my pie as I was putting Brianna into the car seat. The babyâs nose was red and sore-looking from being wiped so much. âIs there a store thatâs open anywhere around here?â I asked. âI need to get some cold medicine.â Leslie frowned. âYou know you canât give that to a baby, right?â She bent over and felt the babyâs cheeks and forehead. âShe is warm. I think she probably has a fever.â âAre you sure I canât just give her some of that stuff they advertise on tv?â I asked. âYou know that commercial with that guy from the show about all the doctors. Heâs the tall one with the blue eyes. I wouldnât give her very much.â âYou canât give her anything like that. Sheâs a baby. Sheâs just a few months old. But you could take her to the after-hours clinic and get one of the nurses to take a look at her.â I felt Briannaâs face. She was really warm. I must have looked worried because Leslie said, âIâm sure sheâs all right. Babies get fevers all the time. The clinic is just down the street.â She leaned across the table and pointed out the window. âSee those lights just down there? Thatâs it. Theyâre open till midnight.â I could feel that lump again in my throat. I couldnât finish my pie because I couldnât swallow anything past it. Brianna was whining and coughing, and there was gunk on her nose again. Buthow could I take her to the clinic? Theyâd ask too many questions. She grabbed my finger, tightly, the way she did before. All I could think was Iâll die. Iâll die if they take her away from me. I canât give her back . My heart was pounding so loudly I was surprised Leslie didnât hear it. She was gathering the salt and pepper shakers from the tables and setting them on the counter. I looked at Brianna. Maybe she wasnât that sick. Okay, so she was coughing and her nose was running, but that was just a cold. A cold wasnât that big a deal. And even Leslie had said that babies get fevers all the time. As soon as we got to Halifax Iâd take her to a doctor. First thing. But right now we had to get going. âExcuse me. Can you tell me where the bus station is?â I asked Leslie. She was filling the salt shakers from a giant box of salt. âSure,â she said. âGo left when you go out the door and then left again at thecorner. You canât miss it.â She paused. âAnd the clinic is just up to the right across the street. Like I said, you can see the lights from here.â âThank you,â I said. I gave her a twenty and waited for my change. Then I put on my jacket, gathered all my stuff and tucked the blanket around Brianna. âBye,â Leslie said. âTake good care of that little one.â âI will,â I said. âBye.â By the time the police showed up to ask questions, if they even did, Brianna and I would be long gone.
Chapter Fifteen Brianna started coughing again as soon as we were outside in the cold air. I set the car seat down and lifted her out. For once she didnât kick or squirm. She just settled in close to me with her head on my shoulder. âJust a couple more hours and weâll be safe,â I whispered. âI promise as soon as we get to Halifax weâll find a doctor.â I could hear Briannaâs wheezy breathing and it made me think aboutmy mother. I donât know how old I was, six maybe, and I was sick. It was more than just a cold. I remember she rubbed some kind of awful-smelling stuff on my chest, and she sat by my bed all night. Every time I woke up she was there with a glass of water and a cool cloth for my head. I felt a sharp pain stab my chest. Missing my mother hurt the same as thinking about giving up Brianna. Tears filled my eyes and I had to blink hard to make them go away. I didnât have any time to cry. I hooked