I shook my head. “No, we won’t tell him. And for the record, you worry too much about the sheriff. He has a good heart, and we’ll just tell him Sebastian led us to the girls.”
Ludi shuffled off and came back in with Avril. “Lordamercy, this girl’s burnin’ plumb up!” She handed her to me. Avril’s body was limp with sleep, but her face was hot as fire.
Traipsing through the open field to Ludi’s in the night air might have brought on a fever, but another thought plowed into my brain.
Swoosh. Clank. Wheeze. Sounds of the respiratory ward roared in my head.
No, dear Lord. No!
Even in the lantern glow, I saw the flush on her cheeks.
The same look Fiona Callahan had the night polio struck.
[ CHAPTER 37 ]
Peter drove as fast as he could over the narrow roads. When he turned onto the main highway, Avril stirred and mumbled, “My head hurts.”
“It’s okay, sugar. We’re going to take care of you.”
We dropped Rosey and Bonnie off at the Stardust, and I asked Peter to run in and give Mary Frances and Malcolm a quick explanation and to have them call the sheriff and tell him the girls were safe.
Two of them, anyway. God only knew about Avril.
Although my insides churned and frothed with worry, I tried to force the sounds and smells from the polio ward from my thoughts. But they sneaked in anyway. The discordant rhythms of the iron lungs wheezing, groaning. The cries from those confined in the life-sustaining machines.
From inside Peter’s car, the first rays of morning gave a peach glow to the horizon, illuminating Avril’s face, her discomfort evident in the pucker of her brows, the protruding bottom lip. I kissed the top of her head and tightened the hold of my arms around her.
Time took on a new dimension as we rushed to the hospital, through the emergency doors, and into a curtained cubicle. As Doc Kelley conducted his exam, I wanted him to be done, to tell us it was only the flu, a bad case of too much night air, or a bad dream. But then he called the nurse and asked for a spinal tray. He positioned Avril in a fetal position and asked me to hold her. He pulled on gloves and worked behind her, talking gently.
“You’ll feel a stick when I put this magic medicine in to numb you. Now, I want you to hold still as a mouse. You’ll feel pressure in your back while I take a sample of your spinal fluid.”
He took a long needle from a tray and asked the nurse if she was ready. She held up a clear tube and nodded. When he poised the needle, I turned away, my fingers digging into the chubby flesh of my daughter.
“It’s okay, sweetie. You’re going to be okay.” I repeated the words over and over, the mantra for myself as well as Avril.
She screamed when the needle pierced her spine, and it seemed to pierce my heart as well.
Doc talked quietly to the nurse, but I closed off my mind and begged God to have mercy, to touch Avril’s body, to take the sickness from her. Behind me, I felt a firm but gentle hand on my shoulder and heard Aunt Cora whisper, “It’s all right, Georgia. I’m praying, sugar.”
Relief, like a cleansing rain, came over me, and I was glad for whoever had called her. Tears slid down my cheeks and pooled in the bend of my elbow.
When he was finished, Doc patted Avril’s cheek and told her she’d done well. He looked at me and sighed. “We’ll know before long if we’re dealing with infantile paralysis. She’ll have to lie flat on her back for a few hours now to keep her from getting a headache.”
I nodded. It seemed ironic since she already had one when we came in.
As he walked out the door, he muttered, “This is no way to start the morning.”
When we got to her room, Peter said he’d better go and straighten things out with the sheriff and would check on us later. Aunt Cora assured him she’d stay until he got back. Avril slept in fits and starts, trying to turn onto her side. I hovered over her, rubbing her arms and legs with the back of my finger to keep her still. It seemed an eternity before a nurse came and told me she’d sit with Avril, that Doc wanted to speak to Aunt Cora and me in the hall.
Aunt Cora took my hand in hers and led me through the door.
The lines in Doc’s face looked deeper than ever, but his eyebrows rose slightly at the sight of us. “I have good news. We saw no abnormalities in the spinal fluid. Whatever we’re dealing with is not polio.”
