“Sure, I would be glad to keep you company.” She stood in the old woman’s body, following behind Jenkins and the nurse.
So, my Darla body survived. I can stay with Jenkins! We can be a family, just like I promised.Relief coursed through her, and her soft muscles relaxed, forcing her to walk slower as the adrenaline wore off. The older woman’s legs grew weaker with every step.
“I do want to warn you that she has more injuries than you have, and she is going to look different than you remember. Her legs were badly burned and—” The nurse paused, making direct eye contact with Mrs. Brown. “She won’t be able to walk again.”
I won’t be able to walk? No more acting? What kind of life will I live?
“She’s sleeping, but she can hear you, so try talking to her about how proud you are of her.” The nurse squeezed Jenkins’s hand as they reached a room with a large glass door. Behind it was a drawn curtain. The nurse was talking to Jenkins, but Mrs. Brown braced herself for whatever was waiting for her behind that curtain. When she went back into Darla’s body, there was going to be a great deal of pain and chaos.
Jenkins bit on the side of his nail and nodded as the nurse opened the sliding glass door and moved the curtain enough for them to pass through.
Darla’s body lay still on the hospital bed as the machine whirred and beeped nearby. In the far corner, a small roundtable with two vinyl-wrapped chairs sat pushed up against the wall. Jenkins headed straight for the table and chairs. He brought the front of his hospital gown up to his mouth and started chewing.
“Would you like me to pull a chair over for you so you can sit closer to her?” The nurse put her hands on her knees and bent to talk to Jenkins. She rolled her eyes at the nurse’s question.
“Clearly this is a difficult situation for him. Let him process this at his own pace. I will sit with him so he isn’t alone, and when he’s ready, I can help move the chair.” Mrs. Brown put a hand on her frail hip and raised her eyebrows. Her tone came out more motherly than intended, but it did the trick. The nurse stood back up and her brown eyes widened.
“Let me know if you need anything.” She slightly turned her head toward Jenkins, but kept her eyes glued to Mrs. Brown. After the sliding door latched closed, she sat opposite from Jenkins. Both stared at the still body in the bed, the slow rise and fall of her chest and occasional eye twitches indicated she was alive, just still very much asleep.
I survived. This means we can be together. Who cares if I can’t walk? I will be alive, and I can give Jenkins the life he deserves.She dared not look at Jenkins, afraid her face would give away her true emotions.
“She looks dead.” Jenkins’s small voice spoke from behind a small wet spot on his gown, a spot that he clearly had been chewing on.
“She isn’t, though. Look carefully at her chest. See how it goes up and down as she breathes? She is just in a deep sleep.”
“Like a princess.”
She whipped her head at him, a smile broke across her face at his connection.
“Yes, just like a princess. And she needs you to be her brave knight and protect her.”
“Just like I protected Kinley.”
Mrs. Brown scrunched her eyebrows together. “You protected her? How?” It was hard for her to picture it since he was so much smaller than him.
“My uncle liked to hurt us, especially Kinley when she talked back to him. Sometimes I bit his ankles to distract him enough for her to get away. One time, I found some sleepy pills and put one in his drink so he would sleep.” He dropped the gown, and his hand shot up to his mouth. His eyes went wide, he looked at her in horror. “Please don’t tell anyone I said that. Kinley told me if I said anything, we would be in big trouble.”
Mrs. Brown just stared down at him.Those children were in a great deal more trouble than I realized. I can’t even imagine what would become of them if I hadn’t come along.The thought brought a new wave of guilt.Kinley would still be alive. Miserable, but alive.
“Your secret is safe with me.” Jenkins let his posture relax, and he resumed staring at Darla’s body. Being here in this room allowed her the perfect chance to attach her tether to make the switch.I just need to wait until she starts to wake up.
Almost on cue, Darla’s body let out a small, stifled moan. Mrs. Brown summoned the tether and left it lingering over Darla’s body. She stood and moved her chair to be close to her side. Up close, she could see the various scratches and bruises. There was one that started on her left cheek and continued up under the bandage wrapped around her head.
“Here Jenkins, she is waking up. Come sit close so you can be here when she wakes up fully. I’m sure she would be happy to see you. I’ll go get a nurse.”
Jenkins obliged and slowly moved to the chair by the bed, and Mrs. Brown gave a final glance to make sure the tether was close and ready. She walked past a nurse and let her know that the woman was waking up. After a few-minute walk, she wasback in the waiting area. The empty food tray now cleared, along with her half-drank coffee. The tether pulled tight as though it was struggling with the distance between her and her new body.
She quickly and carefully lay down on the couch so that it would seem like she dozed off in the waiting room.
She won’t know the news of her husband’s death, but that is the least of my worries right now. I need to get to Jenkins, and we need to move forward, away from Kinley, away from the sadness. We need to look forward to our bright future. Together.
With the final thought she closed her eyes and gave in to the pull of the tether. The sounds of the machines whirred close to her ear, and she could feel the scratchy bandage up against her forehead. Her entire body was sore, except her legs. But she didn’t care. She only had one thought on her mind: her new purpose, her new reason to keep going, to live. She was a mother again.
“Jenkins?” Darla reached her hand out to her right, knowing he would be there. Soon his small hand fell into hers and she wrapped her long fingers around his. Finally, she felt like she was home.
Jenkins leaned casually in the limo, as though he were born to live in the upper class and not a boy who used to live in a trailer with his abusive uncle. Under Darla’s care, he grew several feet, his limbs no longer lanky but suited to his fully-grown torso.
Darla watched him as he looked out the windows. She could still picture him as a fourteen-year-old boy, how gentle he was with her as she recovered in the hospital. He continued to care for her at home alongside her live-in nurse Betty.
