Providence (28 page)

Rosie interrupted. “We haven’t even settled into our rooms yet. Talk about tests and college courses can wait.”

“Well,” Lily said, “my point is it can’t wait. Becky needs to get her paperwork in now, so she can take classes at the end of January.”

Rosie was never one to lose a battle of wills. “We will talk about this later, after we have settled in,” she said.

The conversation had killed my appetite, so I offered to clean up from lunch. Lily seemed surprised by my suggestion and explained it was someone else’s job to clean up after meals. “Why don’t I show you to your rooms,” Lily said. “You can get settled in today, and tomorrow we can sit down and get Becky’s paperwork finished.”

Rosie’s room was on the first floor, tucked into a corner of the house I had never seen before. It was about four times the size of her room at home, and had a sitting area with a television. There were big closets on one wall, and a door leading to her very own bathroom. Back home, four of my brothers shared a room half the size of this one. I offered to do her unpacking, but Mrs. Harper had beaten me to it. Rosie’s clothes were hanging in the closets and her photos, knickknacks, and medicine bottles were lined up on her dressers and tables. Rosie settled into a chair in front of the television and sent us on our way.

I followed Lily back into the hallway. “Your room is upstairs,” she explained. As I followed her up the staircase, two things came to mind. First, I didn’t like the idea of being so far from Rosie. What if I couldn’t hear her calling for help in the night? Second, I wondered if Mrs. Harper was the snooping kind. If she had gone through all of Rosie’s things, had she gone through mine too? I ran my hand through Baby Girl’s diaper bag and felt my notebook buried in the middle of her things. I was grateful I’d thought to do that before we left Rosie’s house. Lily stopped in front of an open door. “Here you are,” she said with a sweep of her arm.

The room was even bigger than Rosie’s room downstairs. At one end was a big bed dressed in a yellow and white striped comforter. Nightstands with tall crystal lamps stood guard at both sides of the bed. I could see a huge tub through an open door near the corner of the room. At the other end of the room stood a sofa, a chair, some small tables, and a television. A small nook contained a desk and a pair of bookcases. It was beautiful, but what was missing was more important to me than all of those pretty things. “Where is Georgia’s crib?” I asked.

Lily looked surprised by my question. “Her crib is in her room,” she answered. “It’s right this way.”

I tightened my grip on Baby Girl as I followed Lily. A door just beyond the nook connected my room to a nursery. It was decorated in pink and white, with dolls and stuffed animals lined up on shelves. A rocking chair was placed next to her crib. The room looked like a picture in a magazine, but all I could think about was how far the crib was from my bed. I think I could have run from the Second Hand Rose to the Super Suds faster than I could make it from my bed to hers.

I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, so I kept my concerns to myself and decided to find my own solution to this problem. One glance at Lily and I knew it was the right decision. Her eyes clouded with tears as she looked around the room. I had been so worried about myself that I hadn’t stopped to think about how difficult it was for Lily to have a different baby moving into the room that must have been intended for her own. “Thank you for everything,” I said. “I’m going to change Georgia’s diaper and put her down for her afternoon nap.”

“You must be exhausted from all of the packing,” Lily said. “And your foot is still bothering you. I’ll change Georgia and rock her to sleep, so you can get some rest.”

“I can take care of her myself,” I said.

We stood staring into each other’s faces in silence for a minute or so. “I know you can,” Lily answered. “I’ll go check on Rosie.”

I watched Lily leave the room. Her shoulders drooped and her stride lacked the lightness and energy I had seen earlier in the day. I changed Baby Girl’s diaper and laid her in her crib. I only needed to rub her back for a few minutes before she fell asleep. I stood by the crib watching her back rise and fall for a few minutes before tiptoeing off to my room. I explored the drawers and closets before collapsing onto the sofa. I propped my foot up on a pillow and turned on the television. I rested for a bit, turning the television’s volume lower and lower until finally I turned off the set. I was worried I wouldn’t hear Baby Girl if she cried. I kept telling myself the sofa wasn’t much further from the crib than the front room of Rosie’s house was from our bedroom. Knowing I was being silly for worrying didn’t make the worrying go away, so I moved to the rocking chair in Baby Girl’s room.

