Then she heard Mrs. Hudson weeping.
“I’m sorry, Leo,” Mrs. Hudson said, her voice raspy and quivering. “But I have to help this poor, hungry boy. Please, please forgive me. I promise, my sweet baby, I’ll love you with all my heart until the day I die.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
PIA
Pia was sitting on the rug in the playroom playing tiddlywinks with the girls when Mrs. Hudson came in with the baby boy swaddled in her arms, her eyes swollen from crying. Sophie and Margaret looked up from their toys and froze, confusion pinching their innocent faces. Immersed in her own little world and humming to herself, the youngest girl, Elizabeth, continued playing with her blocks. Mrs. Hudson regarded Pia with a fretful expression, as if worried what she might think. Pia feigned surprise and got up from the rug to greet her. It had been only a few minutes since she’d heard Nurse Wallis leave, and she wasn’t sure if she’d taken the baby with her or not, so in truth, she was surprised. But if she were being honest, she was relieved Mrs. Hudson had agreed to take care of the boy. Because if her brothers were alive, she hoped someone had shown them the same kindness. She brushed off her dress and gave Mrs. Hudson a slight smile to show she wasn’t taken aback. Sophie and Margaret stared at the baby in their mother’s arms.
“It’s all right,” Mrs. Hudson said to the girls. “We’re only looking after him for a few days, until Nurse Wallis can find him a permanent home.” She sat in the rocking chair and the two older girls got up and gathered around her. Sophie gently pulled the blanket away from the baby’s face to get a better look
“Where did he come from?” Margaret said, suddenly sounding older than her four years.
“His mother is very sick,” Mrs. Hudson said. “And we can’t find his daddy. So Nurse Wallis brought him here because he doesn’t have a home.”
“Oh, Mommy,” Margaret said in a high, desperate voice, sounding like a little girl again. “That makes me want to cry.”
“I know, sweetheart,” Mrs. Hudson said. “It makes me want to cry too.”
Wondering what all the fuss was about, Elizabeth pushed herself up on her feet, toddled over, and peeked over the arm of the rocking chair. When she saw the baby, she grinned, reached out with one arm, and plopped her chubby palm on his head as if patting a ball.
“Careful,” Mrs. Hudson said, protecting the baby’s head with a trembling hand.
Elizabeth laughed and said, “Eo.”
Mrs. Hudson’s eyes filled. “No, precious girl, this isn’t Leo. This is a different boy. He’s not your brother.”
“Eo!” Elizabeth said again, delighted. “Eo, Eo, Eo.” She clapped and jumped up and down, bouncing on her tiptoes.
Mrs. Hudson’s face crumpled in on itself and she hung her head.
Pia moved closer. “May I hold him for a minute, ma’am?” she said.
Mrs. Hudson gave her a grateful look and lifted the baby into her waiting arms. Pia gazed down at his pale, thin face and he observed her sleepily, his chestnut eyes blinking. He was a beautiful baby, with a headful of dark curly hair, the complete opposite of blond Leo and the rest of the Hudson family. Using the tips of her fingers, she softly caressed his cheek and forehead to see if she felt anything worrisome. Because despite what Mrs. Hudson said about taking care of him only until he found a new home, Pia knew Nurse Wallis wanted Mrs. Hudson to keep him. And the last thing the Hudsons needed was to take in a sick baby. Dr. Hudson would probably examine him even if they didn’t keep him, but Pia wanted to check him over, anyway. Luckily, she didn’t feel anything other than a weary sensation, as if she were overtired and hungry. Of course it made sense that the baby would be both of those things, considering what he’d been through, and that his ailing mother likely hadn’t taken care of him properly. Giving in to her soft touch, he closed his eyes and started to doze off. She looked up to see Mrs. Hudson watching with anxious eyes.
“Does he feel healthy to you?” she said.
Pia nodded, surprised and pleased to be asked her opinion. “He’s very tired. But other than that, I think he’s well, yes.”
Elizabeth crawled into her mother’s lap, put a thumb in her mouth, and snuggled into the folds of her blouse. Mrs. Hudson wrapped her arms around her youngest daughter and started rocking the chair, trying not to cry.
“Can we keep him, Mommy?” Margaret said. “We miss Leo so.”
“Uh-huh,” Sophie said. “We want him to stay wif us. Pretty please?”
