Iris points to Marguerite’s self-portrait, her eyes frantic with urgency.
“You want me to go through here?”
You must hurry, Sadie. You’re the only one who can save her. She wouldn’t listen to me. Go to Marguerite. Convince her to go back to the sanatorium. Hurry.
Iris’s voice rises in pitch inside my head.
If you don’t, she’ll go into labor tonight, and in her condition, she could die. If that happens, you’ll die when she dies. You’re already fading. That’s what’s happening to you. Why you’re sick.
“All right. All right. I’ll go.” I reach out, my head throbbing, my eyes going in and out of focus. I’m too weak to panic. Too tired to think how ridiculously unbelievable this scenario would be to anyone else. But I know Iris is telling the truth. I know I can trust her. So I reach out. I reach out and touch the surface of the painting, falling into Marguerite’s past.
Interlude
Marguerite
Sadie watches as Marguerite clambers out the window of the sanitorium. She drops her carpetbag on the ground and works her way down the side of the building, using a long trailing vine of Virginia creeper as support. When she reaches the bottom, she’s out of breath, her young face reddened by exertion. She picks up the carpetbag and runs, her gait hindered by her swollen belly.
“Stop!” Sadie calls. “Marguerite!”
Marguerite’s head jerks toward Sadie. She freezes for a moment, her eyes narrowing in recognition. She turns and hurries down the road. When Sadie catches up to her, she can hear the stridor in Marguerite’s breathing.
“Stop, Aunt Marg. Please. I know you can see me.”
Marguerite slows but walks on, her jaw set. “Go back, Sadie. I’ve made sure everyone else got their happy ending. Now I want mine.”
“But don’t you know what will happen if you leave here?”
Marguerite stops to catch her breath, clutching her belly. “What are you talking about?”
“Your labor. I saw your swollen ankles. Dr. Gallagher told me what that means. You have a condition—something called pre-eclampsia—and if you try to deliver the baby on your own, you might die, and so could Penny.”
“How can you know that?”
“I can’t. Not for sure. But I’m fading. My memories are full of holes. There’s something wrong with me. And there isn’t much time left. No time for gambling with these kinds of odds.”
“I know I’m dying. I can feel it. My body is trying to pull me back, even now.”
Sadie takes her hand. “Aunt Marg, do you trust me? Because I’m afraid if you leave, you’ll die in this timeline, too. As a young woman. Penny will die, and I will completely cease to exist.”
“But ... but I could find a doctor to deliver the baby. Somewhere else.”
“There isn’t time for that, Aunt Marg. You’re about to go into labor, and I’m very sorry, but you must deliver Penny tonight, at the sanatorium, and then give her to Florence. It’s the only way to make sure I’ll be born someday.” Sadie’s hand rests on her belly. “Doc Gallagher says I’m pregnant. I’m going to have a baby, too. You’ve tried to make things right, by going to the past, and you have—in some ways. I think you even managed to save Claire. But in this timeline ... this chronology of events, nothing can change without risking your descendants. Things must remain as they were. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee Mama will meet Da. And if they don’t meet ...”
“You won’t exist.” Marguerite sighs. “Isn’t theresomeway I can keep her?”
“It’s too risky. We can’t take the chance. Once you pass away, we won’t be able to change things. It will be too late. We already know Laura will survive and grow up, living with Florence. And I deserve to live, too, Aunt Marg. My baby deserves to live. My brother andhischildren, too. Let me be the one to fix things, going forward. With my children and grandchildren. You’ve taught me so much about life. About love. About what’s most important. I promise I won’t take any of that for granted.”
Marguerite’s lip trembles. “You’re asking me to break my own heart again. To give up the most precious thing I’ve ever loved.”
“Yes. I am. But it will also be the most selfless thing you’ll ever do. The bravest.”
“I was going to find Hugh. Raise Penny with him. We were going to be happy.”
“I know. And I’m sorry you didn’t get that chance. I’m so sorry.”
“Will you find Hugh after I’m gone, and tell him everything?”
“Yes, I promise I’ll try my best to find him.”
