hit the Call button.
But the phone rang to voice mail. Of course. This was Wednesday. Jennifer taught a women’s Bible study on Wednesday mornings. And now Ashley’s patient was arriving.
“Jen,” she spoke hastily into the recorded voice message, “don’t call me back. Was up all night and need some sleep. Will call you later after my patients leave and I get some rest.” Hitting End, she turned toward the drive.
Two cars chugged up the steep incline to the house. Her first patient, Mary Kate, drove her rusty sedan up the drive a hundred yards behind Ashley’s assistant, Sofie Trevino. Mary Kate opened her door and hoisted herself out at once. Sofie remained inside her vehicle, one hand holding her phone to her ear. She waved to Ashley but kept talking without so much as rolling down her window.
“Hey, Ashley,” Mary Kate called in greeting as she trudged up the slope to the house.
As always, she was scrupulously clean despite the fact that her trailer had no hot water. Though faded, her black skirt and white blouse showed not a wrinkle or stain.
The stains showed themselves in purple circles beneath her big blue eyes, signs of sleeplessness. She worked twelve-hour days at a diner where the prices were cheap and the tips even less. She had no health insurance because she couldn’t afford the premiums, but she made too much money to qualify for Medicaid, so she paid Ashley in crumpled bills straight from her apron pocket. To save the woman’s pride, Ashley took the money, then set it aside in a special fund she kept from such fees in the event that one of her uninsured patients needed hospitalization.
So far, Mary Kate was doing all right, but the morning sunlight peeking over the mountain showed that her face was a little puffy.
“Is the baby keeping you awake?” Ashley led her into the house and then the examining room.
Mary Kate shrugged. “Which one? The one I’m carrying or the one I already got.” She scrubbed her hands over her face and sank onto the daybed, coughing. “Would I be the worst person in the world if I gave these kids up for adoption?”
“That’s not a joke, is it?” Ashley sat beside Mary Kate and clasped one of her calloused hands in both of hers.
Mary Kate shook her head. “I know you can do it. You give ’em up to some folks who can’t have kids but have money and can give them a better life. They sure ain’t gonna have one with me working the diner and their dad—” She grimaced.
Their dad had been in prison for six months for armed robbery. It wasn’t his first offense, so he was going to be there for a long time. He’d been out on bail just long enough to get his wife pregnant—again.
Ashley reminded herself that Jesus loved him, too, and stroked Mary Kate’s hand. “You love your babies.”
“I do.” She began to cry. “I love them enough to not want them to grow up like me or their daddy.”
“Hey. They don’t have to.” Ashely slipped an arm around Mary Kate’s shoulders, far too padded with fat for her small frame, the result of too much of the fried and starchy food that was served at the diner and that Mary Kate received for free and so took advantage of to save money. “I know things are harder for you and them, and there are programs, resources. Let me work on it.”
Sofie slipped into the room and began to gather up the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. Ashley shook her head. “Not now,” she mouthed.
If they took Mary Kate’s blood pressure right then, it might be elevated due to her weeping.
“When do you have to be at work?” Ashley asked.
“Not until nine o’clock.”
“Good. Then why don’t you just lie back and rest here for half an hour before we do our exam.” Ashley stood so Mary Kate could lie back. She covered her with a quilt, then slipped a pillow beneath her feet to elevate her swollen ankles. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Don’t worry. We won’t let you be late for work.”
“I won’t
But the phone rang to voice mail. Of course. This was Wednesday. Jennifer taught a women’s Bible study on Wednesday mornings. And now Ashley’s patient was arriving.
“Jen,” she spoke hastily into the recorded voice message, “don’t call me back. Was up all night and need some sleep. Will call you later after my patients leave and I get some rest.” Hitting End, she turned toward the drive.
Two cars chugged up the steep incline to the house. Her first patient, Mary Kate, drove her rusty sedan up the drive a hundred yards behind Ashley’s assistant, Sofie Trevino. Mary Kate opened her door and hoisted herself out at once. Sofie remained inside her vehicle, one hand holding her phone to her ear. She waved to Ashley but kept talking without so much as rolling down her window.
“Hey, Ashley,” Mary Kate called in greeting as she trudged up the slope to the house.
As always, she was scrupulously clean despite the fact that her trailer had no hot water. Though faded, her black skirt and white blouse showed not a wrinkle or stain.
The stains showed themselves in purple circles beneath her big blue eyes, signs of sleeplessness. She worked twelve-hour days at a diner where the prices were cheap and the tips even less. She had no health insurance because she couldn’t afford the premiums, but she made too much money to qualify for Medicaid, so she paid Ashley in crumpled bills straight from her apron pocket. To save the woman’s pride, Ashley took the money, then set it aside in a special fund she kept from such fees in the event that one of her uninsured patients needed hospitalization.
So far, Mary Kate was doing all right, but the morning sunlight peeking over the mountain showed that her face was a little puffy.
“Is the baby keeping you awake?” Ashley led her into the house and then the examining room.
Mary Kate shrugged. “Which one? The one I’m carrying or the one I already got.” She scrubbed her hands over her face and sank onto the daybed, coughing. “Would I be the worst person in the world if I gave these kids up for adoption?”
“That’s not a joke, is it?” Ashley sat beside Mary Kate and clasped one of her calloused hands in both of hers.
Mary Kate shook her head. “I know you can do it. You give ’em up to some folks who can’t have kids but have money and can give them a better life. They sure ain’t gonna have one with me working the diner and their dad—” She grimaced.
Their dad had been in prison for six months for armed robbery. It wasn’t his first offense, so he was going to be there for a long time. He’d been out on bail just long enough to get his wife pregnant—again.
Ashley reminded herself that Jesus loved him, too, and stroked Mary Kate’s hand. “You love your babies.”
“I do.” She began to cry. “I love them enough to not want them to grow up like me or their daddy.”
“Hey. They don’t have to.” Ashely slipped an arm around Mary Kate’s shoulders, far too padded with fat for her small frame, the result of too much of the fried and starchy food that was served at the diner and that Mary Kate received for free and so took advantage of to save money. “I know things are harder for you and them, and there are programs, resources. Let me work on it.”
Sofie slipped into the room and began to gather up the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. Ashley shook her head. “Not now,” she mouthed.
If they took Mary Kate’s blood pressure right then, it might be elevated due to her weeping.
“When do you have to be at work?” Ashley asked.
“Not until nine o’clock.”
“Good. Then why don’t you just lie back and rest here for half an hour before we do our exam.” Ashley stood so Mary Kate could lie back. She covered her with a quilt, then slipped a pillow beneath her feet to elevate her swollen ankles. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Don’t worry. We won’t let you be late for work.”
“I won’t
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