A Fall of Marigolds by Meissner Susan

Author:Meissner, Susan [Meissner, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-02-04T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty

THE rest of the day dragged as though it were weighted with irons.

Before he left the ward, Dr. Randall gave instructions for the second scrubbing to take place after supper, before the men retired for the night and after my shift was over. I wasn’t sure of his rationale but I didn’t care. It meant I wouldn’t be giving Andrew Gwynn another bath that day. I didn’t think I could handle another one. He was starting to remind me too much of Edward in too many ways.

In the early afternoon, two more new patients were sent to us from the main building, a lad of fourteen as slender as a birch tree, and an older man with a mustache and beard that reached to his waist. After I had both men resting comfortably in their beds, I made my own afternoon rounds: temperature taking, filling water pitchers, administering aspirin to those with fevers and chills.

When I approached Andrew’s bed to fill his water pitcher, he pointed to the book beside it. “Did the doctor recognize that book? I mean, I couldn’t help but notice.”

Heat rose to my cheeks. “I think maybe he did.”

“You had it with you last night when you met with him?”

I winced at the way those words sounded together. But I nodded my head.

“Does he think it’s yours and he’s wondering what I’m doing with it now?”

I grabbed his pitcher and began to pour from my larger one. “He knows it’s not mine. I told him it belonged to a friend. I’m sure he’s wondering what I was doing with it.”

A drip of water fell onto my polished shoe, splattering like a raindrop on pavement.

“Are you in trouble, then?”

“I don’t know. It was a stupid thing to do. It wasn’t my book and I didn’t even have your permission. Now Dr. Randall probably thinks . . .” But I let my voice trail away as I realized I had been thinking out loud.

“He thinks what?”

I set my own pitcher back on my cart. “Nothing.” But as I exchanged Andrew’s water glass for a clean one, I stole a glance at him. I could see he knew what Dr. Randall probably thought.

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” Andrew said. “You’ve shown me nothing but compassion.”

I nearly knocked over the glass as I backed away from both the table and the compliment. “Don’t say that.”

“But it’s true. I shouldn’t have asked you to get the pattern book. I knew it was asking too much of you. But you did it anyway. And because you did, you saved my mother’s poetry book. You found Lily’s scarf too, and brought it back to me. You’ve made sure my every need has been met here. I’ll tell him myself if you want me to.”

“No need, I assure you. But thank you. You should rest now.”

I eased myself away from him and his gratitude, to tend to the rest of the ward’s needs and to wait for the long, awkward afternoon to end.

As the day slogged on, I missed Edward more than I had in weeks.

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