CHAPTER 33
Willa
I’m not allowed to get out of bed yet, but at least Maggie let me see the baby. She brought him to my bedroom door and let me look at him, but she didn’t think it was a good idea to let him get too close to me. He can’t come into my room until it’s for certain the flu from Spain isn’t inside me anymore.
I had the flu for three days, but I don’t remember much about them. I remember looking at Evie’s flower book on the first day and then feeling really bad and lying in my bed, hot and cold at the same time and wishing I could just disappear. Then the flu left me yesterday, but it made me sleepy. Seems like all I do is take naps. I am tired of naps.
That sounds like a funny joke.
I must do whatever Evie says because she’s in charge while Mama’s sick. Mama has the flu now, too. Evie’s taking care of me and Mama. Maggie is taking care of the baby. It’s better for the baby if one of my sisters takes care of Mama and the other one takes care of him. Maggie probably got the baby because she found him. He’s an orphan. Thatmeans his mama and papa are dead. Maggie says we might get to keep him because he needs a family and we have the room.
“I told Mama I like the name Alex,” I said to Maggie, when she was standing there at the door with the baby so I could get a look at him.
“Alexander was Henry’s middle name,” Maggie said, and I wasn’t sure if that meant she liked the name Alex or didn’t.
“But we would call him Alex.”
She just nodded. It was a nod that said she’d heard me, not that the baby’s name is now Alex. “We’ll see,” she said a second later.
The baby smiled at me from the door. He’s got brown hair and dark eyes—not like Henry—but he’s still sweet as can be. I wanted to hold him and Maggie said soon. He was wearing one of Henry’s outfits. I remembered it was the one Grandma Adler had made.
“Does Mama know he’s wearing Henry’s clothes?” I said.
“She does,” Maggie answered.
I wanted to see Mama then. I missed her. She had promised me pancakes with blackberry syrup.
“I want to see her.” I started to get out of bed.
“Not right now, Willa.” Maggie started to rush into the room even though she still had Baby Alex in her arms.
But I was all woozy and I had to plop back down onto my pillows.
“You’re not well enough yet.” Maggie had stopped halfway to my bed. “You need rest right now. And so does Mama. Promise you won’t try to go to her room alone, Willa.”
Well, I hadn’t thought of that yet, but I probably would have.
“Willa?”
I was thinking about it.
“Willa!”
“What?”
“Promise me.”
But I wasn’t going to promise her. “I’m tired.” I rolled over so my back was to her.
“Mama wants you to stay in bed and rest,” Maggie said a second later.
Baby Alex said, “Goo.”
“I bet Mama wants you to make us pancakes with blackberry syrup,” I said.
“Stay in your bed and I will.”
She left without me having to promise anything.