That night at dinner, Lily was as quiet as she had been the first time I’d met her. I wondered what was wrong, but held my questions inside. When the table was cleared, Lily suggested we go to the parlor. “Rosie and I had a long talk this afternoon,” she said. “I want to hear your story straight from your mouth.” I could hear the anger in her voice.

I stared at Rosie. Had she told all of my secrets to Lily? My answer was in Rosie’s eyes.

I stood up and lifted Baby Girl onto my hip. “We’ll clear out of here in the morning,” I said.

“You’ll do no such thing,” Rosie said. “I only told her because I knew she could help. You two aren’t going anywhere without me.”

I walked out of the room before some angry words slipped out of me.

I spent that night sleeping on the floor beside Baby Girl’s crib. I didn’t think Lily would mind my leaving, but I wasn’t sure about how she would feel about me taking Baby Girl with me.

CHAPTER 31

I woke up the next morning and discovered the little piece of floor I had slept on had become a stage. I had an audience of two—Mrs. Harper and Lily, who was standing with her hands on her hips. I was taken aback by the sight and let out a little yelp. The noise woke Baby Girl. I stumbled to my feet, so I could be the first one to her. Lily cleared her throat. “Mrs. Harper came up to see if you would be having breakfast downstairs or in your room. When she saw your bed hadn’t been slept in, she came and got me.”

“I was worried Georgia might be afraid sleeping on her own. She’s never been this far from me before,” I said. This may have not been the whole truth, but it was a part of it. The look on Lily’s face though told me she heard what I wasn’t saying just as loud and clear as the words I spoke. I turned away from her and focused my attention on Mrs. Harper. There was a real softness, a kindness in her eyes.

“I brought a bottle for the baby,” Mrs. Harper said. “It might not be warm enough anymore, though.”

I reached out and took the bottle. “Thank you,” I said. “I’ll feed it to her right after I change her diaper. We’ll come downstairs after we’re dressed. I don’t want you waiting on us. Save your energy for Rosie.”

I placed the bottle on the table next to the rocking chair and walked around the ladies to the changing table. When I started changing Baby Girl’s diaper, my audience must have decided the show was over, because they left.

After the changing and feeding came the bathing and dressing. When I had Baby Girl looking and smelling as fresh as a daisy, I decided it was time to get to work on me. I settled her into her little seat and carried it into the bathroom with me. The bathroom was big enough to hold a class in, so it was easy enough to find a safe place for her seat. I picked a spot where she couldn’t touch or grab anything, gave her one of her little toys to play with, and stepped into the shower.

By the time I was showered and dressed, Baby Girl was in need of another diaper changing. I tended to her needs and then carried her downstairs for breakfast. I heard voices in the dining room, so I peeked in there on my way to the kitchen. Rosie and Lily were sipping tea and discussing the weather. I slipped away unnoticed and went to the kitchen. The woman wiping a counter looked startled at first, but a smile quickly spread across her face. She dropped her rag and wiped her hands on her apron before petting Baby Girl’s head. She said a few words in a language I didn’t know. My lack of understanding must have shown on my face, because she quickly switched to single word communications. “Hungry?” she asked, and without waiting for an answer, “Go!” She pointed me back in the direction I had come from.

I walked down the hall to the dining room and was surprised to see our breakfast had gotten there before us. I mumbled a good morning to Rosie as I settled Baby Girl into her highchair and started feeding her the warm cereal mush and fruit. I slipped bites of my own breakfast into my mouth between Baby Girl’s spoonfuls. I was hoping working this way would get us out of that room quicker. I was wiping Baby Girl’s face clean when the doorbell rang. Mrs. Harper came and whispered something in Lily’s ear. Lily excused herself and walked toward the front hall. “Would you like me to help you back to your room, Rosie?” I asked. I planted Baby Girl on my hip and came around the table to help Rosie to her feet. She held onto my arm for balance as we shuffled out of the room.

