Tommy returned to the shed with Pearl’s things, hoping she made it to the hotel safely. A note from Katherine was tacked to the door.
1. Haul water to third floor. Leave outside bath door.
2. Check on Yale. Napping. Mama on errands.
He set the bag on the table near the fireplace then went to the house to see about Yale. She was asleep in Mama’s and Katherine’s bed, tucked into a tight ball, breathing deep and heavy. Back in the kitchen garden, Tommy cut through the hedge to Miss Violet’s property. He was forced into a limp with his back and stomach muscles tightening up. He pressed his belly and sucked back air, remembering he was now without long sleeves under his coat. He skimmed leaves and sticks off the top of the rain barrel and hauled it up the back stairs, wincing all the way.
As he neared the bathroom, his grip loosened and the barrel clanked to the floor, water splashing over the rim. “Damn it.”
The bathroom door swung open, and Tommy looked up to see Katherine standing there, her shirtwaist pulled out of her skirt. “Tommy?”
He breathed hard. “You? I’m hauling water up these stairs, my back half-broken, so you can have a day-break?”
Katherine’s eyes went wide, and she started rattling off her defense of why it made sense that she, the kitchen mistress, was readying for a bath in the middle of the day.
Miss Violet came into the hall and walked toward them. “Now, Tommy. Your sister’s congested and courting a chest cold. I cannot have her infecting my clients’ food with some contagious disease. Her health is of the utmost concern.” Violet yammered on and on about eucalyptus and tea and whatever else would help get Katherine better. Katherine came back to the door and opened it wider so Tommy could lug the water to the stove in the corner to heat it. He’d thought that once the weather turned cold that would be the end of hauling rainwater to the third floor, but Violet had solved the problem by installing a stove. Better she’d installed a pulley system to bring the water up.
Tommy turned. “If a bath’ll help, then by all means, do it. Mama wouldn’t want you sick either. Maybe you should rest after the bath.”
Katherine nodded, looking relieved. “I’m sure I’ll feel much better after this. Bathing is rest enough.”
Miss Violet patted Tommy’s arm. “Don’t worry your mama with this, Tommy. She’s got enough to think about. Katherine mixed up the herbs herself, and I’m sure she’ll be right as rain after this healing bath.”
Tommy wouldn’t add more to his mother’s concerns. “I surely won’t.”
Katherine coughed and nearly doubled over as Miss Violet added drops of something to the tub water. He could hear the phlegm in her chest loud and clear.
“Don’t forget about Yale,” Katherine said. “Should be dead asleep, but just to be sure . . . Mama’ll be back any time now. Keep Yale with you if she wakes.”
“I know, I know.” He rubbed his side, the ache turning into a stabbing pain. Katherine appeared to be feeling a mix of exhaustion and serenity. Tommy thought of all Katherine had been through in the past five years—thought of all he knew about anyway. When she’d arrived in Des Moines the year before, she was a blend of woman and waif. She was taller, beautiful, her movements always drawing the eye of any man she passed despite her ragged clothing and much-too-thin build. It had to have been as hard for her to have been without the family as it had been for him. This made him think of Pearl, her recent living conditions. He hoped Katherine hadn’t suffered anything like that. He couldn’t think about that, imagine it, talk about it. While he could fix Pearl’s situation, he could not go back in time and fix Katherine’s.
She deserved a few moments of restful bliss, a chance to stave off illness if it was trying to settle upon her. And though he didn’t know many specific details of the years they’d been apart, he was quite certain she’d probably had no peace—not to mention sweet bathing opportunities. He realized for the first time that he’d been so busy surviving that he’d accepted as fact that Katherine’s boarding experiences had all been suitable—good, in fact. And now, thinking of just how bad things might have been for her, his blood turned cold.
**
Tommy wanted to wake Yale and take her with him to deliver Pearl’s bag to the women’s hotel, hoping she’d found a room there. But when he went to rouse his sister from her nap, she simply rolled over, her even, deep inhalations telling him she was far from waking. Tommy calculated the time it would take to run the bag to the hotel and make it back if he left Yale. Thirty-five minutes, maybe. He shook Yale again to no avail. Katherine said Mama would return anytime. Despite his sore muscles, he was antsy, wanting to get Pearl her things so she could settle into her new place. Yale would be hungry when she woke, so if Tommy took the bag now, he could be back to feed her if Mama hadn’t returned.
