Page 61 of At Midnight Comes the Cry
And almost ran into the woman she was looking for. “Oh!” Tiny’s hand covered her mouth. “It’s you!” She burst into tears. “I’m so sorry! I stole your car. I’ve never done anything like that before. I’m so sorry!”
It didn’t take more than a glance to see there were no other adults in the hunting shack. One of the two camp beds pushed along the side walls held Rose, sprawled in boneless baby sleep, surrounded by diapers and clothing Clare recognized from her own home. There was a milk crate and a collection of foodstuffs on a large wooden table; a few chairs and a kerosene heater took up the rest of the space. A cable ran from the eaves down to a black box. Clare stepped closer.PORTABLE REPEATERwas helpfully embossed on its side.
The young woman was still weeping. “Oh, Tiny. Stop. It’s all right.” Clare took her hands. “I’m not angry with you. I was worried. I was afraid you might…” She was close enough to really see the other woman. Tiny had bruises on her temple and jaw, and a red, raw strip around her neck. “Oh my God. What did he do to you?”
“He was so mad. He was mad I let you and that lawyer in, and mad I left the house, and mad I came here, but what was I supposed to do when he wasn’t home?” Tiny touched her neck. “He put me in a hold, you know, with his arm, and it was hard to breathe, and I was so scared…”
Clare hugged her. “I am so sorry. You don’t deserve to be treated like that, Tiny. No one does.”
“He called me awful names. He said I was stupid and useless…”She gulped back another sob and wiped her nose with the cuff of her flannel shirt. “Why would he do that if he loves me?”
“He wouldn’t. Would you say something like that to him?”
Tiny blinked. “Of course not.”
Clare took her hands. “Sometimes wanting to control someone, or wanting to own someone, looks like love. For a while. But it’s not real. It’s like the difference between a doll and a baby. You can cuddle and kiss a doll, but you’re not going to get anything back from it.”
Tiny turned toward her sleeping daughter. “I love him. And… he’s a good father.”
“Is he?” Clare let her skepticism show. “What will you do when he starts telling Rose she’s useless and stupid? Is he going to show her a woman deserves respect and kindness and consideration? Is that what she’s going to learn growing up watching you two together?” She crossed to the cot and dropped down next to the sleeping baby, all fat pink cheeks and sweat-dampened curls. “Tiny, when she brings home a boy just like Cal, what are you going to tell her?”
Tiny took a deep, shuddering breath. When she spoke, her voice was almost inaudible. “What am I going to do?”
“That’s up to you.”
She looked back toward Clare. “I thought you were here to, you know, rescue me.”
Clare shook her head. “I’m here to help you rescue yourself, Tiny. If you want to.”
“I’ve never had a job other than working as a cashier! I don’t have a place to live other’n our house! I don’t even have any money except what I took from your wallet! How am I supposed to rescue myself?”
Clare stood. “You walk out that door with me. And you make up your mind that you’re never, ever coming back. Everything else, a job, a house, the money—all that you’ll work out. It will be hard, but you’ll do it, for you and for Rose. But this is the important part, Tiny. You can’t be running away like you were yesterday. You need to be walking toward something.”
Tiny rubbed at her face again. She looked at her sneakered feet fora moment, then nodded. “You know what? I’m real good with babies. I could get a job in a day care.”
Clare smiled a little. “I think that would be great.”
Tiny grabbed the diaper bag and began stuffing clothing and wipes inside. “Let’s get out of here before Cal comes back.”
Clare snapped back to her other purpose for being at the remote hunting shack. “Where is Cal?”
“I dunno. After we… fought, he just said he had to drop off something. He told me to stay put.” She rammed a container of Pampers in the bag. “But guess what? You’re not the boss of me anymore, Cal March.”
“Did he take a snowmobile? Or his truck?”
Tiny straightened. “His truck.”
“Okay.” Clare gestured toward the window. “Yíxin—I mean, Joy, is waiting to hear from me. You get the baby bundled up while I go tell her what’s happening and then you and I can drive back together in my car.”
When Clare opened the passenger door, Yíxin yelped. “Christ, you scared me! Don’t do that!” She twisted in her seat. “Where’s Tiny? What took you so long?”
“She’s packing up the baby. Look, you were right; this is some sort of communications center-slash-transportation depot. There’s a radio repeater inside and an antenna on the roof.”
“Sounds like useful information. I took photos of the license plates on those trucks while you were inside.” Yíxin held up her phone.
“Perfect! Can you run those plates from my house?”
“As long as I’ve got internet, I can run them from anywhere.”