My body went limp, every hope and prayer I’d clung to now holding me up. My teeth chattered from the quivers in my jaws. “Oh, my. Are you sure?”
“Nearly positive. I think she has a virus of some sort, but it’s not polio. Her throat is pink, but her tonsils aren’t swollen. The stiffness in her neck is most likely the flu. All of her reflexes are normal, with no pain in any of her joints. If I were guessing, I’d say it’s an upper respiratory condition.”
We thanked him. Shook his hand. Then Aunt Cora and I embraced and clung to each other until we were both crying and laughing at the same time.
Doc wanted Avril to stay a couple more hours as a precaution, but he thought she’d be right as rain in a few days.
It was all I’d prayed for and more.
Aunt Cora insisted that Avril and I come home with her. “It’s quieter there, and she needs rest. From what I’ve heard, y’all were up half the night.”
Doc agreed that being closer to the hospital in case we had other concerns was a good idea. Peter returned as we were fixing to leave.
“Mrs. Benning’s gone back to Arkansas. The sheriff told her she would have to apply for guardianship with the state of Texas before he would let her take Bonnie. She wasn’t happy and thought she should at least get a reimbursement for her wasted trip.”
I blew out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “What a relief. It makes me wonder if I even want them to look for this Inez woman.”
Aunt Cora frowned. “Who’s Inez?”
“The woman I told you about. Fiona’s sister. Bonnie talked about Aunt Eyes, but we couldn’t figure out she meant Inez. At least Mrs. Benning provided us with that information, so all is not lost.”
Peter smiled. “I have some good news there.”
My stomach somersaulted. “They found her?”
“I told Sheriff Bolander about her since Cora was busy here with you and couldn’t start the process with the March of Dimes people. He made some calls, and it turns out a woman named Inez Lombardy lives next door to one of the police officers in Kilgore. She’s been worried about her sister. They’re going to talk to her this evening.”
“What if she’s as horrible as Mrs. Benning?”
“The officer said she and her husband are good citizens from what he can tell. Her husband’s the manager of the Piggly Wiggly.”
“Did he know the husband’s name?”
“No. Why?”
“Bonnie mentioned a man named Uncle Mitch. I think it might be Inez’s husband.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard to find out. I’m thinking of driving over there Monday if it’s the right people. It’s going to be a shock when they find this out.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“I called the mill, told them what was going on. They said to take all the time I need.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I know. But I said I’d see you through this, and that’s what I aim to do.”
“How can I ever thank you?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll think of something.” His eyes danced, and it was all I could do not to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him, but with Aunt Cora looking on, I refrained.
Aunt Cora picked Avril up and said, “Let’s go home.”
Avril still had a slight fever and didn’t argue when I told her she needed to lie down. I settled her in the bedroom that had been mine growing up. Little had changed. The same yellowed lace curtains hung at the windows. The pink organza bedspread with the ink stain. When I pulled the spread up and looked at the irregular-shaped mark, a memory stirred.
&n
bsp; I’d been sitting in the middle of my bed writing a letter to O’Dell to tell him I’d decided not to marry him after all. If he was unfaithful before we married, I could only imagine what my life would be like afterward.
I’d just refilled my pen from the ink bottle, anxious to get the words down while I had the courage. I’ll go away and give the baby up for adoption. It’s best for all of us. Tears streaked down my face and fell onto the paper, smearing the words. I gripped the pen. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a mother. I did. But I wanted a husband who loved me and would be true. A child deserved two parents—two devoted parents—who wouldn’t decide one day to dump the child with a relative.
Aunt Cora knocked and came in before I’d finished. “Oh, goodness, what’s wrong?”
I told her about O’Dell and my decision to call off the wedding.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. He’s just sowing his wild oats. Be thankful he’s getting it out of his system. Come on. You’re going to be a beautiful bride.” She’d leaned over to give me a hug and bumped the ink bottle. The stopper wasn’t in tight, and ink poured out like the shame I carried in my womb.