Mrs. Hudson closed her eyes, her features twisting in agony, and buried her face in Elizabeth’s golden hair.
“Come along now, girls,” Pia said. “Why don’t you go back to your toys? Your mother needs some peace and quiet.”
Mrs. Hudson lifted her head and wiped away her tears. “It’s all right,” she said. “I’d like to stay here with them for a little while.” She looked at the baby. “Is he asleep?”
Pia nodded.
“Would you mind putting him down for a nap?”
“Of course not,” Pia said. “I’d be happy to.” She turned toward the door, then stopped. “Um... where would you like me to put him, ma’am?”
Mrs. Hudson pressed her lips together for a few seconds, then said, “In the nursery, I suppose.”
“Are you sure?” Pia said. “I could put him in my room or—”
“No, it’s fine. Really.”
Pia watched her for another moment to make sure she wasn’t going to change her mind.
Mrs. Hudson nodded once to let her know it was all right.
“Yes, ma’am,” Pia said, and went to put the baby in the nursery.
When she came back into the playroom a few minutes later, Mrs. Hudson was on the floor playing dolls with the girls. “Is there anything you’d like me to do for you, ma’am?”
“Play with us!” Margaret said.
“I can’t think of anything at the moment, Pia,” Mrs. Hudson said. “Thank you. Just come sit with us.”
Pia went over and knelt between the girls. Mrs. Hudson was helping Margaret dress a doll with brown ringlets and painted-on shoes, but a lost, faraway look dulled her eyes. Clearly, her mind was elsewhere.
“You be dis one,” Sophie said, giving Pia a doll in a ruffled dress.
Pia took the doll, ran her fingers through its snarled hair, and eyed Mrs. Hudson. “Are you feeling all right, ma’am?”
Mrs. Hudson nodded. “When the baby wakes up, I’m going to take him into the office to meet Dr. Hudson. So I might need you to start dinner, something simple, like ham toast and baked beans. I’m not up to cooking an elaborate meal this evening.”
“Of course, ma’am,” Pia said. She thought about telling Mrs. Hudson she shouldn’t worry about what her husband was going to say, but didn’t feel like it was her place. Because from what she could tell, he was one of the most compassionate men she’d ever met. He’d never turn a needy child away. She often thought that if and when she ever felt brave enough to tell the Hudsons about her brothers, she might tell him first. Plus he worshipped the ground Mrs. Hudson walked on. If there was one thing Nurse Wallis was right about, it was that Dr. Hudson would agree to anything if it helped make his wife whole again.
Pia had no idea what transpired when Mrs. Hudson took the baby into her husband’s office, but other than the usual mealtime chatter about passing the salt and reminding the girls to use their manners, Dr. and Mrs. Hudson spoke little at dinner. It had been the same way since Leo passed once Mrs. Hudson rejoined them, somber and bleak and uncomfortable, but another feeling seemed to pulse in the air, like a strange mixture of anxiety and anticipation. Judging from the girls’ faces when they glanced at the baby sleeping in the corner, the exhilaration was coming from them. The adults, however, seemed preoccupied. No one corrected Elizabeth when she smiled at the baby, clapped her hands, and said, “Eo.” Maybe they didn’t notice. Pia could hardly wait for the meal to be over.
Later that night, when she got up to do her usual check on the children before turning out h
er light, Pia found Mrs. Hudson asleep on the nursery chaise, the baby boy sleeping on her chest. Elizabeth was in her usual position in her crib: butt in the air, feet tucked under. Pia brushed a curl from the little girl’s forehead. Did she have any idea how lucky she was to have such loving parents? When Pia turned to leave, she startled. Dr. Hudson stood in the doorway, watching his wife with tender, watery eyes.
* * *
The next day, after Nurse Wallis’s normal visiting time came and went, Pia brought Elizabeth down from the nursery and found Mrs. Hudson looking out the parlor window with a furrowed brow, the drape pulled to one side. Sitting on the floor, Margaret and Sophie were taking turns rocking the sleeping baby in Leo’s cradle.
“Do you think something happened to her?” Mrs. Hudson said to Pia.
Pia put Elizabeth down on the rug and repositioned the bow in her nap-flattened hair. “I don’t know, ma’am.”
