handed us a bright yellow pass to wear into the room beyond. I could hear music and children’s voices from behind that door and I was dreading what I knew was coming next. Harper took my hand as if sensing my worry and we followed Cody into the room. It was large and brightly painted with all sorts of activities going on—arts and crafts, face painting, video games, Play-Doh, and a small fluffy dog ran around the room with a bunch of screaming kids chasing it. A small grin played at my lips at the sight of the little dog running for his life. It seemed it was at risk of being cuddled to death and looked none too pleased about that prospect.  When my eyes touched the faces of sick and injured kids my heart wept. Some of them looked so sick yet their little faces were alit with wonder and fascination. I took a few deep breaths realizing I could not lose it here. These children didn’t need my sympathy or tears, they needed fun and hope.
    “Listen up kids!” boomed Cody’s enormous voice. “We have a very special guest today, one I know Henry back there is going to flip out over.” Cody grinned to a short blonde boy with a broken leg trying desperately to climb from his chair and race over to Harper. “Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, how ‘bout a big warm welcome for the number three world surfing champion, Harper Somerville!” The room erupted into cheers and claps and Harper strode easily forward to meet Henry and shook the little boy’s eager hand. Cody leant over and whispered in my ear, “Feel free to mingle, I got a feeling your boy is gonna be a little busy for a while.” I nodded and watched in awe as Harper knelt down and listened intently to each and every child, giving out hugs, autographs, photos, whatever was asked, all the while with a massive, genuine smile on his face. This was a side of Harper I had never witnessed. Oh, I had seen him autograph posters and clothing for kids, I had also seen him autograph many a pair of breasts. This was different though.  A small tug on my skirt got my attention and a little boy with a mass of red curls smiled at me with a toothless grin. I knelt down to his height.
    “Hi.” When I smiled this time, it wasn’t fake—it was real and it felt surprisingly good and easy. 
    “Hi, can you help me please?” He pointed to some Play-Doh on a small table behind us and I followed him over, sitting in one of the miniature chairs beside him. I learned my new friend’s name was Ben and he was in the hospital because he had been sick with pneumonia, but he was feeling much better now and would hopefully go home tomorrow. I began rolling out some doh and we began to build Frosty the Snowman. I wasn’t crafty, music was my forte, but somehow we managed to piece together a very impressive Frosty with pipe-cleaners for arms, a broken up paddle-pop stick for his nose, and two buttons for his eyes.
    “Do you know the song Frosty the Snowman ?” I asked. Ben nodded eagerly and when I began to sing he quickly joined in. A couple of little girls sitting at the table watched with big grins and clapped when we had finished. After a photo to celebrate our Frosty triumph, I stood up and wandered around the room. Harper was settled in comfortably playing video games, he would be happy to sit there for the next several hours as long as someone provided liquid and food. At the back of the room, sitting in a big comfy chair with an iPod plugged into her ears was a young girl, surely no more than fourteen, maybe fifteen. My attention was drawn to her because of the notable