Free Hurricane Nurse by Joan Sargent Page B

Miss LaRue. I should have looked in on him this morning, since you were standing watch for me, but I seem to have had other things on my mind. I'll see to him when I get back to my office. I can't understand why he wasn't complaining earlier."
    Baby looked anxious for a moment. Then her face cleared. "It's dark in there. Toby probably thought it was still night. I'd never forgive myself if anything has happened to him."
    Donna changed the subject. "Have you had anything for breakfast?"
    Baby nodded as if the repast had been a banquet planned for the gods. "Coffee. And milk. I like it better fresh made hot, but a lot of folks think there's nothing to equal iced coffee. Of course, this wasn't iced, either. I found some meat and bread in the refrigerator, too. We were lucky. We've eaten."
    "You
were
lucky," Donna assured her. "The cafeteria superintendent was supposed to take everything out of the refrigerator. She must have forgotten something at the last minute. There are probably canned soups locked away in the pantry. Hank ought to have the key."
    Jack Hartson looked embarrassed. "I know we were supposed to bring our own food, but I didn't think about anything but getting Missy to the doctor, and I didn't even do that."
    Baby turned on him sternly. "You just as good as, Sonny. Me and Miss Ledbury did all right by you and your girl, and you can't say we didn't."
    He flushed deeply. "I—I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. You were wonderful and we'll never forget it."
    Cliff had been studying the big, drafty room. "Missy, are you warm? Is the baby warm? It was hot yesterday, but with the rain and the wind—"
    "The baby's warm," Baby LaRue, still a little belligerent, announced. "I got her in a bottom drawer from a cabinet in the kitchen and she's all wrapped up in towels. She's fast asleep."
    "Just the same," Cliff went on thoughtfully, "I think they should be moved to the main building. It's quite possible that they might be cut off from the rest of us, and some sort of crisis might arise."
    Jack and Missy began to look alarmed. "But I've
had
the baby," the girl said. "What could happen now?"
    Cliff gave her his encouraging grin. "Nothing under ordinary circumstances, and I'm certainly not expecting anything. But I have heard of infections setting in, and you must admit these weren't ideal circumstances. Or babies sometimes get sick. If you were the mother of seven, you'd know what to do, but this is number one. We'd all feel better, I should think, if we were together. Miss Ledbury can't stay here. She has patients in the main building."
    "Then we'll move back," the young husband decided crisply.
    "That's the problem," Cliff went on doubtfully. "We had the mischief of a time crossing the portico. If there hadn't been the wall to brace ourselves by, I'm sure we'd have been blown over. Even so, we were soaked, and it doesn't seem to me that would be good for Missy and the baby."
    Worriedly, the boy ran his hand along his unshaven jaw. "Yeah. And there's no way to dry them out. I shoulda got her to the hospital. Folks said we weren't old enough to get married and I reckon I haven't looked out for her very good."
    Once more, Missy raised herself on her elbow and spoke sternly. "Jack Hartson, you just shut up. We've been happy, haven't we? And we've had a roof over us and enough to eat and you've been going to night school to learn a trade. I'm a heap better off than a lot of women, and the baby's just as happy as if she had an antique cradle at the White House. And I'm not going to get an infection. I promise. Baby's not going to get sick, either. We'll just stay here and Miss LaRue will help us. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see."
    The boy nodded somewhat glumly. "Yeah. I reckon that's the best we can do."
    "I wish I'd thought to bring the cot you slept on last night," Donna said to Cliff. "I know you weren't comfortable with only that blanket between you and the springs, and Missy's back is going to ache pretty badly