Mrs. Hudson let the curtain drop. “Maybe she’s bringing someone to pick up the baby.” She tugged on the drapes to straighten the folds, smoothed the front of her dress, then sat down in one of the wingback chairs, her fingers tapping the flowered arm. “Do you think she could have found someone to take him so quickly?”
“I’m not sure, ma’am,” Pia said. “It’s possible, I guess.”
Mrs. Hudson told the girls to stop rocking the cradle, then knelt and put a gentle hand on the baby’s chest to make sure he was breathing. “Dr. Hudson said he seems healthy, but he’s so thin and pale, I... I wish Nurse Wallis would come get him. I couldn’t take it if—”
“I’m sure he’ll gain weight with more food and proper rest,” Pia said.
“Oh Lord, I hope you’re right,” Mrs. Hudson said. “The poor darling. What he must have gone through. It would break my heart to think he was unwell.”
As afternoon turned into evening and there was still no sign of Nurse Wallis, Mrs. Hudson grew more and more nervous. After Pia tucked the older girls into bed, she stuck her head into the nursery, where Mrs. Hudson sat with the baby cradled in her arms.
“I can take care of him for a while if you’d like,” Pia said. “Maybe you should get some rest.”
“Do you think Nurse Wallis is sick?” Mrs. Hudson said. “I shouldn’t have let her in the house. Do you think that’s why she hasn’t come back?”
“I don’t know, ma’am.”
Mrs. Hudson looked down at the baby with anxious eyes. “What if she has the flu? Do you think he’ll get sick too? Will he be the first to fall ill, or will it be me? I shouldn’t have let the girls near him. I’ll never forgive myself if—”
“I’m sure she’ll be back,” Pia said. “Try not to worry, ma’am. Why don’t you give him to me and go lay down for a bit.” In truth, Pia had her own doubts that the nurse would return, but there was no point in telling Mrs. Hudson that. The nurse had convinced the Hudsons to take the boy in, and maybe that was all she wanted. Maybe she thought her job there was done. Pia couldn’t help berating herself for not telling Mrs. Hudson about her brothers so she could have asked the nurse for help before she disappeared. Then again, after the incident with the ledger and the bag, Nurse Wallis probably had even less desire to help. Pia reached out to take the baby and Mrs. Hudson placed him gently in her arms.
“Does he still feel all right to you?” she said.
Pia put a hand on his forehead. “He feels perfectly fine, maybe even a little stronger than he did at first.”
“Really?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Pia said. She wasn’t sure if the baby was healthier or if he just had a full belly for the first time in a while, but if saying he was stronger kept Mrs. Hudson from having a nervous fit, she didn’t regret the little white lie.
* * *
By the time Nurse Wallis returned two days later, Mrs. Hudson was nearly beside herself.
“Where have you been?” she said when the nurse walked into the kitchen at lunchtime. She handed Pia the bread she’d been slicing and wiped her hands on her apron. “I was worried you’d fallen ill.”
Pia went over to the table and divided the sliced bread between the girls’ plates, avoiding eye contact with Nurse Wallis. It was the first time they’d seen each other since the incident with the bag, and Pia didn’t know what to expect. Hopefully the nurse had forgotten about it, but somehow Pia didn’t think she had.
“I’m sorry,” Nurse Wallis said. “But I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
“I’m glad to see you’re all right,” Mrs. Hudson said. “But I’ve been extremely anxious and worried that you’d exposed me and my children to some type of illness.”
“Well, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Nurse Wallis said. “I’m a very busy woman and I’ve been looking for someone to take the baby.”
Mrs. Hudson’s hand flew to the collar of her blouse, her fingers fluttering nervously over the ruffled edge. “And? Did you find someone?”
Nurse Wallis shook her head. “No. One couple was interested, but when I inadvertently mentioned the mother’s lunacy, they worried her affliction might be passed along to the boy.”
“Is that a concern?” Mrs. Hudson said.
“Not at all,” Nurse Wallis said. “Dr. Henry Cotton from the New Jersey State Hospital recently discovered that insanity begins with a focal sepsis, or infection, of the teeth. The boy doesn’t even have teeth yet.”
“I hadn’t heard that,” Mrs. Hudson said.
“It was in the papers a few months ago,” Nurse Wallis said. “You should ask your husband, I’m sure he knows about it.”
“I will,” Mrs. Hudson said.
