“Wait,” says Gloria. “Even after seeing her, you still don’t get it?”
“Even after I saw who, Gloria? Did you get the Other Ginny so that she could take care of my Baby Doll when you go to see your dealer? Does she sleep in my room? Why didn’t she bring my Baby Doll into the gym?”
“The Other Ginny?” says Gloria. She doesn’t sound angry anymore. “Are you seriously serious? You think the little girl you saw earlier today is some sort of replacement? You really are—Listen, I’m really, really sorry that those assholes took you away when they did. So much has changed, you aren’t going to believe it. I mean, you’re really not going to believe it. And I know you don’t like change, so this is going to be...a little surprising.”
“I don’t like surprises,” I say.
“I know. I got an email from Crystal with a C. They let her write to me from jail. She said you don’t understand how much time has passed or how much people might have changed since then. I told her it wasn’t a big deal, but now I see it is. It’s going to take a lot of explaining in order for you to get it. But listen, we can’t stay on the phone right now. You’re going to get caught if you do. So we can’t talk about this right now. Do you understand?”
“No,” I say.
“Well, then you’re just going to have to not understand. Until Tuesday. Because Tuesday morning is our little rendezvous. But the Other Ginny isn’t what you think. I mean, she’s not like some kind of clone or something. You could never be replaced. But like I said, we can’t talk about that now. I have to go switch cars. Now, do you remember what to do?”
I nod my head yes.
“Ginny?”
“What?”
“I asked if you remember what to do on Tuesday.”
“Yes,” I say. “I’ll bring all my things on the bus in the morning and when I get off the bus I’ll walk on the sidewalk past school and then I’ll cross the street by myself when I see Cumberland Farms.”
“And you won’t run,” she says.
“And I won’t run,” I say.
“I’ll be waiting for you right there. Just remember not to run. Running attracts attention. When you get to Cumberland Farms, you’ll hop in the back of the car, and then we’ll zip the hell out of town. Do you like black hair or red?”
“Red is my favorite color,” I say. I am shocked that she doesn’t remember.
“Red it is, then.”
“Gloria?”
“What?”
“You have to watch out for the police. Crystal with a C says that if the police find me with you they’ll put you in prison.”
“Believe me, I know all about that, girlfriend,” says Gloria. “I know how and why Crystal with a C got caught, and I won’t let the same thing happen to me. She might have been the smarter one, but she always tried to do everything herself. That was her downfall. I survived because I know how to ask for help. How to network. The police have been on my case for years for all sorts of things. I know how to snake my way around and avoid them. Traffic is going to be pretty heavy at the school Tuesday morning, but we’ll be pointed out of town and I’ll have the engine running.”
“Will you bring my Baby Doll?” I say.
Gloria pauses again. She makes a breathing sound. “This is all too much for you, isn’t it? Honey, we’ve got a lot to talk about, but we’re going to make it all right. But yes, your Baby Doll is fine. And yes, I promise I’ll bring it and give it some food and keep it plenty warm. This will all be a lot easier to explain when we’re all together in the car and we can actually see each other and talk. Then you’ll understand. But again, yes, I promise I’ll have your Baby Doll with me. You can count on it.”
I look down at my fingers. I remember all the promises she broke. “I’m good at math,” I say.
“Right. Well, I’ll see you in two days, okay? You’d better get off the phone before someone finds you. Did you manage to get a few extra phones?”
I shake my head no because I have only one. Even though I found two.
“Ginny?”
“No.”
“Well, we’ll still manage. How about some money? Did you get any money?”
“No,” I say, “but I learned a trick that you do at the cash register.”
“You mean where you ask for change a bunch of times and the cashier gets confused? That’s a great one. Surprised you can pull it off, though. I’ve been working it since I was in high school. We’ll work on it together.” She stops. I listen to the quiet between us. “All right, then,” she says. “I love you. See you on Tuesday.”
Then she hangs up.
I stand in the yard by myself with the phone in my hand looking at the snow. There are no marks in it. The whole yard is clean and white. On Tuesday I’ll have a little rendezvous with Gloria and I will get in her new car and see my Baby Doll. I will have a bottle of milk ready for it.
82
EXACTLY 10:47 IN THE MORNING,
MONDAY, JANUARY 24TH
Everyone calls it Saint Genevieve’s Home for Girls but in my brain I know it’s Saint Genevieve’s Home for Girls Who Aren’t Safe.
We are in a bedroom that has a bed and a dresser and a desk and a little sink with a mirror over it. Girls who live at Saint Genevieve’s Home for Girls Who Aren’t Safe get their own sink and mirror. They get a crucifix on the wall over their bed next to the window. Brian and Maura want to see if I like it here. To see if it can accommodate my needs. Which is fine because I’m going to the little rendezvous instead to see Gloria and my Baby Doll and maybe, I’m guessing, the Other Ginny. I don’t like her one bit. I wonder if my Baby Doll does. I want to talk with Brian about it. We used to talk a lot about all the things in my brain. He mostly didn’t understand but it was okay because we were still talking. Now I can’t say anything to him. I have to keep my mouth shut and not say anything about anything at all.
“What do you think of the room?” Brian says.
I don’t answer because he is behind me and I don’t see him. I can pretend I didn’t know he was talking to me.
“Do you like it, Ginny?”
In my brain I say, Well dang! With my mouth I say, “Mostly.”
“What about the food? That was a pretty good breakfast we had.”
“I ate every bit of it.”
“Yes, but you eat every bit of everything. Did you like it?”
“My belly is full.”
I look out the window. I hear Brian let his arms flap down on his sides. He does that when he doesn’t know what else to say.
“The girls we met were very friendly,” says Maura. “I bet you could make some good friends here.”