Free Becoming Ellen by Shari Shattuck Page B

report.”
    Nurse Purple waited for Temerity to get up and unfold her stick. But instead of leaving immediately, Temerity paused. “Ms. Hoffman?”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œCould you tell me, what is the process? I mean, if a person wanted to foster a child.”
    Through a tiny opening in the hospital curtain, Ellen saw humanity in the face of social services. It broke through, and for the briefest of moments, all the weight of the world swam in those brown eyes. And then it sank away, replaced by the thin metallic shield of efficiency. Cold, but Ellen understood more now. “I’m sorry, if you mean yourself, you wouldn’t qualify.”
    Temerity nodded sadly. “I didn’t really think I would. But maybe my family might, so . . .”
    The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a card. “Here, the website is on there.” She touched Temerity’s hand with the card, and Temerity found and took it. “If someone is interested, all the basic information can be found there. Requirements, government subsidies, most things they would need to know.”
    â€œThank you,” Temerity said. She turned and walked in the general direction of the doorway, though she was angling too far to the right. The nurse pointedly pulled the curtains all the way closed, sealing both herself and Serena inside with the patient.
    Trapped between the bed and the wall, Ellen moved carefully along the curtain to the end of the bed and was about to bolt, to intercept Temerity before she ran into one of the opposite beds, when two things happened. Temerity touched a leg of a bed with her stick, corrected herself, and walked confidently out of the ward, the sound of her clicking stick fading as she turned into the hallway, while at the same time, the nurse asked, “So where
is
the kid?”
    Hardly daring to breathe, Ellen stayed her forward rush. The social worker sighed and though now Ellen couldn’t see her, she could feel the hopeless detachment in her voice.
That
was something she understood.
    â€œI placed her with a family called the Rushes in Highland Park. First-time foster family, actually, an older couple with a kid in college. Empty-nest syndrome is my guess, but they do have a history of supporting social causes. And, for a change, they don’t look like they’re doing it for the monthly government check, like so many.” There was a brief pause, and then she added, “Too many.”
    There was a collective sigh of frustration. Then Serena Hoffman accelerated back to her professional speed by asking, “Do you know if there were any drugs or alcohol in her system when they brought her in? No? Okay, well, that would be a good sign as far as returning the kid to her eventually, but I don’t suppose it will make much difference here. When will the doctors make their rounds? I need to get one of them to sign off on this report. I’ve got six more visits before I can even get back to the office. Sometimes, I . . .” She trailed off, exhausted.
    The nurse’s sharp voice responded to the unfinished thought, though now there was a catch in it that betrayed a knick in the razor-edge. “I know,” she said. And Ellen could tell that she did.
    It was time for Ellen to go. Sidestepping until she was clear of the bed, she moved for the exit as quickly as she could. She tried to be as noiseless as possible, but in that constant stream of humming, beeping, and whooshing, the sound of her rubber-soled boots on the linoleum was little more than passing insect wings.
    Ellen intercepted Temerity at the entrance to the glass bridge. Ellen could tell from her stiffness that she was barely containing her anger and sadness, and they hustled out of there.
    They didn’t speak until they were free of the antiseptic hospital smell and sucking in big breaths of fresh, misty air on the street.
    Revived to speech, Temerity said, “See? I told you