“I inquired at the orphanages too,” Nurse Wallis said. “And presently the only one with room for an infant is one of the poorest, most overcrowded institutions in the city.”
“Oh no,” Mrs. Hudson said. “You can’t put him there.” She went over to the cradle, picked up the baby, and held him to her chest.
“I’m afraid it’s the best I can do,” Nurse Wallis said. “I’ve talked to every headmaster, nun, and nurse in the city and they all said the same thing.”
“And what was that?” Mrs. Hudson said.
“That the best thing for him would be for you to keep him.”
At the kitchen table, Margaret and Sophie clapped their hands. “Hooray!” they yelled at the same time.
“He gets to stay!” Margaret said, beaming. “Oh, Mommy, that makes me so happy I want to cry!”
Bouncing the baby in her arms, Mrs. Hudson gaped at her daughters, her face a curious mixture of confusion, fear, and relief.
Pia agreed the best thing for the baby was for Mrs. Hudson to keep him, but she’d never say so out loud. It wasn’t her place. Besides, she would have been sad to see him go, and it seemed as though having him around helped Mrs. Hudson feel better. But now that Nurse Wallis was back, Pia wondered if she should ask her for help one more time, before she disappeared again. Except she still hadn’t told Mrs. Hudson about her brothers, and she couldn’t just blurt it out. Not to mention Nurse Wallis suspected her of getting into her bag.
Just then, the back door opened and Dr. Hudson came into the kitchen. When he saw the look on his wife’s face, he hurried over to her side. “What is it, dear?” he said. “What’s happened?”
“Nurse Wallis can’t find anyone to take the baby,” Mrs. Hudson said, her eyes filling. “She said she has to put him in an orphanage.”
Dr. Hudson put his hand on her shoulder. “There, there, darling. Everything will be all right.”
Sophie got down from her chair, hurried over to her parents, and wrapped her arms around their legs. “Please, can he stay wif us?” she cried.
Margaret did the same. “Don’t let her take him,” she wailed. “We love him and we’ll help take care of him. We promise.”
Dr. Hudson smiled lovingly and touched their heads, stroking their hair.
Elizabeth slapped her high chair tray and rocked back and forth in her seat. “Get ’own,” she said. “Get ’own.” P
ia lifted her from the high chair and put her on the floor. She toddled over to join her sisters, circling her family and hugging them one by one, giggling. “Momma, Dada, ’ophie, ’arget, ’eo.” Then she went over to Pia, reached up for her hand, and tried pulling her over to join them. “Pia,” she said, plain as day.
A burning lump formed in Pia’s throat. The gesture touched her deeply, but Elizabeth was a toddler who loved everyone. She didn’t know any different. Pia shook her head, hoping Elizabeth wouldn’t get upset if she didn’t go with her. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin this happy moment. Then Mrs. Hudson gave her a weak smile, nodding to let her know it was all right, that Elizabeth was allowed to bring her into the circle. Heat crawled up Pia’s face and she went with Elizabeth to stand awkwardly next to Mrs. Hudson, her head bowed. The idea that they might consider her part of their family made her eyes burn.
Mrs. Hudson gazed at her husband, smiling through her tears, a question on her face.
“It’s up to you, darling,” he said. “Whatever decision you make, I’ll stand behind it.”
Mrs. Hudson nodded and buried her nose in the baby’s neck, her shoulders convulsing. “All right, yes,” she cried. “I wouldn’t be able to give him up, anyway.”
Nurse Wallis tented her hands under her chin, looking pleased. “That’s wonderful,” she said.
“Well done, Nurse Wallis,” Dr. Hudson said. “It seems as though you’ve found this boy a new home.”
“I think you’ve made a very wise and compassionate decision,” Nurse Wallis said. “Congratulations to all of you.”
Margaret and Sophie jumped up and down, laughing and clapping and repeating over and over, “The baby can stay! The baby can stay!”
Mimicking her older sisters, Elizabeth did the same.
* * *
With regular feedings, a warm house, and clean clothes, the baby’s thin face and scrawny legs filled out, and his pale skin turned a healthy pink. Dr. and Mrs. Hudson named him Cooper Lee, and within a couple of weeks, Mrs. Hudson started smiling and bustling around the house again. The spirited gleam in her eyes had been forever dulled, but she laughed on occasion, happily played with her daughters, and beamed when she held Cooper in her arms. And she slept in the nursery every night.
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