threw them in a pile on the fractured linoleum floor.
Red-brown blood caked her pubic hair and mottled her thighs. She clung to my arm as she climbed into the tub. “Can you make a pot of tea and bring me a cup? Christ, ooooh, this pain is bad!” She held her hands on her swollen tummy. Spurts of red fluid snaked around the tub.
All that blood scared me. “This isn’t normal. You should go to the hospital.”
“Just get the fucking tea, okay?”
My first inclination was to see if Chris was in the attic, but I rushed to the kitchen, set up the teakettle, and retrieved a box of Constant Comment tea from the pantry. Then I raced upstairs and clicked on the lamp. Chris was sound asleep in bed. It felt like a lifetime since I’d seen him, but it was only yesterday. I thought about my lovemaking with Ben. Should I confess what happened? Would he ever forgive me? Maybe not right now. His face looked chalky. “Chris, hello. It’s me, Laila.”
Chris didn’t move.
I touched his arm then applied more pressure. Even when I snapped my fingers above his face, his eyes remained shut. As I moved my face closer to his, I nearly gagged from the stench of his breath. But thank God. For a moment, I feared he was dead.
The wood stairs creaked with the sound of footsteps. A somber-looking Doc stood in the doorway dressed in khaki pants and a white lab coat. If not for the eye patch, I wouldn’t have recognized him in that garb. “He’s gonna be okay, honey.”
“Are you sure? He hasn’t moved.”
“He had a bad trip. I gave him a couple of Quaaludes to bring him down. He’ll sleep it off for a few days. What the hell happened to Ivy?”
I told Doc about our literally aborted trip to Boston.
He explained that when he arrived at the house he noticed the trail of blood and the sound of the teakettle shrieking. He followed the red splotches from the bathroom to Ivy’s bedroom where he found her sprawled on the bed.
“Is she going to be okay?”
He touched my cheek. “She’s resting. I gave her something to help with the stomach pain.”
“What are you a doctor or something?”
He flashed a gold-capped smile. “I was studying to be a surgeon when I lost my eye. Now I’m working as an orderly at St. Joseph’s.”
What could I say? “Sorry.”
He pursed his lips. “Ivy wanted me to do the abortion, but ya know, I don’t do that shit. Mom raised me Catholic.”
I nodded. “I, ah, understand.”
“Ivy did this to herself. She used a coat hanger.”
I put my hands over my ears. It was too much for me to handle.
Doc took my hands from my head and held them in his. “You done good, taking care of Ivy. Now you get some rest. Go back to that dormitory of yours for a few days. I’ll keep things together here.”
When I reached our dorm room, I found Denise in bed singing along to Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow.” She smiled at me. “Okay, Lai, I’ll bet my Dead collection that you did it with that Chris dude last night.”
I grinned. “Cool. Guess I’ll take possession now.”
“You didn’t make it with him! Joey and I both—”
“You better sit down.” I started to tell her about what had happened and then hesitated when it came to confessing what had transpired with Ben. Bottom line, I just couldn’t own up to what I’d done. I told her that Chris and I had come close but had been interrupted before we could go all the way. That was the truth with a minor omission.
Okay, it’s not so minor. I don’t know why I couldn’t share it with Denise. Maybe I believed the fewer people who knew, the less chance Chris might find out. Maybe I felt like a jerk. One thing I did know. Last night had been a life-altering event that I couldn’t get out of my head.
THE NEXT MORNING, I scrambled into American History class a few minutes late. Professor Friedman was a phenomenal professor but frowned on students who didn’t arrive to his classes on time. He glared as I slithered down the aisle to a seat in
Red-brown blood caked her pubic hair and mottled her thighs. She clung to my arm as she climbed into the tub. “Can you make a pot of tea and bring me a cup? Christ, ooooh, this pain is bad!” She held her hands on her swollen tummy. Spurts of red fluid snaked around the tub.
All that blood scared me. “This isn’t normal. You should go to the hospital.”
“Just get the fucking tea, okay?”
My first inclination was to see if Chris was in the attic, but I rushed to the kitchen, set up the teakettle, and retrieved a box of Constant Comment tea from the pantry. Then I raced upstairs and clicked on the lamp. Chris was sound asleep in bed. It felt like a lifetime since I’d seen him, but it was only yesterday. I thought about my lovemaking with Ben. Should I confess what happened? Would he ever forgive me? Maybe not right now. His face looked chalky. “Chris, hello. It’s me, Laila.”
Chris didn’t move.
I touched his arm then applied more pressure. Even when I snapped my fingers above his face, his eyes remained shut. As I moved my face closer to his, I nearly gagged from the stench of his breath. But thank God. For a moment, I feared he was dead.
The wood stairs creaked with the sound of footsteps. A somber-looking Doc stood in the doorway dressed in khaki pants and a white lab coat. If not for the eye patch, I wouldn’t have recognized him in that garb. “He’s gonna be okay, honey.”
“Are you sure? He hasn’t moved.”
“He had a bad trip. I gave him a couple of Quaaludes to bring him down. He’ll sleep it off for a few days. What the hell happened to Ivy?”
I told Doc about our literally aborted trip to Boston.
He explained that when he arrived at the house he noticed the trail of blood and the sound of the teakettle shrieking. He followed the red splotches from the bathroom to Ivy’s bedroom where he found her sprawled on the bed.
“Is she going to be okay?”
He touched my cheek. “She’s resting. I gave her something to help with the stomach pain.”
“What are you a doctor or something?”
He flashed a gold-capped smile. “I was studying to be a surgeon when I lost my eye. Now I’m working as an orderly at St. Joseph’s.”
What could I say? “Sorry.”
He pursed his lips. “Ivy wanted me to do the abortion, but ya know, I don’t do that shit. Mom raised me Catholic.”
I nodded. “I, ah, understand.”
“Ivy did this to herself. She used a coat hanger.”
I put my hands over my ears. It was too much for me to handle.
Doc took my hands from my head and held them in his. “You done good, taking care of Ivy. Now you get some rest. Go back to that dormitory of yours for a few days. I’ll keep things together here.”
When I reached our dorm room, I found Denise in bed singing along to Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow.” She smiled at me. “Okay, Lai, I’ll bet my Dead collection that you did it with that Chris dude last night.”
I grinned. “Cool. Guess I’ll take possession now.”
“You didn’t make it with him! Joey and I both—”
“You better sit down.” I started to tell her about what had happened and then hesitated when it came to confessing what had transpired with Ben. Bottom line, I just couldn’t own up to what I’d done. I told her that Chris and I had come close but had been interrupted before we could go all the way. That was the truth with a minor omission.
Okay, it’s not so minor. I don’t know why I couldn’t share it with Denise. Maybe I believed the fewer people who knew, the less chance Chris might find out. Maybe I felt like a jerk. One thing I did know. Last night had been a life-altering event that I couldn’t get out of my head.
THE NEXT MORNING, I scrambled into American History class a few minutes late. Professor Friedman was a phenomenal professor but frowned on students who didn’t arrive to his classes on time. He glared as I slithered down the aisle to a seat in
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