Free Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey

thirteen? Sure, another year and you won’t be needin’ nobody to care for you; wouldn’t young Suze Gale only thirteen when she was pregnant and married?”
    I nodded and Aunt Drucie leaned forward, dropping her voice to a fierce whisper.
    “And it’s a good thing for the reverend and the higher-ups that I’ll be takin’ care of ye, ’cuz I allows Lizzy would come back and haunt the bejesus out of every livin’ soul in Haire’s Hollow if they was to have their way and send you to an orphanage somewhere—after all they put her through when you was born. Although ’tis a sin Doctor Hodgins’s wife’s so sick,” she added tearily. “’Cuz for sure he would’ve took you and your poor mother in. My, I remembers when all the talk was goin’ on about his wife wantin’ a baby, and was wantin’ to adopt you, but he wouldn’t let her. They says it’s been eatin’ at him ever since. They says that’s when she started gettin’ a bit low minded, after Doctor Hodgins put a stop to her adoptin’ you. Course now, Lizzy had a say about that, too. She always said the doc’s wife looked so sickly and blue with the cold that if she had a youngster, they’d have to wrap hot-water bottles around her tits to warm up a bit of milk.”
    A knock sounded and Aunt Drucie half stood as Old Joe inched open the door and stood inside, his curly grey hair wetted neatly back off his forehead, and his cap in his hand.
    “Oh, ’tis you, Joe,” Aunt Drucie said, her voice becoming all teary again. “Come on in then, and take a seat,” she offered, sitting back down and pulling out a chair alongside of her.
    “I’ll be goin’, agin,” Old Joe mumbled, shifting uncomfortably as he stood besides me. “I-I just wanted to see Kit for a bit before … before … ” His voice broke and he fumbled around in the pocket of his pressed Sunday pants and brought out the orange starfish he had offered me the day of Rube Gale’s funeral. “I dried it for you, like I said,” he whispered, dropping to one knee and holding it before me. “Might be I brung it too late … but, there’ll be other wishes, Kittens … ”
    His voice choked off and I looked into his seeping, wind-wrought eyes.
    “You just remember the verse,” he whispered hoarsely. “Starfish, star bright. Then you closes your eyes and thinks the rest.”
    He placed the fish onto my outstretched palm and wrapped his hands around mine.
    “You nail it to your room door,” he urged gently, rising to his feet. “Your very own star. And if it don’t bring you what you wishes for, you come to Old Joe, and he’ll get it for you.”
    Then he was backing out the door and Aunt Drucie was weeping brokenheartedly.
    “Poor J-Joe,” she sobbed, “what’s he goin’ to do now without his ole card partner. My, they were a p-pair, they were.”
    The door opened again, and this time Doctor Hodgins walked in, smoothing back his tufts of hair, with Josie besides him.
    “My oh m-my, she looks froze to death,” Aunt Drucie moaned as Josie, scowling at me, kicked the mud and snow off her boots, and stomped down the hall to her room.
    “Why don’t you go help her get dressed,” Doctor Hodgins said to Aunt Drucie.
    Aunt Drucie got up, still dabbing at her eyes, and followed after Josie. Surprisingly, Josie let her into her room without any fuss. Doctor Hodgins sat down besides me, the cool fall air wafting from his clothes, like mint against my face. He fingered the starfish I held in my lap, then took it and laid it on the table. Taking hold of my hand, he held it in his and studied my palm.
    “I can’t take your pain away this time,” he said finally, his voice gruff with gentleness. “I expect no one can, but the grace of God. Do you believe in God, Kit?”
    I nodded, my mouth as empty of words as my eyes were of tears.
    “Do you believe your grandmother is in a nice place?” he asked softly.
    I nodded again.
    “She won’t ever leave you completely, Kit. There’ll