“But she’s okay?”
“She’s recovering. I suggest that you brainstorm ways to make your return easier on them.”
Frida says she will. She wants to ask who’s watching Harriet. Gust must need to be at the hospital all the time. Have their parents flown in? Gust has arranged for Frida to stay with Will after she leaves, has given these instructions to the counselor.
Frida wants to tell Roxanne about the baby. Susanna might be swollen from a blood transfusion. Can she see Henry? Will she be able to nurse?
During their first week in the hospital, the nurses pressured them to give Harriet formula. Frida’s milk was coming in too slowly after her C-section. Harriet had lost more than 10 percent of her birth weight. The nurses said they’d send her home without Harriet if Harriet didn’t start gaining.
“It would be heartbreaking,” the nurses said, “if you had to go home without her.”
That’s not what she wanted for Susanna.
* * *
To practice poverty awareness, one of the women in pink lab coats has been dressed to look like a beggar, with tattered clothes and dark eyeshadow rubbed on her cheeks. Each mother-doll pair must walk past the pretend beggar, who’ll ask for money. The doll will be trained to notice the beggar and tug on her mother’s hand, signaling altruistic intent. The mother will give the doll a coin, which she has to deliver, saying “Be well,” or “Take care.”
What follows is a day of confusion, negotiation, and tears. No altruistic intentions are signaled. No coins are delivered. The mothers can’t undo two months of stranger-danger lessons in one day.
When the beggar asks for help, Emmanuelle shouts, “Go away!”
Frida corrects her, but Emmanuelle insists that the beggar is bad. Frida explains the difference between badness and misfortune, badness and suffering.
“What have we learned about suffering?”
Emmanuelle hangs her head. “We help. I help. Help bird. Help lady.”
Frida explains the concept of charity. To Emmanuelle, charity is like baskets. Like Red Riding Hood. The story from months ago. Frida is surprised she remembers. Emmanuelle pretends to hop with her basket through the woods.
“Red Riding girl,” she says. “Food food. Basket.” The coin is a basket she’ll give to the lady.
Emmanuelle listens to the beggar’s plea and says, “Baskets. Bye-bye!”
Frida asks if they’re allowed to substitute words. Ms. Khoury tells her to keep trying for the correct language. Emmanuelle drops the coin near the beggar’s head and shouts, “My did it!”
Ms. Khoury says this isn’t the time for cutting corners. If the child understands grace, she’ll hand the beggar the coin and give her a kind word. They should be able to see the doll’s humanity.
* * *
“You have to do this like a big girl,” Frida says. It’s the last day of training, and the classroom has been set up with two morality stations: injured bird and beggar. The doll must complete each drill without coaching.
Ms. Russo said Emmanuelle’s behavior reflects everything she’s learned this year. Whether she feels safe and loved. Whether she has the potential to become a caring and productive member of society. She is the clearest indicator of Frida’s success or failure.
“Can you be smart and kind and brave for Mommy?”
Emmanuelle says yes.
“Thank you, sweetie. I love you.”
They practice saying “Be well.” Frida runs her hands through Emmanuelle’s hair. She would like to know how soon Emmanuelle’s memory will be erased, whether she’ll go into storage until there’s another Asian, who that woman will be, how long Emmanuelle will have to wait for her, what name she’ll choose, what kind of relationship they’ll have. The next mother needs to be careful. It helps, when changing the blue liquid, to massage Emmanuelle’s back.
* * *
Only Frida’s and Linda’s dolls come close to completing the sequence. Linda’s doll makes mistakes but finishes in five minutes. Emmanuelle finishes in six. With speed comes moral ambiguity. The dolls handle the birds roughly. Beth’s and Meryl’s dolls don’t even take the coin.
Ms. Knight visits the mothers at dinner. “I know some of you thought you’d never get here, but I’m sure you’ve come to understand that a mother can do anything. After you leave, you’ll have to assess the quality of your mothering every day. Our voices need to be inside you.”
She asks the mothers to hold hands and leads them in the mantra. Their last evaluation is tomorrow. Their final brain scans are Wednesday.