and more time in bed from now on. She’s going to know those are not living, breathing babies.”
“Watch and learn,” Teresa told him.
Miss Janie’s eyes widened, and a smile covered her face as she held out her arms for the dolls. “Put a pillow in my lap so they can lie side by side.”
Noah did what she asked, and Teresa gently laid each doll down. “They’re beautiful babies. Do you think their eyes will stay brown or turn blue like yours?”
“They’ll stay brown like their daddy’s eyes. Thank you for bringing them to me. You done good, gettin’ them past the head nurse.” Miss Janie reached out to touch each of their little faces. “They’re sleeping. How long do I get to keep them?”
“As long as you want,” Noah said from the doorway.
“I don’t want to give them away,” she said.
“Then you don’t have to,” Teresa told her. “We’ll arrange it so that you can have them right here with you. We’ll even help you with them until you can get on your feet. You had a lot of stitches, and they take a long time to heal.”
“This is wonderful.” Miss Janie couldn’t take her eyes off the two dolls. “You”—she pointed at the one on her left—“you are Mary Jane. And you”—she moved her bony finger to the other one—“you are Madeline Ruth, and I will call you Maddy.” She began to hum a lullaby and sway back and forth. “You can go now. I’m good as long as I don’t have to give them back.”
“We’ll need to put them in the nursery at night so you can rest, but we’ll take good care of them when they’re away from you,” Teresa told her.
Miss Janie’s chin quivered. “But I can keep them until bedtime, right?”
“Of course,” Teresa said past the grapefruit-size lump in her throat. “Or until it’s feeding time. We’ll take care of that in the nursery, too, and if you get tired and want to rest, you let us know.”
Miss Janie started to hum again and waved Teresa and Noah away.
“That was genius,” Noah whispered. “Where’d those dolls come from anyway?”
“Miss Janie gave me one for Christmas the first year I was here, and then the next Christmas she gave one like it to Kayla. We were too old to play with them, but I’m damn sure glad she gave them to us,” Teresa told him. “Someone in the nursing home did this for a dementia patient. I’m glad it worked for Miss Janie.”
“Well, I sure hope it continues to work. Thank you,” he said. “Thank you, and I’m so glad you’ve dealt with this kind of thing before now. The doctor said that, between the cancer pain and the Alzheimer’s, she might get hung up in whatever age she had the most trauma or happiness—either one. She could think she’s sixteen until the day she passes away,” Noah told her. “Or she might still go back and forth. We should be prepared for either or both on an hourly basis, but if she stays in bed more and more, we’ll have to get a bed with rails.”
“I’ve dealt with folks like her in the nursing home,” Teresa said. “If she breaks a hip or an arm, she’d be in even worse pain. I’m going back upstairs to unpack the rest of my things, and I’ll get something going for lunch. Is there anything Miss Janie isn’t supposed to eat?”
“She doesn’t have much of an appetite, so I let her have whatever she wants. Sometimes she eats chocolate doughnuts three times a day,” Noah answered. “You’re taking all this better than I thought you would.”
“Do you mean with Miss Janie or with you?” She raised a dark eyebrow.
“Both,” he answered.
“Miss Janie needs me, and I owe her more than I can ever repay. And you, well, we’re both adults and not lovestruck teenagers.” She shrugged. “We’ve grown up and we’re not even the same people we were back then. So you let her have whatever she wants to eat? Do you offer her wholesome food first?”
“Eat what I want . . .” Noah grinned.
“And die when I’m supposed to,” Teresa finished the sentence for him. “I remember hearing her and Sam’s wife say that lots of times. At this point, she should get whatever she wants.” Teresa had no desire to stand in the hallway and make small talk with Noah. She was there to do a job, pay back her debt to Miss Janie for taking