She slid to a halt in Theo and Aubrey’s bedroom. Madeline was swaddled and clicked into her baby swing. The apparatus swished back and forth languidly in a pool of sunlight, its sound masked by the music.
Madeline was fine, thank God.
“Ma’am?” the dispatcher said.
“I’m here.” She dashed back to Aubrey’s side and followed the woman’s instructions. She raised Aubrey’s legs a foot off the ground to promote blood flow to her head. She looked to see if Aubrey was wearing any restrictive clothing that needed loosening (she wasn’t), then checked for an airway obstruction (also negative).
“Does she appear to have injured herself in the fall?” the woman asked.
“No.”
Aubrey began to stir.
“Aubrey?”
Her sister-in-law frowned and cracked open her eyes.
“She’s waking up,” Penelope told the dispatcher.
“Good, good,” the woman replied.
“Can you hear me?” Penelope asked. She must look bizarre, kneeling on the hallway floor, holding both of Aubrey’s legs in the air.
“Yes. Did I... pass out?”
“I think so, yes.”
Worry creased Aubrey’s face. “Madeline?”
“She’s absolutely fine. Still sleeping in her baby swing.”
“I’d just finished folding her clothes.” Aubrey motioned toward the nursery. “I stood up quickly and it made me dizzy. I stopped moving, but it just seemed to get worse and so I sat down... here. I was about to call you, but then sound and light just sort of... left me.”
“An ambulance is coming.”
“I’m not sure I need an ambulance. I’m feeling... fairly okay.” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “I think you can put my legs down.”
“Can I put her legs down?” she asked the dispatcher.
“That should be fine, just do so slowly and carefully.”
Penelope did as the woman had directed.
Aubrey tried to push herself into a seated position—
“Would you do me a favor and remain lying down until the paramedics get here?” she asked Aubrey.
Her sister-in-law gave a slight nod.
The sound of an ambulance siren reached her, faint but rapidly increasing in volume. Penelope thanked the dispatcher and disconnected the call.
“I’m so sorry that I let this happen on my watch.” Guilt had turned Penelope’s stomach into a ball of nausea. “This is my fault.”
“This isnotyour fault,” Aubrey said. “How much time has passed since you heard Madeline crying?”
“Fifteen minutes at most.”
“After she calmed down, I kept rocking her for five minutes. Then folded clothes for several more minutes. Which means I could only have been out for a couple of minutes. You must have found me immediately.”
