“I got two years older while you were gone!” Louise pulled her hands from Ruth’s and kept her gaze fixed on her pad.
“Darling, I was only gone for a few weeks. And I know for a fact that you will turn thirty in October. Remember, we discussed a special strawberry shortcake to celebrate the occasion?” Louise’s face melted into recognition and she managed a nod. “Oh my, look at that. What a terrific study of a pigeon. Have you been taking extra art lessons while I’ve been gone?”
“No. Just our usual schedule,” Louise answered flatly. She seemed depressed, refusing to be even the slightest bit playful with Ruth. When she was in one of her better moods, she was the first to engage in friendly banter. Ruth was always especially pleased when these happier stretches included the weekend, so that Louise could enjoy the visits from her husband, who came to see her, diligently, every Saturday. But Ruth could see that she was in no mood for light conversation today.
“Mrs. Dillington, you know that I was away because I recently got married, right? It was my honeymoon.” Louise nodded again but remained cold. “Well, I can promise you that I won’t be going anywhere again for the foreseeable future. I hope we will be able to resume our afternoon walks. My waterside boardwalk project is nearly complete, and I would love to show you our progress. Now, ladies, since it is my very first day back at the hospital after my trip, I am afraid I am only here for a brief hello. I’ll be back for a longer visit later this week, I promise, and I will look forward to seeing your progress on your drawings!”
Louise gave a small nod of acknowledgment as Ruth exited the room. Evelyn waved. “Welcome home.”
Home. Ruth hadn’t realized how much she missed this until now. As she walked purposefully down the hallway, she made a mental note to check in with Louise Dillington’s doctor. It seemed she might need an ice bath or a course of convulsions to break her current depressive state.
As much as she would have loved to visit with everyone, there was one girl in particular whom she was most anxious to see. Penelope Connor had been a patient at the hospital for several years now. The poor woman had had an awful bout of bad luck, having lost her parents to influenza as a child. She then married a schemer who left her as soon as he discovered that her money was locked up in a trust administered by her aunt. When Penelope moved back into her aunt’s home, she began harming herself regularly in an effort to “stay clean,” and devolved into periodic fits of fury. Penelope’s aunt had the money in the trust to set Penelope up quite comfortably at Emeraldine, and over the years, she never failed to pay a bill on time. Ever since she dropped Penelope and her trunks at the hospital several years prior, however, her aunt had not visited once. Ruth felt for Penelope and believed that, with the proper support, the woman could surely be cured.
Penelope hadn’t been in art class as Ruth had expected. Now, her room was empty and looked as if it had been for several days. Ruth felt her heart pounding faster. Was the young woman ill? “Nurse Riley?” she called down the hall to a figure bustling with a small white hat atop her head. “Is that you?”
“Miss Emeraldine. Welcome back!”
“It is Mrs. Apter now.” Ruth smiled as the nurse approached her. “Where is Penelope Connor? I was hoping to see her this morning.”
“Ah, congratulations on the wedding, Mrs. Apter!” Nurse Riley shook Ruth’s hand, smiling before her expression turned sour. “Penelope, I am afraid, has been transferred to the security wing.”
“What? That can’t be right! What happened?”
“I told them you would be upset when they transferred her, Miss . . . Mrs. Apter. But when you were away, Penelope started up again. Picking at herself and washing so much her fingers were bleeding, and she started to get scabs on her face so bad I worried about infection. I tried to get her into the continuous-flow bath, and she started throwing things, almost took my eye out with the edge of a book! I told the doctor I was okay, but he insisted she needed to be restrained and, well, it’s not my place to tell him otherwise. I’m just a regular old nurse—not like you.” She smiled earnestly at Ruth.