The Dollmaker by Arnow Harriette

Author:Arnow, Harriette [Arnow, Harriette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 2010-10-12T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

EARLY ONE SATURDAY MORNING during Christmas vacation, just as Clovis got in from work, a worried Sophronie came knocking. Her eyes were cold with fright above the rouge and lipstick as she asked if Gertie could watch Wheateye while she went with Whit to take the boys to the doctor, for it was their tonsil taking out day.

“Sure,” Gertie said, and offered to give Wheateye supper as well as lunch if Whit wanted to stay at the hospital late after Sophronie went to work.

Sophronie shook her head, and looked more frightened still. “That doc—Edwards is his name—said they didn’t need to go to no hospital.” She took a quick puff of cigarette smoke, and in her agitation swallowed it, then coughed long and hard into her closed fist. “I tried to tell him about onct—it was when we had that place uv our own in Dearborn before Whit got laid off—they was a neighbor woman, she lived right acrost th street. Her little boy had his tonsils out, and she brung him home jist like I’m bringen mine. Nothen atall, her doctor said, jist like mine. I seed her little boy when she brung him home. He got stiller an stiller an whiter an whiter, but they wasn’t no blood a body could see. Fin’ly he looked so still an kinda blue she went off to telephone. He quit breathen, they said, while she was a tryen to git th doctor on the phone. He’d bled to death and swallered th blood.” She shivered. “I wanted mine in th hospital, but that doc wouldn’t do it.”

“Maybe,” Gertie said, hunting words of reassurance, “your youngens seems so good an strong he’s a tryen to save you money by not putten em in a hospital.”

“That’s what hurts,” Sophronie said. “We got hospitalization. Had it ever since Gilbert got knocked down by a car an they wouldn’t let us bring him home till we paid up. He’d broke one bone in his leg an hadda stay three weeks. We hadda git more on the mortgage, quick. But now th hospital could keep all th youngens one er two nights apiece, an they’d be safe if they started bleeden an—oh, Lordy.” Her hand shook so her cigarette hit her cheek. “An now it wouldn’t cost us a cent.”

Whit, still in his work clothes, had just opened the storm door, and now he smiled, his eyes sparkling up in his grimy face. “An then that Doc Edwards couldn’t git a mink coat fer his missus out a what he makes off a three tonsils and splitten two nights’ hospitalization apiece with th hospital. They’ll send a big bill to th insurance company an collect an then split.”

Gertie had hardly got Clovis fed and to bed and the kitchen straight when she saw that the battered Meanwell car was back. She saw Whit go alone up the walk in a kind of staggering run, as if drunk. She hurried out to help, and Sophronie, pale but

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