A hard knock jolted Izzy from her sleep. The dormitory door flew open, causing the windows to rattle hollowly. "Get up and get dressed," Sister Mary Helen commanded. "You are all getting seen by the doctor this morning."
Without any further explanation she slammed the door closed. Barely conscious, Izzy groaned and turned on her back, trying to comprehend the nun's words through the fogginess of her mind. On the other side of the room, Gloria cursed, flinging her blanket aside as she as she struggled out of bed. Her hair fell over her face in tangles. "What on earth do we need to be seen for this early in the morning!"
Izzy pulled her legs around the edge of the bed. The doctor. Her thoughts turned to Dottie. The little girl was already up, dutifully making her bed. Her movements were stiff as she pulled the blankets taunt and folded them over. Izzy knew she had to be terrified after the nun's announcement.
As the edges of sleep disappeared from her mind, Izzy thought of the nurse they'd met the night before. A sudden thought occurred to her, quickening the pace of her heart. What if she'd told the sisters that they'd snuck downstairs to visit Rita? Was that what this was all about?
"Ugh," hissed Gloria, distracting Izzy's thoughts. "What I wouldn't give for a mirror." She stood peering at her faint reflection in the window. Her slender hands arranged her blonde curls around her face, her lips coming together in a pout.
Mirrors represented vanity and were not allowed in the home. It was one rule that Izzy didn't mind. She was afraid to see the person she'd become on the other side of the mirror. If her outward appearance had changed as much as she had on the inside, she'd rather remember herself the way she used to be.
The sound of footsteps and hushed whispers echoed in the hall outside, and Izzy suddenly realized that Sister Mary Helen had meant that all of the girls would be seen by the doctor that morning. After some coaxing, Izzy was able to convince Dottie to go with her to the bathroom and change. Shortly after, they found themselves lined up with Gloria and the other girls, waiting to see the doctor.
No one seemed to know what was going on. The scheduled day for the doctor wasn't for a couple of weeks. Izzy watched with wide eyes as an older girl who'd been coughing fitfully into a handkerchief was moved out of the line by a young nurse with a mask covering her mouth.
The nurse from the night before rounded the corner, a notepad and pen in her hand. Izzy hadn't realized how pretty she was. Her cheeks were rosy and full of life, her figure accented by her white, knee length dress. Her slender legs moved purposefully down the hall towards the line of girls. With a tilt of her auburn curls, she began asking the girls behind her questions,one by one. "Been coughing?...Sweating at night?... Lost weight?" Her painted fingers gripped the pen, checking their answers on the pad.
"Well, hello again," she said as she came to Izzy, giving her a conspiratorial smile.
"Please, can you tell us what's going on?" Izzy asked, leaning in closer. "Why are we all seeing the doctor?"
"A recent arrival was found to have tuberculosis." The nurse frowned when she saw the look of confusion in Izzy's eyes. "Perhaps you know it by the name consumption?"
"Oh." Izzy stepped back, placing a hand over her mouth. Consumption. Her mother's brother had come down with consumption when her mother was her age. He'd been taken away and her mother had never seen him again. Suddenly feeling weak, she took a deep breath, testing her lungs.
"Have you had a cough?"
"No, ma'am." Izzy said.
"Have you been sweating at night?"
"No, I'm cold most nights."
"Alright then. Have you lost weight?"
"I—." Izzy looked at her hands. "I don't think so. But I haven't had much of an appetite."
"I should be so lucky to lose weight," Gloria interrupted with a whine. She spread her hands over her stomach. "Look at me, I'm fat as a goose."
"As you should be," the nurse said. She checked something on her pad of paper. "You must gain weight to have a healthy baby, didn't you know that? At least fifteen pounds."
"We don't really know anything about being pregnant," Izzy confided in a low voice.
The young nurse sighed. She looked sideways to make sure no one was listening in. "My name's Mara," she said, flipping a page on the notepad. "It's a shame they don't teach you girls anything about pregnancy here. A little bit of education could help a lot of the problems that I've seen since I've been here." She cleared her throat. With a jerk, she ripped a paper from the pad and handed it to Izzy. She turned and resumed questioning the rest of the girls.
After being cleared with the doctor, the girls were ordered to go outside while nuns and nurses with masks rushed around the home to open the windows and air out the building. Sister Martha lead them outside and instructed them to sit in the courtyard until they were told to come in.
The three girls sat on the mossy remains of a short stone wall that seemed to have once surrounded a rock garden. A green tinged statue of Mother Mary stood in the middle, her arms spread out, entangled with leafy vines. The sun beamed down on Izzy's skin, its warmth creeping through her veins, seeming to flush out some anxiety with its presence.She fingered the folded piece of paper in her hand.
Dottie had stopped shaking beside her. The little girl reached down and picked a white dandelion, twirling it in her hands.
"Your wish comes true if you can blow all of the seeds away in one breath," Gloria said, watching her.
