Before She Was Found - Heather Gudenkauf Page 0,75

figures that line the shelves.

“How about these?” Thomas holds up a set of painted Russian nesting dolls. He’s eager to get out of here. “They’re nice.”

Jordyn just rolls her eyes. After ten more minutes of unenthusiastically received suggestions, Thomas finally understands that Jordyn doesn’t want his help and falls silent. He watches as Jordyn picks up a lip balm laboratory kit, a manicure set with three different kinds of nail polish and a T-shirt tie-dye kit, and examines each carefully only to replace them on the shelf. She keeps returning to a bracelet-making kit that contains hundreds of tiny colorful beads and elastic cording. “This, I think.” She looks to Thomas for approval.

“She’ll love it,” Thomas says, but what does he know about what twelve-year-olds think is cool. Jordyn shrugs, unconvinced.

The remainder of the journey to the hospital is spent in mostly nervous silence. Jordyn busies herself with arranging the bracelet-making kit inside a gift bag fluffed with sparkly tissue paper and by signing a card with the picture of a cat, paw wrapped in a bandage and a plastic cone around her neck. I hope you get to feeling purrfect again soon.

“Cora really likes cats,” Jordyn says, sliding the sealed envelope into the bag. “Maybe I could get her a kitten,” Jordyn says. “That would really cheer her up.”

“I don’t think Cora’s mom and dad would feel quite the same way.” Thomas grins. “It’s a nice thought, though.”

“But what if her mom and dad say it’s okay?” Jordyn asks.

“I think the present you picked out will be just fine,” Thomas says firmly as the hospital comes into sight and they stare up at the glass-and-steel structure.

“It’s so big,” Jordyn says. “Is the whole building really just for kids?” she asks.

“That’s what I hear,” Thomas says as he pulls into the parking garage. “I guess if I was sick this wouldn’t be such a bad place to stay, huh?”

They exit the parking ramp at street level and enter through the hospital lobby. Jordyn runs ahead to the elevators and waits for her grandfather to catch up with her. Thomas takes his time. The hospital is huge and she knows he has to conserve his energy or Jordyn will have to push him out of here in a wheelchair. The elevator doors open and a woman and girl step out. The girl, about Jordyn’s age, is hairless and has a wide moon face courtesy of prednisone. Jordyn gives them a shy smile and moves aside to let them pass, her eyes lingering on their retreating backs. Together they step onto the elevator and Jordyn waits until the doors close before speaking.

“Do you think she has cancer?” she asks.

“That would be my guess,” Thomas says, leaning against the elevator wall.

“Do you think her mom gets to stay with her while she’s here? When she gets chemo?”

“It didn’t used to be that way. Parents would have to stay in guest lodging or go home when their child was in the hospital. But nowadays parents can stay right in the room with them.”

Jordyn thinks about this for a moment. “If my kid was sick I would never leave them. No matter what. Even if they told me I had to.”

Thomas knows that Jordyn is thinking about her own mom and dad. People who for some unearthly reason decided that fighting for custody of their daughter was too much effort. Not that Thomas was complaining. The farther away Jordyn’s dad and mom stayed, the better, but he knew their absence hurt Jordyn beyond words.

“What if Cora’s mom and dad are mad at me?” Jordyn asks as the elevator settles on the third floor.

“Now, why would they be mad at you?” Thomas asks lightly. “You were gone well before anything happened. They can’t fault you for that.” The doors open and Thomas slides his arm around his granddaughter’s shoulders. “Come on now, let’s go see your friend.”

No matter how cheery the wall paint or the whimsical artwork that lines the corridors, the smell of hospitals hasn’t changed much in thirty years, Thomas thinks. At least the newness of the children’s hospital overpowers the antiseptic odor that makes Thomas woozy with memories.

When they reach Room 317 Thomas knocks on the door. After a moment Mara opens the door, steps out into the hallway and gently closes the door behind her. “Hi,” she says. “It’s so nice of you to come.” She smiles but her eyes are wary. “Cora’s nervous about people seeing her this way, Jordyn. She...she