I nodded slightly. I was, but I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to eat anything.
He reached forward, grabbed a pack of soup crackers, ripped one open, and handed it to me. I brought it to my mouth and nibbled on it slightly, but everything in my face ached. The cracker fell from my hand and onto the floor. Sleep pulled me in again.
His little face and skin were nearly translucent, flushed deep red, so fragile it barely looked real. He was covered in fine, fuzzy, dark hair all over his body. He already had hair growing on top of his head. Four minutes. He was with me for two hundred and forty seconds. He was back in my arms again. His little squeaks. His little gasp for air. Blood all over.
The car door opened. I opened my eyes, looking around. Only the bright moon filled the sky. My eyes moved to the female who stood at the open truck door, staring at me with wide eyes. She looked like Calliope but without the freckles. Her hair was in a satin bonnet.
“Quinnlyn Mikel!” she blurted out, turning to face him.
“I know Titi!” he said.
“You bring… dying white girl… us midwives already… not all… licensed.”
“Fix her… then we’ll… gone,” he said.
“I’ma hafta call… doctor friend,” she grumbled, “bring her...”
Quinnlyn’s arms wrapped around me again before he lifted me up and out of his truck. My eyes focused on all the blood covering his seat.
“So…sorr…sorry,” I stuttered out. His arms tightened around me. Everything faded.
Chapter 12
The room was bright, and my eyes strained to open. My right eye was opening more than it did yesterday. I looked around the room, trying to figure out where I was. In one corner, there was a male sitting in a chair, his head dipped to his chest. I didn’t recognize him. I shifted in the bed, and he lifted his head and stared at me. I gasped.
Movement from my right made my head turn. Quinnlyn had stood up and moved to the side of the bed. The man in the chair stood up and started walking toward me. My stomach churned, heart racing faster.
“You’re okay,” the man said. “I’m Dr. Arthur.”
“He’s the one who took care of you,” Quinnlyn said.
“What happened to me?”
“Your son arrived far too early, and because of that, the placenta didn’t detach completely, leaving fragments in there. You were bleeding out. I’d rather you come into the clinic, but… that’s neither here nor there. I gave you some medicine, and I performed a procedure to remove the retained placental tissue,” he said.
“Oh… My baby is gone…” Tears rolled down my face.
“Do you not remember giving birth?” Dr. Arthur said.
“Yes. No. I do. I just forgot for a moment.”
“Quinnlyn brought him with. We held off on cremation in case you wanted to say goodbye first,” Dr. Arthur said.
“No… I… I… said goodbye. Can I have…” I gasped for air. “Can I have the ashes?”
“Of course. He’s your baby,” Dr. Arthur said.
Sobs exploded out of me. He reached his arm out and placed it on my upper arm. I flinched and pulled away. Even through the tears, I caught him glancing at Quinnlyn.
“Let’s talk outside, Quinn,” Dr. Arthur said.
“Yes, sir,” Quinnlyn said.
“No. Don’t leave me,” I wept out.
“My Titi is going to come in and help you,” Quinnlyn said.
Both of them walked out of the room, and before the door could swing shut, the female who stood outside the truck walked in.