too big to swallow, as Rosaleen, Pete, Cheryl, and on occasion Howard or Lena, did dishes and prepared meals.
There was a moment of worry, several weeks down the road, when Devin’s body had botched the repair on his intestines by trying to regrow the lost sections, clouding them full of regenerative scar tissue; the doctor had excised the offending masses, and while he believed Devin was in the clear, he warned them that there would probably always be a risk of rampaging regenerative tissue from time to time. He was finally graduated part time from I.V. nutrients to liquids, and then there came the day that the doctor gave permission for his first solid food in two months. Lena took a day off from politics to throw him a small party with Cheryl; given that the vote had just come through, and Lena was free to travel with Howard’s permission, she thought this might also be a good opportunity to have a serious discussion with Cheryl regarding her past.
But while they all sat around eating toast triangles, she couldn’t help but notice that Cheryl didn’t seem to be enjoying herself as much as she ought to. She had been so worried about Devin the whole time, and just when he seemed on the brink of full recovery, she was still nothing but somber. Lena kept trying to keep the situation light and friendly, but Cheryl absolutely refused to join in.
“So what do you want to do when you finally get out of bed, Dev? No, seriously, anything you want.” Lena flicked a toast square off the nightstand, barely missing Devin’s face.
He picked it up and tossed it back at her, sighing. His small, lopsided smile crept onto his face. “You know, I think I’d like to take a break from saving each other’s lives, if that’s at all possible.”
Everyone laughed but Cheryl, who only looked at the floor. “That’s not funny Devin.”
Devin’s smile fell slightly. “Alright, I’m sorry.”
Lena quickly cleared her throat and threw the piece of toast back at Devin. “She’s right, Dev. Not funny. Saving each other’s lives is much better than the alternative…”
“Yeah, I guess. You need to stop getting yourself into trouble.” He threw it back with a wink.
Lena caught the toast and went silent for a minute. She looked carefully from Devin to Cheryl, and let her gaze hang on the young teenager. “Speaking of trouble, there’s something I need to talk to Cheryl about. It’s something I found out recently, or relatively recently, that I think we should discuss between the two of us. I think it might be best if we kept it a secret.”
Much to Lena’s surprise, Cheryl gave her a terrified look. Her jaw dropped a little and she stood up off the chair she was sitting in, going pale. Tears ebbed into her eyes. “Lena, I’m so, so sorry…I thought it was for the best!”
The distraught girl looked over at Devin. Clenching and unclenching her fists as though they had minds of their own. “Devin, I’m just so…so…”
She choked up and then turned and half ran out of the room. Lena gave a puzzled look at Devin, who nodded in Cheryl’s direction and Lena got up to follow her. She was already gone when Lena got to the hallway, but she took a moment to think and then went straight to the servants’ quarters on the first floor; sure enough, Lena could hear her muffled crying from the doorway.
Lena had never actually been in the servants’ quarters before. It was poorly lit by a few ceiling light fixtures, but otherwise very large and very clean. The walls were white and the floors were grey linoleum. The room itself was large enough to sleep around fifty people comfortably if they kept the aisles between the cots modest. At the moment, all of the cots were folded up and pushed up against one of the walls, making the space feel even larger than it really was. Rosaleen had set up a few privacy screens around the permanent beds to make smaller, cozier bedroom areas.
Mrs. Ralston and Howard had seen to it that there
There was a moment of worry, several weeks down the road, when Devin’s body had botched the repair on his intestines by trying to regrow the lost sections, clouding them full of regenerative scar tissue; the doctor had excised the offending masses, and while he believed Devin was in the clear, he warned them that there would probably always be a risk of rampaging regenerative tissue from time to time. He was finally graduated part time from I.V. nutrients to liquids, and then there came the day that the doctor gave permission for his first solid food in two months. Lena took a day off from politics to throw him a small party with Cheryl; given that the vote had just come through, and Lena was free to travel with Howard’s permission, she thought this might also be a good opportunity to have a serious discussion with Cheryl regarding her past.
But while they all sat around eating toast triangles, she couldn’t help but notice that Cheryl didn’t seem to be enjoying herself as much as she ought to. She had been so worried about Devin the whole time, and just when he seemed on the brink of full recovery, she was still nothing but somber. Lena kept trying to keep the situation light and friendly, but Cheryl absolutely refused to join in.
“So what do you want to do when you finally get out of bed, Dev? No, seriously, anything you want.” Lena flicked a toast square off the nightstand, barely missing Devin’s face.
He picked it up and tossed it back at her, sighing. His small, lopsided smile crept onto his face. “You know, I think I’d like to take a break from saving each other’s lives, if that’s at all possible.”
Everyone laughed but Cheryl, who only looked at the floor. “That’s not funny Devin.”
Devin’s smile fell slightly. “Alright, I’m sorry.”
Lena quickly cleared her throat and threw the piece of toast back at Devin. “She’s right, Dev. Not funny. Saving each other’s lives is much better than the alternative…”
“Yeah, I guess. You need to stop getting yourself into trouble.” He threw it back with a wink.
Lena caught the toast and went silent for a minute. She looked carefully from Devin to Cheryl, and let her gaze hang on the young teenager. “Speaking of trouble, there’s something I need to talk to Cheryl about. It’s something I found out recently, or relatively recently, that I think we should discuss between the two of us. I think it might be best if we kept it a secret.”
Much to Lena’s surprise, Cheryl gave her a terrified look. Her jaw dropped a little and she stood up off the chair she was sitting in, going pale. Tears ebbed into her eyes. “Lena, I’m so, so sorry…I thought it was for the best!”
The distraught girl looked over at Devin. Clenching and unclenching her fists as though they had minds of their own. “Devin, I’m just so…so…”
She choked up and then turned and half ran out of the room. Lena gave a puzzled look at Devin, who nodded in Cheryl’s direction and Lena got up to follow her. She was already gone when Lena got to the hallway, but she took a moment to think and then went straight to the servants’ quarters on the first floor; sure enough, Lena could hear her muffled crying from the doorway.
Lena had never actually been in the servants’ quarters before. It was poorly lit by a few ceiling light fixtures, but otherwise very large and very clean. The walls were white and the floors were grey linoleum. The room itself was large enough to sleep around fifty people comfortably if they kept the aisles between the cots modest. At the moment, all of the cots were folded up and pushed up against one of the walls, making the space feel even larger than it really was. Rosaleen had set up a few privacy screens around the permanent beds to make smaller, cozier bedroom areas.
Mrs. Ralston and Howard had seen to it that there
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