2019
The doctor hired by Sofia arrived at Pure Heart an hour after being summoned. He must have dropped what he was doing at the time to come and help Quinn, and we were grateful for it.
He couldn’t have been more attentive. He cleaned and bandaged the wound, gave her a tetanus shot and took blood samples for testing. Only as a precaution, he said. In his opinion, Quinn had nothing to worry about. Her foot would be sore and swollen for a while and she would perhaps feel unwell for the next forty-eight hours but, apart from that, she would recover easily.
He offered to send a nurse to stay with Quinn for the next twenty-four hours, but we said we wanted to look after her ourselves.
After the doctor departed, some of us ventured down to the chicken coop. We found the hens outside in the enclosure, huddled together. We were hesitant to go inside the coop but figured the snake would have been more terrified of the encounter with Quinn than she was. With rakes and spades, we searched amongst the straw on the floor and made tentative inspections of the nesting boxes.
We found no sign of the snake, but a closer examination of the coop showed gaps in the mesh that blocked the gap between the roof and the walls. Gaps a snake could easily get in. We set about repairs immediately.
As we worked, we discussed how lucky we were that none of us had experienced a snake attack during our time here. It was only a matter of time, we said. Over the years, I’d often told Quinn walking barefoot outdoors was dangerous. She didn’t listen. The same way she didn’t listen when I said I’d seen her having sex with Blake in the orchard.
‘Afterwards, he told me being watched had turned him on,’ I said. ‘That made me really uncomfortable.’
Quinn smiled. ‘Blake doesn’t have any filters. I love that about him.’
‘I’m not the only person who thinks he’s out of order sometimes.’
Quinn sighed. ‘Holly, we both know you have a tendency to let your past trauma cloud your judgement. Try to remember that.’
Her words hurt me, although there was some truth in them.
‘We’re all damaged souls,’ Quinn said. ‘That’s why we must have compassion.’
Blake was broken, not damaged, but I knew Quinn wouldn’t want to hear that.
‘When I first met him, I felt this instant sense of recognition,’ Quinn said. ‘I knew we’d met in a previous life and were destined to love each other in this one.’
Quinn often spoke of the intense spiritual connection between her and Blake, but it was clear to me and everyone else she was consumed by lust. Not that I dared say so then. Maybe it would have been better for her if I had.