“What if he doesn’t get it out of his system? What would I do then?”
“The same thing women have always done. Hold your head up and smile. It’s uncomely to air your dirty laundry in public. In your condition, you should be thanking your lucky stars he’s willing to marry you.” She gave me a hug. “I came up to tell you the irises look too much like funeral flowers, so I’m going to see if we can find peonies instead. Besides, they have such a lovely scent.”
The irises might have been the better choice, and I could have protested. I could have packed my bags and gone. I might have, but when Aunt Cora left my room that day, I was lying on my bed running my finger around the ink blob when a strange stirring came in my abdomen. As soft as the breath of a butterfly but as quick as a firefly on a June evening, it came again. I could decide not to marry O’Dell Peyton. But in that moment, I knew the one thing I could never do was give up the life growing inside me. My sweet Rosey. Two weeks later, I stood in the gazebo behind Mara Lee and said “I do.”
Now, Avril stirred under the sheet, her lips quirked in a slumbering smile. I felt her forehead, which was almost cool. The aspirin had helped, and I knew I’d made the right choice that day seven years ago. O’Dell had been a good father when he was around. It was just all the other times keeping my chin up that my heart felt shattered.
Downstairs, the phone rang for the third time since we’d been home. The weariness of the past twenty-four hours caught up with me, and I let my head relax into the pillow. As I was drifting off, I thought I heard Mr. Sweeney’s voice downstairs. I smiled. Aunt Cora and her suitors. At least I liked this one. When I woke up, I was surprised that the moon shone through the lace at the window.
Aunt Cora peeked around the door. “Still doing okay?”
I nodded and went out in the hall with her. “Your phone’s been awfully busy.”
“We’re getting down to the wire with the charity event. People are still worried with the new cases last week, but they also want to fight back. I think we’ll have a good turnout.”
I sat on the top step of the staircase. “I’m looking forward to it being a busy weekend at the Stardust, too, although most of the rooms are spoken for by Mr. Sweeney and his musicians.”
“I suppose they have to stay somewhere. By the way, Peter stopped by and dropped off a bag for you. He said Rosey packed you some things.”
“That should be interesting.”
“Your young man is nice.”
“Peter?”
“Who else would I be talking about?”
“He gets a lot of credit for getting the Stardust remodeled.”
She waved away the remark. “You know how I feel about that place. I only mentioned Peter because he seems a decent sort, and it gives me some consolation that, with him there, you’re not quite as vulnerable to tramps or criminals darkening your door.”
“Your fears are ungrounded. All of the people who’ve come to the Stardust have been nice. One man says he’s been every summer for thirty years.”
“Someone I know?”
“Malcolm Overstreet.”
“It sounds familiar, but I can’t place him.”
“The funny thing is, he remembered Mr. Sweeney. Said they both stayed there years ago.”
“You sure know a lot about your customers.”
“Yep, we’re one big happy family. And get this, Malcolm is sweet on Mary Frances. She’s started fixing herself up, putting color on her cheeks. She even painted her toenails and started wearing stylish clothes.”
“Get out of here. Your Mary Frances?”
“Yep. The change in her has been miraculous.”
“You’ve changed, too. I like your hair. Did Twila Flynn cut it for you?”
“No. Ludi did.”
“Your colored woman? You let her cut your hair?”
When I nodded, Aunt Cora shook her head. “I can’t believe you trusted a colored woman.”
“She’s my friend and has more talents in her little finger than I’ll ever have. I wish I’d cut it ages ago.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“O’Dell liked it long. Not that it kept him home, but I’m getting past that. As a matter of fact, I’ve decided facing the truth of our relationship is for the best.”
Aunt Cora picked at the polish on her fingernail. “There’s still a place for being discreet.”
