Chapter 2 - What Evie Remembered
At the hospital, a doctor told us Evie had been dangerously short of oxygen but was awake and being watched closely. I should have felt relief. Instead, I kept seeing Margaret reach for that shirt.
Daniel arrived from his office with his tie hanging loose.
"Where is she?" he asked. "Why didn't you call me sooner?"
"I called three times. They were working on her."
He gripped my shoulders. "I'm sorry. I'm here."
Margaret appeared behind him carrying a paper cup of coffee. "Nora left the poor girl at the pool," she said, as if reporting the weather.
I stared at her. "I went inside to get Evie's asthma medicine. You said you'd watch her."
"I said I'd keep an eye on her. That's different from giving permission to swim."
"I heard you tell her she could go in," Lena said.
Margaret set the coffee down hard. "You work for this family, Lena. Remember that."
Daniel stepped between them. "Enough. Evie can hear us."
Inside the room, my daughter lay under a thin blanket with a monitor clipped to her finger. When she saw me, she lifted her arms.
"Mommy, I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
"I thought it would work."
My stomach tightened. "What would work, sweetheart?"
She touched the damp end of her braid. "Grandma said my orange shirt was ready. She said I could jump in because it would hold me up like always."
Daniel looked toward the door.
"Did she touch your shirt?" I asked gently.
Evie nodded. "She borrowed it. She said she had to fix something."
I swallowed. "What did she fix?"
May you like
Evie glanced at the hallway, suddenly afraid.
"She said I wasn't supposed to look," she whispered. "And she said not to tell you."
