Free Home of the Brave by Jeffry Hepple Page A

head and cramps attacked her
abdomen.
    “Don’t sit up too fast or
you may get sick again.”
    Anna blinked and tried to
focus on the white-haired woman who sitting beside her on the bed.
“Where am I?”
    “If I’m not mistaken, you’re
in what was your bedroom when you were around twelve or
thirteen.”
    “Oh. I remember you now,”
Anna said. “You’re my father’s lover.”
    “No,” Annabelle shook her
head. “I’ve told you before that I’m not your father’s
lover.”
    “You admitted it last night.
I wasn’t so drunk that I’d forget a thing like that.”
    “Last night I admitted that
I love your father.” Annabelle stood up and walked to the dormer
and sat down facing Anna. “I didn’t say that he and I were lovers.
There’s an important distinction between loving someone and being
their lover.”
    Anna sat up then looked down
at herself and pulled up the blanket to cover her breasts. “I’m
naked.”
    “You vomited all over your
clothes. I managed to get you undressed but you refused to let me
put a nightgown on you.”
    “Where are my
clothes?”
    “The maid took them to the
laundry. Today is a holiday so you may not get them back until
tomorrow afternoon.”
    “Am I to remain naked until
then?”
    “Please feel free to help
yourself to any of my clothes.” She waved her hand toward a dresser
and wardrobe.
    Anna examined the room more
closely and realized that it was decorated more like a lady’s
private bedroom than a hotel room. “Do you live here?”
    “No. My brother and I live
in Detroit, but he comes here often on business and your father has
been kind enough to make the attic here available for us when we’re
in Washington.”
    “That’s convenient,” Anna
said sarcastically.
    “Yes it has been, although
your father tells me that the place has been leased and we won’t be
staying here again.”
    “Where does my father sleep
when he’s here?”
    “There are three bedrooms up
here, as you may recall. Your father has one, my brother has
another and I have this one.”
    “I remember there being five
bedrooms. This was the children’s floor.”
    “Oh. Then I suppose two of
the bedrooms were made into the parlor sometime before the first
time I came here. Your father told me that this was your room but
he never mentioned that the parlor was new.”
    “Did you say that your
brother is a doctor?”
    “No I didn’t say, but he is
indeed.”
    “I need one.”
    “You have a hangover. It may
feel like you’re dying but you’re not.”
    “I need a doctor to get this
bastard out of me.”
    “My brother does not perform
abortion procedures unless the mother’s life depends upon
it.”
    “Mine does.”
    “I think not.”
    “Will you help me find a
doctor that will rid me of this thing?”
    “No, but I will offer you a
place to stay in Detroit during your pregnancy.”
    “What’s your name
again?”
    “Annabelle.”
    “Your family
name.”
    “Priest.”
    “That’s not your brother’s
last name.”
    “His last name is Winslow.
My maiden name is Winslow.”
    “You’re married?”
    “I’m a widow,” Annabelle
said in an annoyed tone. “I’m quite certain that you know all that
and I cannot even hazard a guess as to why you pretend not
to.”
    Anna pushed aside the
blanket and swung her legs off the bed with a groan and looked down
at her slightly rounded belly. “I see that fortune didn’t bless me
with a miscarriage last night.”
    “Would you like some privacy
so you can dress or do you need help?” Annabelle asked, ignoring
the comment.
    “Help, if you wouldn’t mind
terribly.”
    “I won’t mind if you don’t
vomit on me again.”
    “I vomited on you last
night?”
    “Twice. I think the first
time was an accident but the second was intentional.”
    Anna tried to stand then sat
back down immediately. “Oh Lord.”
    Annabelle got up and walked
to the dresser. “Let’s start with seeing how far you can get on
your own while sitting down,”