“I only told her, because I know she can help,” Rosie repeated her words from the night before. “You can’t spend your life running away, Becky. You deserve better than that, and so does Georgia Rose.”

Rosie stopped walking when we entered the hallway. I thought she was feeling weak, so I nodded toward the chair against the wall. “Rosie, you had no right to go behind my back like that, no matter what your reason. I’ve never given you cause to think I would do anything but my best for Georgia.”

“Of course you haven’t,” Rosie said, looking like a wounded bird. “I know how much you love this baby, but growing up is hard enough even without a baby to tend to on your own. Lily can help, if we let her.” Rosie brought her finger to her lips. “That doesn’t sound like Doc, does it?”

I listened to the voices in the front hall. “No, I don’t think that’s him,” I said. “Do you want me to call him?”

“No, I’m fine,” Rosie said. “I’m just being a little nosy.” The voices and footsteps faded and then disappeared when a door clicked shut. “Sounds like they went to her study,” Rosie said, as she started moving again. It wasn’t until we got to her bedroom door that I realized Rosie was already bathed and dressed.

“Did someone help you this morning?” I asked.

“Lily went and hired me a nursemaid,” Rosie grunted.

“A nursemaid?”

Rosie shook her head. “She gets me out of bed, gets me bathed and dressed, and makes sure I take my medicines. She told me she was going to plan out my napping and exercising time while I was at breakfast. Another way you and I are alike, Becky, is that neither one of us is good at recognizing the need for, or accepting, help. We both need to get past that.” I nodded and opened her door for her. Sure enough, the nurse was standing there, grinning and holding an open folder when we walked in. “Becky, you’ll probably want to go upstairs and find another sock for Georgia Rose now. Nurse and I need to have a little talk.”

I looked down at Baby Girl’s feet and saw one covered and one naked foot. I figured she must have kicked off her other sock while we were eating or walking to Rosie’s room. I watched the floor as we retraced our steps, but found nothing, not even a speck of dust, until we got back to the dining room. The woman from the kitchen was standing beside the highchair and staring out the window. She had Baby Girl’s sock in her hand and a look of worry on her face. Baby Girl let out a sound, causing the woman to turn toward us and force a smile on her face. I waved Baby Girl’s bare foot at her and thanked her as she handed me the sock. She hurried through a sliding panel to what I guessed was the kitchen. I slipped over to the window. I wanted a peek at whatever was worrying her. A chill ran up my spine when I saw the black and white car in the driveway. The man Lily was talking to in her office was a police officer.

I hurried upstairs and grabbed my backpack and Baby Girl’s diaper bag. I started stuffing in anything that seemed very necessary. I wished I knew where the movers had put the stroller. I could move a lot faster pushing Baby Girl in the carriage than carrying her in my arms. I had just grabbed Baby Girl’s coat when Lily tapped twice on the door and walked in. I looked in the hall behind her but did not see a policeman. “Are the police with you?” I asked, swallowing hard.

“He left, but that’s what I want to talk to you about,” Lily said. “This morning someone noticed one of the front windows of the Second Hand Rose is broken. The officer came looking for Rosie. I don’t want her bothered with this. John is going down now to board up the window. Can you go with him later today to see if anything important is missing? Maybe you can pack up any personal items the two of you have there, and any of her financial records. It was probably just the windstorm last night, but it would be best to start clearing things out of the store.” I nodded my head.

Lily looked at our packed bags. “My lawyer is on his way here. I’ve told him a little bit about your situation. He wants to talk to you himself. He needs a little more information in order for him to get your birth records and such. Since you are seventeen, you don’t need parental permission to get the papers. My lawyer will be able to do it quietly, so no one even knows you needed them. He’ll be here shortly. I will appreciate it if you could join us in my study in about fifteen minutes.” I nodded my head once more. Lily stared at our bags again. “Rosie needs you in her life, Becky. I hope you’ll remember that.”