Page 49 of The Hitchhikers
“Didn’t you see one, when, you know…” Alice gestured around her own stomach.
“I’ve only seen a doctor once, when I had the flu. He told my mom I needed to eat more, and she said he was stupid and that doctors didn’t understand dancers. So, she—” Jenny broke off abruptly, her gaze sliding away. She’d clearly been about to say something else, but Jenny’s terrible mother wasn’t Alice’s concern at that moment.
“Simon can go with you.”Please, God, let that happen. Surely if she and Tom had some time alone, they’d be able to come up with a plan.
“We shouldn’t be seen together,” Simon said. “People might recognize us.”
“I don’t want to go alone.” Jenny spoke in an anxious rush, her eyes filling up with fresh tears that made the blue brighter. Alice had never seen anyone look beautiful when crying. She’d think the girl was faking if it weren’t also for the utter fear and desperation in those eyes.
“I’ll go with you.” Alice didn’t want to walk into a doctor’s office. She didn’t want to hear them discussing pregnancy or miscarriages. But if there was a chance that she might be able to talk to a nurse or use a phone and get help, then she had to do it.
Jenny looked relieved, but Simon said, “No way.”
“She should have someone with her,” Alice said. “It’s hard for women to go through this, and if she’s more stressed…” She let her voice trail off.
“I want to take Alice,” Jenny said.
“They might separate you.”
“I’ll say she’s my aunt. She has to stay—or I’ll leave.”
Simon stared hard at Alice like he was trying to read her mind. “I don’t trust her.”
“You take her with you when you want help!” Jenny said.
“I have a gun.”
“You still have a gun,” Alice pointed out. “And my husband.”
He looked again at Jenny. “I don’t like this.”
“I’m going, Simon. I need to make sure the baby is okay.”
Alice made note of this moment, the firm tone in Jenny’s voice. Time and time again, Jenny had let Simon make the decisions. She chose him over anyone else—over Tom being injured, over Alice having a gun pressed to her head. But if it came down to the babyorSimon, Jenny would choose the baby. Alice had to find a way to use that to her advantage.
Simon looked at Jenny for a few beats, then he sighed. “Don’t let her out of your sight. If she asks to use the bathroom or get water oranything, you go with her—and if she takes off, then you run straight back here.” Jenny nodded, and Simon continued. “If they ask for IDs, tell them that you left your purses in your car when you were swimming, and they were stolen.”
Jenny nodded again, but then her resolve seemed to slide away—the corners of her lips pulled down, and her chest heaved as though she was trying to stop herself from sobbing.
Simon stood and came around the table to sit with her, cuddling her close with one arm.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” he whispered.
“There are feminine products under the bathroom sink,” Alice said. Neither of them looked at her, lost in their private world. She seized the moment to go to Tom. He smiled at Alice as she lay beside him, face-to-face. She linked their fingers, finding comfort in his strong hand, his warm palm. He needed to see a doctor too. Simon had been letting her keep ice on Tom’s shoulder and giving him Tylenol, but he was still in pain. It wasn’t fair that he was being left to suffer. She had to remind herself that people didn’t die from broken collarbones. Tom was strong. She stared at his chest, the dark bruises that had mottled. Soon they would turn yellow.
“Are you worrying about me again?” His deep voice rumbled out of his throat. She pressed her free hand against his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart.
“Of course.”
“It hurts, but I’ll survive. I’m more worried about you.”
“I’m okay.” But she dipped her head so he couldn’t see into her eyes. She wished she could speak to him freely. She would ask how she might slip a note to a nurse. Was it too much of a risk? Should she wait for a different opportunity? She had no idea how Jenny might react.
“Alice, get back up here,” Simon said. “We need to look for a doctor.”
They found a pay phone near a white-brick laundromat, and Jenny returned with an address and an appointment booked for that afternoon. They spent the next couple of hours parked near a baseball diamond that was having a Little League tournament. Alice propped Tom up so he could see from the back window. He’d winced as she moved him, but he gave her hand a squeeze,and she knew he was glad for the distraction. They continued to hold hands as they watched the kids running to the wrong bases or dropping the bat, while their parents shouted from the stands. It was such a simple thing, holding hands. Why had they stopped doing it?
No, it hadn’t beentheywho had stopped. It had beenher. She leaned over to gently kiss Tom’s bruised knuckles and felt even more bereft when he turned and smiled at her.
