Page 13 of Unwell
‘Mama always braided my hair. A ribbon at the top and another at the bottom. I’m not so good at that.’ Ginny’s voice grew distant as she mentioned her mother. The sting of her abandonment hadn’t abated.
‘I can braid it for you.’
‘You’re not like the others,’ Ginny said as I looped the soft pink around her hair. ‘You don’t hurt us.’
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I proceeded to plait her hair in a rope down her back. ‘I try to help.’
‘Can’t you tell someone? Out there?’ Her head turned toward the barred window.
The sobbing from her roommate had softened and I lowered my voice. ‘It’s not that easy. The owner of the asylum knows which palms to grease to keep any whistleblowing to a minimum.’
Ginny sat in silence as I tied the second ribbon. My heart broke for her.
‘I brought you a little something,’ I said, smiling as she turned on the bed to face me, her body slowing with the daily expansion of her stomach. Her eyes lit up as I took out a pink and white striped paper bag.
Tongue darting over her lower lip, she peered into the bag. ‘Candies? All for me?’
‘I hope they are okay. I wasn’t sure what you liked.’ A swell of pleasure lifted my chest at her reaction.
‘Oh, Nurse Nancy,’ she squealed, throwing her arms around my neck and giving me an entirely inappropriate hug.
The moment I extracted myself from her grip, she stuffed one of the red and white swirled candies into her mouth with a groan. Ginny flopped back on the bed giving little moans as she sucked the candy. Little moans that made me flush from chest to cheek.
‘You shouldn’t eat lying down, you could choke.’
Rolling onto her side, she gave a sticky smile. ‘Elijah never minds.’
Sensing an in, I took my chance to pry into her life.
‘Where did you meet Elijah?’
‘Just on the farm, like I said.’
‘Did he work there? Help your family out?’
Ginny’s brow crinkled. ‘No. He just came sometimes.’
I sighed. That line of inquiry proved just as fruitless as before.
‘You mentioned other babies. Can I ask about them?’
Pain flashed across her face, and her body stilled, the brief joy dissipating.
‘I suppose.’
‘There were more?’
Ginny picked at the bed covers, her eyes dropping. ‘Four.’
Four babies. She must have been so very young to have successfully birthed so many. I pressed my tongue to the top of my mouth as my eyes prickled.
‘Oh Ginny, I’m so sorry.’
‘Why? You didn’t take them from me.’ Ginny’s ragged nails scratched against the linen.
‘Who did?’
Ginny swallowed her candy before flopping back onto the bed, her eyes closing and her hands resting on her stomach, encompassing the babe within.