“Maybe so, but when it affects others, it’s senseless to keep up the charade. It wasn’t Bonnie’s fault her mother had an affair with O’Dell. I saw how haunted the poor thing was, not knowing if her mother had abandoned her, or if she was even alive. That’s why I took her to Tyler when I went to get Willie. I wanted her to see her mother, even if it wasn’t under the best of conditions.”
“She’s awfully young to be taken onto a polio ward.”
“The people at the hospital didn’t think so, and I was shocked at her resilience. She saw her mother in the iron lung and didn’t even flinch. Climbed up on a stool and caressed her mother’s face. It was precious.”
“I hope she’s not scarred for life.”
“I think not knowing would have left a bigger scar.”
“I don’t know where you’ve gotten all these ideas, Georgia. I’ve simply never understood you.”
“You tried. I know you did. I do wish you’d told me my parents had problems and weren’t coming back. It would’ve saved us both a lot of grief.”
“You were too young to handle the information.”
“You might have been surprised.”
She drew her lips tight, her body rigid beside me. Funny, but I no longer felt anger toward her as I had in the past. A bit sad and melancholy, but perhaps I was simply unable to wring out any other emotion after the stress of the past two days.
She turned to me. “Why does the name Malcolm Overstreet sound so familiar?”
Either she hadn’t heard a word I said or she was ignoring me. “Perhaps he was one of the men who sneaked in the back door to entertain you.”
My skin prickled with a million tiny needles. The words had just slipped out. The moment I said it, I wished I hadn’t. No matter what my beef with Aunt Cora, I had never accused her in such a way. And she’d been a pillar for me with Avril.
She laughed. “Whatever are you talking about? Men at the back door? I swan, Georgia, I think you’re the one with a fever.” Her voice was tinny, hollow.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You’re right, you shouldn’t have. But I’m flabbergasted, absolutely stymied by where you came up with such a statement.” Her voice had returned to normal, and like truth massaged over time, I believed she did think she was innocent. That my child’s eye hadn’t seen the men who came and went. That my young imagination wasn’t capable of figuring out Aunt Cora was nothing more than a courtesan in her own home.
<
br /> Avril touched me on the shoulder. “Mommy, I’m hungry.”
“Oh, sweetie, you must be feeling better.” I touched her forehead. As cool as a spring breeze.
Aunt Cora rose and scooped Avril up. “So tell me. Are you really, really hungry? Hungry enough to eat a bear? Or only hungry enough for some of Auntie’s special tomato soup?”
She giggled. “I want a Popsicle. My throat hurts.”
Avril had two Popsicles while Aunt Cora fixed tomato soup for herself and me. In her usual fashion, she didn’t mention our earlier conversation until I was ready to tuck Avril into bed.
“I remember Malcolm Overstreet. You know, maybe it’s time we had the talk you’ve been pestering me about for twenty years.” She patted me on the cheek. “Someday soon.”
Either Aunt Cora, too, had decided to quit striving or her iron will had finally cracked. And something about that made my own foundation feel it was about to shatter.
[ CHAPTER 38 ]
Avril woke up with a stuffy nose, a low-grade fever, and enough energy to power a fishing boat through the bayou. Aunt Cora agreed to drop us off at the Stardust before she headed to church. She refused my invitation to come in but promised she’d call later to check on us.
Mary Frances met us with open arms. “You’ve no idea how glad I am to see you. I am worn plumb down to the nubs. I haven’t slept a wink in two nights, the girls had to fix their own breakfast, and I have blisters on my feet from these blasted high heels.”
“Whoa. Let’s start from the top, okay? First of all, why don’t you get some comfortable shoes? And Rosey’s old enough to help out, so that’s no problem. How was Willie?”
“Oh, he’s been an angel. You know, O’Dell was the same way. The best baby on earth.”
“I’m sure he was. Why don’t you take a break and put your feet up for a while? And take Avril with you.”
The two of them were gone before I could snap my fingers. The office was a mess. Cookie crumbs and crayons scattered on the floor. Stray coffee cups. But it was good to be home, and I hummed as I went to work.
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