new clothes for the occasion—but then she thought twice. Maudene said she was going to call a social worker and the last thing Jenny wanted was to find herself in some office with a stack of drawing paper and markers in front of her with a strange lady asking her about how she felt and if anyone had hurt her lately. Instead, she would use the money to take a bus or a cab to Hickory Street where her grandmother hopefully still lived.
She changed quickly, turning her back to Dolly who was watching her intently, and ran her father’s comb through her matted hair. She padded through the hallway to the bathroom with Dolly close at her heels and brushed her teeth, being careful to rinse out the sink. She had never seen such a clean bathroom, and Jenny had to wonder if anyone actually ever used it. She returned to the bedroom, made the bed, folded her dirty clothes and returned them to her backpack. Jenny wanted to bring her backpack downstairs with her but thought that Maudene might think it was weird that she carried it around with her everywhere. She looked around the room trying to decide where she could hide it. She couldn’t bring herself to look beneath the bed and the closet was too obvious, so in the end she decided to bring it downstairs with her.
The walls that led down the stairs were filled with framed photos that Jenny hadn’t noticed earlier. There were dozens of them in various sizes. School pictures and family portraits, team pictures and wedding photos. Jenny thought back to the few pictures hidden in her backpack. Her father never had enough money to buy any of her school photos. Not even the package that had the words Best Buy! written next to it.
As she came down the steps she heard the murmur of a television. A slightly sweet smell greeted her when she entered the kitchen and Jenny was surprised to find that she was hungry. After being so sick a few hours before, she thought she would never want to eat again. A small portable television was positioned beneath a set of kitchen cabinets made of the same dark wood that was found throughout the rest of the house and was set to a news channel. “I made corn muffins—how does that sound?” Maudene asked.
“I’ve never had them,” Jenny said honestly. “They sound gross.” And after a beat she added, “But they smell good.” Jenny looked at the table, set just as it was at the restaurant with plates and napkin-wrapped silverware and small glasses filled with milk. She and her father usually ate standing up or sitting on the edge of the bed while they watched television. Maudene set the golden muffins, steam rising in curls from the basket that held them, on the table.
“They’re delicious with butter and strawberry preserves, if I do say so myself,” Maudene said, nodding toward a small covered dish and a bowl of quivering red jelly. “Help yourself.”
Jenny sat down at the table and reached for a muffin, singeing her fingers and hastily dropping it to her plate where it bounced and tumbled to the floor. Jenny quickly bent over and retrieved it before an ever-present Dolly could snatch it away. “Sorry,” she said, righting herself and carefully setting the muffin on her plate. Maudene hadn’t even noticed. She was staring intently at the television, where a woman reporter was standing in front of a hospital saying something about the heat and a baby. Maudene stood, walked toward the television and bent down close until her nose almost touched the screen.
“Oh, no,” Maudene murmured. “Oh, dear God, no.”
Chapter 13
A dam rushes into the emergency room just as Dr. Nickerson steps into the waiting area. She reaches out to shake Adam’s hand and introduces herself. “We have Avery stabilized and her core temperature is down to one hundred and two degrees. We will have to watch her very carefully. More seizures are a real possibility. We are moving her to the pediatric intensive care unit. The biggest concern now is if any organ
She changed quickly, turning her back to Dolly who was watching her intently, and ran her father’s comb through her matted hair. She padded through the hallway to the bathroom with Dolly close at her heels and brushed her teeth, being careful to rinse out the sink. She had never seen such a clean bathroom, and Jenny had to wonder if anyone actually ever used it. She returned to the bedroom, made the bed, folded her dirty clothes and returned them to her backpack. Jenny wanted to bring her backpack downstairs with her but thought that Maudene might think it was weird that she carried it around with her everywhere. She looked around the room trying to decide where she could hide it. She couldn’t bring herself to look beneath the bed and the closet was too obvious, so in the end she decided to bring it downstairs with her.
The walls that led down the stairs were filled with framed photos that Jenny hadn’t noticed earlier. There were dozens of them in various sizes. School pictures and family portraits, team pictures and wedding photos. Jenny thought back to the few pictures hidden in her backpack. Her father never had enough money to buy any of her school photos. Not even the package that had the words Best Buy! written next to it.
As she came down the steps she heard the murmur of a television. A slightly sweet smell greeted her when she entered the kitchen and Jenny was surprised to find that she was hungry. After being so sick a few hours before, she thought she would never want to eat again. A small portable television was positioned beneath a set of kitchen cabinets made of the same dark wood that was found throughout the rest of the house and was set to a news channel. “I made corn muffins—how does that sound?” Maudene asked.
“I’ve never had them,” Jenny said honestly. “They sound gross.” And after a beat she added, “But they smell good.” Jenny looked at the table, set just as it was at the restaurant with plates and napkin-wrapped silverware and small glasses filled with milk. She and her father usually ate standing up or sitting on the edge of the bed while they watched television. Maudene set the golden muffins, steam rising in curls from the basket that held them, on the table.
“They’re delicious with butter and strawberry preserves, if I do say so myself,” Maudene said, nodding toward a small covered dish and a bowl of quivering red jelly. “Help yourself.”
Jenny sat down at the table and reached for a muffin, singeing her fingers and hastily dropping it to her plate where it bounced and tumbled to the floor. Jenny quickly bent over and retrieved it before an ever-present Dolly could snatch it away. “Sorry,” she said, righting herself and carefully setting the muffin on her plate. Maudene hadn’t even noticed. She was staring intently at the television, where a woman reporter was standing in front of a hospital saying something about the heat and a baby. Maudene stood, walked toward the television and bent down close until her nose almost touched the screen.
“Oh, no,” Maudene murmured. “Oh, dear God, no.”
Chapter 13
A dam rushes into the emergency room just as Dr. Nickerson steps into the waiting area. She reaches out to shake Adam’s hand and introduces herself. “We have Avery stabilized and her core temperature is down to one hundred and two degrees. We will have to watch her very carefully. More seizures are a real possibility. We are moving her to the pediatric intensive care unit. The biggest concern now is if any organ
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