Dottie closed her eyes and whispered something neither one of them could quite hear. With much effort, she drew in a huge breath and blew it out with all of her might at the weed. All but one of the seeds was carried away with the wind.
"Too bad," said Gloria.
Izzy shot her a threatening look.
Gloria shrugged. "What?"
"Since Rita isn't it here, I suppose I'll have to say it. You really are impossible." Izzy slowly unfolded the piece of paper. Mara's cursive handwriting was beautifully scripted inside.
Come and visit Rita and I tonight at the same time as before.
Gloria scooched next to her and looked down at the paper. "No way I'm going. She'll probably have Sister Mary Thomas waiting there for us. The old nun will be drooling with anticipation, delighted to catch us in the act."
Izzy folded the paper. "I think she's nice. She could have told on us last night, and she didn't."
Gloria picked up a pebble and threw it, hitting the statue of Mary straight in the forehead. "Who's to say she didn't?"
Izzy stood, stretching her legs. "You don't need to come with me. I'll go on my own."
She looked down at Dottie, who was cradling a rock in her hand. Her finger traced the imprint of a seashell that had been pressed into it long ago. Sister Martha had disappeared inside, leaving the girls to mingle in the sunlight. Little by little, voices began to rise from their previous whispers and laughter rang out as the girls transformed from solemn to giddy in the fresh summer air. Within moments girls were prancing back and forth, dancing with each other, and lying wherever a soft patch of grass could be spotted. In the midst of it all, Izzy had an impulsive idea.
"Dottie," she said, taking the little girl by the hand and pulling her up. "Let me show you the beach."
Gloria, who'd found herself a patch of grass, waved them on, her eyelids heavy. It had been a gruelling morning.
Izzy knew they didn't have a lot of time to spare, so she rushed Dottie through the woods, a trill of both excitement and terror running up and down her spine. The wind hit them as soon as they came out on the open beach, and Dottie gasped at the lake before them.
"I've never see this much water in my life!" she cried. She stood frozen, her hair whipping behind her, her mouth open wide in wonder.
Izzy smiled. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"I think it's like heaven!" Dottie exclaimed, taking a cautious step towards the surf, her hands clenched in fists beside her.
"Be careful." Izzy laughed as a wave rumbled up and over the beach, nearly reaching Dottie's shoes. The little girl shrieked and jumped back, a huge smile on her face as she looked back at Izzy.
"It's fast!" Dottie exclaimed. She knelt and gathered some of the coarse sand up in her hands, making a small mound in front of her. "I'm going to build a sand castle," she said jubilantly. "I've seen pictures at school, in text books."
Izzy pulled her dress up and bent down next to her, the sand ground slightly into her knees. "Let's see. I think we need to pile this higher."
All grown up things were forgotten as they piled and molded the sand, crafting towers with handfuls of wet sand, digging a dungeon until their fingers throbbed. Izzy pretended she was Cinderella, just betrothed to a king and instructing her servants on how she wanted her castle to be crafted. It was a story she'd played out with Maria just a few short years ago, before everything had changed, and her imagination had been snuffed like a flame. How good it felt to slip into a fairytale. Fairytales always had happy endings. Nothing was farfetched in fairytales. A lowly maid like Cinderella could marry a prince.
Dottie was captivated. She urged her on, emersed in the story of Cinderella. It was one she'd never heard before. "I've always wished I had a sister," she confided after the story was finished. "I only have brothers."
"I could be your sister," Izzy said. Her breath was knocked from her and she almost toppled over when Dottie threw her arms around her. After the little girl pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. Embarrassed, she wiped at them with sandy hands and went back to digging.
By the time reality hit Izzy, they'd been there for quite awhile. She caught her breath and stood, careful not to frighten Dottie. "We need to get back."
Just as she turned, she spotted him, standing on the shore several feet away. It was the man. The one who'd saved her. She froze, blinking. What were the chances that she'd ever run across him again? She should tell him thank you. No, they'd already stayed too long. Sister Martha might have told the girls to come in already. They'd be missed soon. With a sigh, she lead Dottie back through the woods. To her relief, the girls were still milling about the terrace. Perhaps it hadn't been as long as she thought. She could go back. Her heart fluttered as she looked back at the direction they'd come. He deserved a thank you. It was the least she could do.
Bending down, she caught Dottie's shining eyes. "I'm going to go back for a few minutes, alright? Please, if the sisters call you in before I return, don't tell. Can you promise me?"
Dottie set her jaw and nodded. "I promise."
With legs that felt like springs, and a chest brimming with elation and fear, Izzy made her way back to the beach.
Hello there! Sorry about the long time between updates. Trying to keep it on a weekly schedule. Looks like Izzy will meet Wes again! Do you think Dottie will tell? What do you think about Mara? Please vote if you're enjoying this story. Feel free to comment, I'd love to hear from you!