“I tried.She got a bit emotional, but she wouldn’t do it.She did say, though,” Emily steeled herself for her pitch, “that it’s easy to get sent to the Mercer under this law, and that maybe I should try to get myself committed to find out what it’s like.”
She chewed her lip and watched Doris, unblinking.“Maybe I should do that.”
“Oh, Emily,” Doris said, shaking her head.“You have no idea what you’re suggesting.Let’s back up a moment.”She ran a thumb up and down her glass, eyes narrowed on Emily, whose gut clenched, but she didn’t want to back down.
“Doris, there are women in that prison because of a hugely unjust law!”Emily argued.“A law that every woman under thirty-five is subject to, and we didn’t even know it existed.The general public must not know, either.Ourreadersdon’t know, and I think it’s important that they do.”She heaved a breath.“You’ve said this sort of thing yourself,” she pressed, keenly aware that she might be overstepping.“When women are under attack from any quarter, it matters to all women.Unmarried women should still care about the inequities of divorce, you said.Women who want children should still care about access to birth control.Women who would never dream of being sent to prison need to care about this, because clearly itistoo easy for them—for us all—to be incarcerated.This law allows for it within ludicrously broad parameters.”She swallowed hard, fighting the heat in her cheeks.“It matters.I think this matters.I want this story.Please.”
Doris’s dark brows popped, reluctantly impressed.She leaned forward and tossed Emily’s notes onto the coffee table with a swish.“Well, you’ve got clout.But this is higher stakes than I think you realize.Withrespect, you have lived a sheltered life, Emily.And I don’t mean that as an insult; it is simply a fact.”
Emily nodded tightly.“You’re right,” she admitted.“But Doris, if I don’t take on some risk, really get out there, how will I gain experience?How will I get out from under that shelter?”
Doris gestured her acknowledgment.“Fair.But you saw that prisoner’s note, and this Jones woman told you herself: the conditions in there could be ghastly.”
“I know.”
Noises were beginning to filter in from the hallway now.Lunch hour was nearly over.
“What would you suggest we do next?”Doris asked her.“You came in here looking like you had a plan.”
Emily had thought this through on the streetcar.
“Well, we’ve validated the existence of this law.Next, I think we need to contact the prison, see if we can get some kind of statement on the claims.Although I don’t imagine they’re going to admit to anything.They may not even talk to us.And I do worry a bit that us digging around might come back on the inmates.”
Doris watched her thoughtfully.“Well, if these claims are indeed true, I’m not sure what more the administration could do to make these women’s lives a misery.But I take your point.We would need to be careful not to tip our hand.”
“So…” Emily began with a swoop of nerves.“Are you saying I can—”
“I am absolutelynotsaying that,” Doris said firmly, and Emily felt herself deflate.“But…” She shook her head, clearly considering something.“Let’s get the writers in here.We need to bat this around a little.”
Twenty minutes later, they were back in Doris’s office with a pot of tea and Virginia, Maeve, and Sonya all clustered around them.Doris shut the door, which she rarely did.The staff writers looked curiously at Emily.Assistants didn’t often have one-on-one meetings with the editor.
“All right, girls,” Doris said, sitting back down and leaning forward to pour herself a cup.“I’d like your input on a matter of some delicacy.”
“Did one of the men upstairs make an advance on her?”Sonya asked, indicating Emily.
“Uh, no,” Emily said quickly, taken aback.“Nothing like that.”
“Only it wouldn’t be the first time,” Sonya replied darkly.
“Emily has a scoop,” Doris said, taking a careful sip of tea.Emily seized a cup and saucer for herself, too, mostly to give her fingers something to do other than tap on the sofa beside her.
“A scoop, eh?”Maeve asked, smiling at Emily, impressed.“Well done, junior.”
“Thank you,” Emily said.“It sort of came to us here at the office, though.I only chased it down.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, dear,” Virginia said firmly.She was dressed in a smart cream blouse and matching skirt, her dark hair swept up.“Always take credit when it’s yours.If you leave it on the table, a man’s just going to come along and pick it up for himself.”
Emily cracked a smile, then looked at Doris, who launched into the summary of how they were tipped off by the “incorrigible” inmate at the Mercer Women’s Prison, Emily’s findings, and her proposal to try to get inside.
When she’d finished, all three of the staff writers sat in silence for a few moments.Then Maeve whistled.
“Gosh,” she breathed.“And this is allegedly happening just down in Liberty Village?”
“Yes,” Emily said.“But the legislation applies to any woman under age thirty-five.So—”
“Practically everyone in this office, aside from me,” Doris said.
A beat of silence again as the reality sank in.
