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.“Mrs.Callahan, you have visitors.” The nurse didn’t direct her voice at the head protruding from the machine, but at a mirror attached to the top edge of the unit.She motioned for us to stand, as she did, at the end.It felt awkward, but at the same time gave me the opportunity to distance myself from the cold, fierce metal encasing Fiona’s body.My own underarms ran with perspiration, my breaths jagged as though they were trying to keep rhythm with all the respirators in the room.“Hello, Fiona.I’ve brought Bonnie to see you.Can you see her?” The calm in my voice surprised me, and I was glad I hadn’t come out sounding like a Martian, surrounded as we were by the alien sounds.Pale eyebrows furrowed above Fiona’s dull amber eyes.I moved Bonnie into better alignment.Fiona’s eyes widened, becoming moist at once.The muscles of her face twitched, lips moving, and I thought she might be trying to pucker them for a kiss.A rubber collar cradled her neck, but a metal device in the center of her throat looked uncomfortable and menacing.I knew it was necessary, though, to keep her airway open.To keep her from drowning in her own spit, as the sheriff had said.Bonnie’s eyes darted from the mirror to the iron lung, back to her mother.She’d not spoken since we entered the ward, yet she didn’t appear afraid, only curious.Now, she looked at the nurse.“Can I touch her?”“Certainly.Better yet, let me get you a stool to stand on.We have other children about your size who come to visit.”The step stool brought Bonnie to a more approachable position.She leaned in and kissed Fiona’s cheek.“I say my prayers every night, and Avril and me play dolls.Rosey is bossy and tries to make me learn my numbers, but sometimes she’s nice.”Her small, thin fingers smoothed Fiona’s hair.“Don’t cry, Mommy.You have to be brave so you can get well.”Honestly, Bonnie acted like it was the most natural thing in the world to be talking to her mother in an iron lung.While she chatted, I let my eyes wander to the other patients.Their total helplessness chafed my insides.The rhythm of the machines, while offbeat and disturbing, provided life-giving support.My own circumstances and inconvenience seemed small in comparison.One of the iron lungs had three portholes per side instead of four as Fiona’s did.I chewed my lower lip.A young girl with long dark hair occupied it.A child like my Rosey.Avril.Bonnie.My breath left me.Thank God for Aunt Cora and the others who dedicated themselves to helping.My admiration for Aunt Cora grew three sizes in that moment.Bonnie leaned over Fiona again, a twist of her mother’s hair curled in her fingers.“I love you, Mommy.” She hopped off the stool and looked at me.“I’m ready to go now.”I stepped where Fiona could see me in the mirror.“We’re all praying you get better soon.Bonnie’s been an angel, but she misses you.We’ve tried to locate your family—”Fiona’s eyes widened, then blinked rapidly like she was trying to tell me something.“You have someone in Arkansas? Is that right?”More blinks, but I couldn’t tell if it was yes or no.“Blink once for yes, two for no.You have family in Arkansas?”One blink.“Do you have other family?”A puzzled look.No blinks, but she formed an O with her mouth.I took a chance.“O’Dell?”One blink.“You were coming to find O’Dell?”One blink.“There was an accident.O’Dell was… hurt.” The painful look on her face and her fragile condition stopped me from telling her the truth.“You have to work on getting well, okay?” She closed her eyes.Whether to shut me out or because she was too tired to keep them open, I didn’t know.Bonnie took my hand, her grasp firm as we left the ward, leaving behind the swooshes and clatters, the smell of sickness.Too late I realized I’d not told Fiona who I was or how I knew about O’Dell.Nor had I asked permission to send Bonnie to Arkansas.I wasn’t even sure I could bear to see her go.[ CHAPTER 31 ]The nurse, a looming woman with steel-gray hair and eyes that matched, took the things we’d brought to dress the baby.When she’d finished, she handed him to me as the administrative assistant looked on.Déjà vu flashed before me, a lump growing in my throat.The infant looked exactly as I remembered Avril.Same silky black hair.Same quivering chin with the dimple in the middle.Fighting back tears, I held the baby so Bonnie could see.She stood on tiptoe, her pale gold eyes locked on her brother, and reached to touch the blanket that swaddled him.“Can we call him Willie?”“If that’s the name your mom picked out, then that’s what we’ll call him.”Bonnie asked to sit in the backseat by Willie’s basket on the way home.Within minutes, she and Willie fell asleep, making the drive eerily quiet.Mary Frances met us at the door when we returned to the Stardust.“Thank goodness, you’re home.Got the baby, I see.”“Hello to you, too.I’m sorry to be so late.Did you and the girls have a good time?” I held the baby close, nervous about whether she’d see the resemblance and make the connection before I had a chance to talk with her.Regret that I’d not told her Fiona was O’Dell’s other woman made my skin itch.“The girls were fine.It’s been a hive of activity the whole day.I’ve been up and down answering the door or the telephone every five minutes.”“Oh? Anything important?”“First an older gentleman I’ve never seen before trying to rent a room.I told him he’d have to come back later.”“I showed you the check-in routine
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