Page 40 of Brian and Cora
“Come here, Sugar Princess,” Brian coaxed, his Southern accent thickening. He shifted, almost hiding a wince, and leanedto the side, sliding his arm around Jewel’s waist and drawing her to him.
She held up the leaves.
“Are those for me?”
She nodded.
He took them in his free hand. “Thank you, Sugar.” Then he glared at Cora. “Jewel is very precious to me,” he said fiercely.
Taken aback by his protectiveness toward the child, Cora merely said, “I see.”
Brian picked up the candy from the square table next to his chair. “You’ve had taffy before. Remember how chewy it tastes?”
Her eyes lit up. “Taf-ee good.”
“But you need to wait to eat it until your papa says you can. I’ll put it right here until he comes.” He set the candy back on the table.
Jewel looked from his bandage-wrapped leg to his face and then back to his leg. She pointed one stubby finger. “Ow.” She started to cry. “Ow, Bry-an. Hurt.”
“I’ll be all right, Sugar.”
“Hurt.” She looked at him pitifully, her blue eyes drenched.
“I know, Brian, ow, leg. But Miss Cora is taking good care of me. She’s helping make me feel better.” He gestured to her with his free hand. “Can you say hello to Miss Cora?”
“Hello, Jewel.” Cora came over to kneel down in front of her. “I’m so happy to meet you. I’m a friend of Elsie.”
The child’s eyes lost their fear. “El-see.”
“Do you live by the lake?”
Jewel twisted to wave in a vague direction.
“Ah, you do.” Cora had never seen a mongoloid child of this age, somewhere around ten or eleven, she guessed. There’d always been a few of these babies and toddlers at the foundling home. The children were so sweet but couldn’t talk or do much, and they died heartbreakingly young.
She’d often suspected a lack of attention contributed to their short time on earth. The small staff at the foundling home focused on the other babies and children—the ones more likely to live and who were able to interact and hopefully become adopted. When she volunteered, she always made it a point to spend some time with the neglected ones. But since she devoted so much of her free time to the hospital, instead of the foundling home, she’d always doubted she made a difference in their bleak lives.
Jewel tentatively touched Cora’s locket.
“Would you like to see inside?” Cora pried apart the two halves and pointed to one miniature photograph. “Look, Jewel. This is my mama and papa.” She held the open locket up for the girl to see, and then tapped the other side. “And this is my grandmama and grandpapa.”
Jewel looked puzzled. “Papa?”
“Yes.” She pointed to her father in the photograph, and then tapped her chest. “This is my papa.”
“I don’t think she knows about mamas and grandmamas and grandpapas,” Brian said in a low tone. “She doesn’t have any. Or know of any other papas, either.”
Cora glanced at him in disbelief. “But surely her father talks about their relatives?”
With a sigh, Brian leaned back against his pillows. “The situation is…complicated. And painful. And a secret that’s not mine to tell. I’ll just say Torin, her father, is very protective of Jewel—with good reason. And so am I.”
“Hank knows?”
“For a long time, it was just Hank, Torin, and I. Then, relatively recently, we expanded our little circle when Hank wanted a wife, decided to go courting, and met Elsie. And Elsie came attached with Constance and Constance to Dr. Angus. So, all of a sudden, our foursome became a circle of seven.Constance persuaded Torin to meet Mrs. Swensen, who lives up the mountain from us.”
“I’ve met Mrs. Swensen. She has a lot of children,” Cora murmured, recalling how at the tea party, Elsie needed to confer with the woman, probably about Jewel.
“But so far, Torin’s balked about Jewel meeting the rest of her family.”
