Mim chimed in. “Not that it will come to it. By the by, Miss Olive wanted us to let you know Maribelle will make a full recovery. She was barely sick, not like some of the other girls. We went to see her in the shanties. What a beautiful child she is. We brought her sweets and you’d have thought we brought her the moon.”
While Mim caught Briar up on the house gossip, Jack was inching his way around the room, getting closer to them. He especially perked up when Mim said the word “sweets.” Mim was pretending not to notice, but when Jack got within arm’s distance she reached out and grabbed him, drawing him up onto her lap. “Gotcha, cutie pie.” She tickled him until he squirmed away and chased Benny outside in happy embarrassment.
Ethel smiled at Mim. “You’ll make a good mom.”
Looking surprised, Mim nodded. “Thanks.”
“Did you two become friends since I’ve been gone?” Briar asked. Her voice came out like a hoarse whisper. She hadn’t the strength to be louder. While it was nice to have visitors, she needed rest. So much rest.
Mim put her hand on Ethel’s arm. “You could say we’ve come to an understanding of each other. Nothing in life is a given and you really don’t know what other people are going through, do you?”
Briar caught Henry’s eye. “No, no you don’t.”
“All right, sweetie.” Mim stood, then bent down to give Briar a hug. “I wish we could stay longer, but the sun is on its way down. You get better soon, all right? I don’t know how long this truce with Ethel will last.” Mim spun around and waltzed out of the room.
Ethel sighed, and started to tuck the quilt around Briar. “Oh, I almost forgot. I thought you’d want some things from the house.” She disappeared outside and came back with the patchwork quilt from their bed and the novel Briar had left under her pillow. “The quilt will remind you of your second home and how we are missing you. The novel will remind you that you’ve left things undone. We’ve more lectures to attend, you and me.” She patted the quilt. “I’ll need this back before it turns cold again, so you must get on your feet soon, you hear?” She waved her hand in front of her face like a fan. “Not that it feels like this heat will ever end.”
Briar shivered. While everyone else was fanning themselves, she was alternating between freezing and feeling like she was breathing in fire at the same time. She was grateful for the extra warmth Ethel had thoughtfully brought her.
With a final wave, Ethel followed Mim outside. Henry tapped the door edge. “I’ll be right back,” he said. “I’ll just see the ladies off.”
Briar nodded, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. Even if she could breathe well, she’d have a hard time watching her best friends leave, knowing it was the last time she was to see them. Amazing how close the three of them had gotten. Miss Olive said she put them together for a reason. She knew all along how much they needed each other.
“She’s pale as death!” Mim said as soon as she was out the door, likely not realizing her voice carried. “Did you notice the blue tint to her lips? I didn’t want to leave her.”
“Henry? What do you think?” Ethel said.
“She’s going to be fine. Don’t worry. Tell Miss Olive things are as expected here.” His voice faded as they walked away from the cottage.
The lump in her throat refused to go away. Briar tried to clear it, but breathing was still difficult. She tried a deep breath but could only manage several short pulls, forcing herself through the pain. Death was progressing. How much longer did she have? When Henry returned, she’d ask him to take the children home with him for the night. He could get them excited about sleeping away from home and then be there to help them grieve.
Pansy came over and collapsed into the chair near Briar’s bed. “That was so nice of everyone, but I’m tired.” She looked at the piles of food stacked up in the kitchen. “How are we going to eat all that?”
The two sisters looked at each other and started laughing at the rare abundance. Pansy’s laugh grew and grew until she was sobbing into Briar’s quilt brought from the boardinghouse. Briar stroked her hair in comfort, wishing she herself wasn’t the source of this grief.
“I could eat a little now,” Briar said, to give Pansy something to do. In reality, Briar had no interest in food. Her stomach wouldn’t accept any, and certainly wouldn’t process any of it. But Pansy, ever the help, jumped up to look through the goodies.
“Hope you didn’t see your surprise for tomorrow,” Pansy said, sliding the cake in behind a basket of potatoes. “Mrs. Clover made it, and you know what a good baker she is. She’ll tell you so herself,” Pansy added. She turned to share another laugh with Briar, but Briar couldn’t join her.
The air wouldn’t come.
Briar took her first strangled breath, and Pansy was immediately at her side. They looked at each other with wild eyes.
Pansy ran outside.
Chapter Forty