He reached the hotel and was told by the desk clerk, Virginia, that it was full and Pearl had been turned away. She had no idea where Pearl went or even in what direction. Tommy swung by the post office to find another woman working there, and she had no idea where Pearl was either. “It’s her day off. I ain’t her keeper,” she said with a shrug.
Tommy returned home and dropped Pearl’s sack in the shed as Miss Violet was ringing the bell to call her ladies to dinner before clients arrived. Tommy entered Mama’s kitchen. She and Yale were there eating. Mama’s face was bloodless, as though overwhelmed with great dread, taking Tommy back to the hours soon after James had died.
“Mama.” He knelt before her. “What’s the matter?”
She grabbed Tommy to her, squishing Yale between them. “Yale nearly died.”
Tommy froze, fear rushing through him. “I checked on her a little bit ago and she was sound asleep. I covered her and . . .”
Tommy’s voice cracked as he looked Yale over, checking her for injury. He’d been so concerned about getting to Pearl. Had he neglected something? “I did the same as always, Mama. She was fine, asleep when I left.”
“You should have stayed.” Mama’s voice was rough, cutting. “We can’t do like we used to with her. She’s up and about when she wakes. She’s not—”
Tommy saw that now. He pulled away and checked over his sister, squeezing her arms and legs and cheeks, his light touch eventually making her giggle. She flung her arms around his neck and squeezed, stronger and more aggressive than he’d ever seen her. Relief replaced his fear, and he exhaled. She was fine.
But Tommy was mortified. He never imagined Yale would waken and explore. She rarely left where she was set down, let alone to go looking for someone.
“Mama. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think she would . . . What happened?” He ran his quaking hand through his hair, trying to determine if Yale was injured where he couldn’t see.
“Maybe you don’t realize how she wanders now. Just silently shows up behind me.” Mama’s words tumbled out. “I missed stepping on her in the garden by a hair yesterday. And today she got out of bed and was digging into . . . I walked in, and she was elbow-deep in powder under the dry sink. I should have stressed how much she’d been into trouble lately. I should have told you.”
“She does love playing under the dry sink.”
Mama’s lips quivered. “I thought she’d gotten into rat poison. I panicked and started screaming, and Katherine came running. It was powdered sugar.”
“Thank God.”
Mama stood and set Yale on the seat and started pacing. “It took me right back to losing James. I can’t . . . Listen, Tommy. I explained this to Katherine, too. I’ve been to meetings where lawyers and judges and business owners all want the streets cleaned up. They want any child who appears the least bit unkempt or imbecile or . . .”
Tommy could see these words, thinking them, saying them, sickened Mama.
“They’re sweeping half these poor souls into wagons and hauling them off to Glenwood. The other half are stuffed in people’s attics or cellars. I won’t do that to Yale. I know she’s—” Mama stopped pacing and covered Yale’s ears. “I know she’s an imbecile.” She whispered the word, barely getting it out, as though admitting such a thing was as painful as death.
He leaned forward, grabbing her hand. “No. No. She’s catching up now. So many words and…” He sighed. Frank knew more than Yale.
Mama straightened in her chair, bracing against her own words. “Mrs. Hillis is a saving grace. She understands children can develop beyond what people expect. She’s a voice for all who are vulnerable. People actually listen to her. And, she understands why I can’t just send Yale off like an animal to be cared for in an asylum where children are abused and . . .”
Mama took Tommy’s shoulders. “We have to be more careful. She’s growing and finally learning, but if anything happened to her, I would just—”
Tommy put his hand up. Not wanting her to finish her sentence. “I know. When I think how her life started and all that happened since then . . . I’m sorry. I am so sorry.”
He pulled Yale onto his lap. “Katherine and I will do a better job when you’re not here.”
Mama sat. “And I’ll take her with me more. She doesn’t need to nap so much. Being busier, out and about with adults, will help her develop even faster.”
Tommy agreed.
“But when we take her out, we have to keep her close. You’ve no idea what happens to children in asylums at the hands of these cruel but powerful people. And that’s what some of these important men have decided needs to happen in order to clean things up. Can you imagine? That’s how they term it. As though fragile children are things.”
He squeezed Yale harder and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll keep you safe. Always and forever. I’m sorry I let you down.”
She looked up and put her palm against Tommy’s cheek silently conveying pure, sweet love and faith in her brother. His whole body sighed, thankful she was safe, hoping he deserved even a pinch of Yale’s trust.