Free Forever Sheltered by Deanna Roy Page A

head out when I heard the smallest noise, like a sniffle. I paused, listening. Yes, someone was in here.
    I couldn’t see where. The room was open, with shelving on the walls and a table in the center.
    But then a little curtain rippled. The bottom section of one of the shelves was covered with fabric to hide the contents.
    And I could see a small nubby sock sticking out.
    Everything began to settle as I moved slowly toward the shelf. I didn’t want to startle her. “Cynthia, I can see your foot.”
    The fuzzy toes shifted back under the curtain.
    I sat on the floor next to the shelf. “Will you come out?”
    Her voice was small and tearful. “Not until Tina comes back.”
    I exhaled slowly. “What makes you think she’s gone?”
    “The nurse said no class. And when I came here, her Happy Face Man was gone.” Another sniffle.
    “Her what?”
    “Happy Face Man. The one she looks at when she’s sad. She let me hold him whenever I wanted to. He’s soft and fluffy and yellow, like sunshine.”
    I tugged the curtain back. Cynthia sat curled up in a ball, bending down to fit beneath the shelf, her back against a tall stack of construction paper.
    “Will you come out?” I asked.
    She shook her head. “Not without Tina.”
    “I don’t know that I can get her back. But she did tell me she would try to visit you.”
    Cynthia looked up. “Really? When?”
    “As soon as she could.”
    “Why did she leave?” Her cheeks were streaked with tears.
    “She didn’t want to.”
    Cynthia dropped her face against her bony knees. She was so thin. My heart hurt. This was more than anyone should have to bear.
    “I’ll find her,” I said. “Maybe she can work with you by herself. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
    She nodded against her legs.
    “Will you come out now?”
    Her back made a long, hard shudder. “Why does everybody always go away?”
    “I’m here, Cyn-Cyn.”
    “But what if you die like Mommy?”
    God, I hated this world. I hated T53 genes. I hated cancer.
    “I am not going to die,” I said.
    “Everybody dies. I am going to die.”
    I slid my arm beneath her knees and the other at her back. “Not for a very long time. Not until all my hair falls out.” I slid her out from under the shelf to pull her onto my lap.
    “When you have chemo?” she asked. Her brown eyes looked up into mine, lashless and dark like an infant’s.
    “Nope, when it all falls out because I’m very very old.”
    “You’re already very very old,” she said, and cracked her first smile.
    “I am indeed.”
    I couldn’t carry her through the halls. That would look inappropriate for a doctor and patient. So, I sent Angela a text to come fetch her, and we sat there for a while, on the floor of Tina’s room, both of us wishing for the same thing.
    That she was back.

Chapter 15: Tina

    Dang it, I was early.
    I had never met the director of the hospital, John Duffrey. Rumors about him weren’t good, and Sabrina had confirmed that when she escorted me out. He was old, mean, and determined to power-play his way to the top, wherever that was. I didn’t keep track of this stuff. I didn’t even know what power a doctor or administrator could wield.
    But my nerves meant I got up at the crack of dawn. Dressed conservatively, a bra this time, and a jacket. And no pigtails. I hesitated with the striped stockings. I rarely went without, especially in winter. They were my connection to Peanut, my good luck.
    In the end I wore them, but put on the longest skirt I owned so only the ankles showed above a pair of black flats.
    I wandered through the gift shop, killing time. I was tempted to go see what was happening in my room, if anything had been moved or changed. But it had only been one day. I’m sure it was all the same.
    The doctor worked fast. He was bound to be the reason I got my job back.
    I glanced over the shelves of Bibles and rosary beads and little plaques with expressions about faith, hope, and healing. My mother would