Dawn of Eve, MJ Howson [lightweight ebook reader TXT] 📗

for over an hour but soon fell asleep. A crash eventually woke her. She flinched and then froze, pretending to stay sleeping.

“Billy!” Caretaker said, her voice barely a whisper.

“My cake!” Billy said. “I’m sorry.”

Eve kept her back facing the door. The lights were off, but the open doorway allowed the hallway’s light to fill the room. She looked at Billy sit up in his bed in the far corner of the room. He glanced at Eve and grinned.

“I’ll have to clean this up later,” Caretaker said as she reached the mess beside his bed. “I brought your bag. You need to pack your things.”

“Where are we going?”

“Just pack your bag.”

Billy followed Caretaker to the armoire, his piggy bank tucked beneath his arm. He stopped to stare at the serpent’s head staring down from above the arched top. He opened the twin doors. The bottom two shelves were now empty. Billy grabbed his black duffel bag and started to fill it with his belongings, being extra careful to secure the ceramic pig in the middle of the clothes.

“Are my parents there?”

“Yes. Now, hurry.”

Caretaker waited by the door, watching to be sure the other children were still asleep. Eve remained motionless, listening intently to everything happening behind her. Billy soon finished packing his bag. The armoire door closed with a creak and a snap.

“Follow me,” Caretaker said to Billy.

The room darkened as the main door closed and locked. Eve removed the pill and her diary from beneath her pillow. She sat up and looked around the room. She suddenly realized that she needed to dispose of the pill. But where?

The light shining from the one-inch gap beneath the door came far into the room. Although dim, it was bright enough so Eve could see the plate Billy had dropped. Eve cautiously approached the scattered shards. She sorted through the pieces until she found a jagged triangular-shaped one. She placed the pill on the cobblestone floor and crushed it with the jagged spike. Eve then mixed the remains into the bits of cake. She smiled and went back to her bed and grabbed her pen and diary. Eve went and flopped by the light coming from beneath the door.

Just as she did after the last birthday party, Eve opened her diary and wrote down everything she’d seen and heard. Once she finished, she went back to her bed and hid the diary beneath her pillow. It took Eve a long time to fall asleep. When she awoke the next morning, she looked over at Billy’s bed. The cake and shattered plate beside it were gone, and the bed had been stripped bare.

Twenty Three

History

Dawn tightened the emerald chiffon scarf around her neck, adjusting the fit to cover her chin. The wind along the High Line this morning whipped the low fifty-degree air right through her thin black wool coat. The crisp mid-October weather only served to energize her pace as she pushed Eve’s carriage along the elevated walkway. The doll nestled inside was wrapped in a blanket, her eyes closed.

Before leaving the Spire, she’d donned a pair of gold-framed Prada sunglasses with a tint that faded from light to dark. Dawn kept her hair tucked beneath a black beret to hide her dark roots. The grin on her face displayed a set of pink painted lips. Dawn felt like a new person, wearing eyeliner for the first time in years.

Tourists and locals enjoying the morning sun speckled the route north to Hudson Yards. Dawn smiled as she spotted a young woman headed toward her pushing a baby carriage. The two women slowed and stopped beside one another, blocking part of the walkway, much to the chagrin of others trying to walk by.

“Good morning,” Dawn said as she flipped her sunglasses away. “We’ve got a bit of a breeze today.”

“Just a bit,” the other woman replied with a thick Latin accent.

Dawn darted her eyes between the woman and her carriage. Both were looking a bit worn and disheveled. She glanced inside the stroller and noticed a round baby boy yawning and waving his arms. Dawn asked, “Is he yours?”

“Of course he’s mine. What kind of question is that?”

“I’m sorry. I . . . I didn’t mean any disrespect.” Dawn forced a smile, hoping the woman would reciprocate. “He’s adorable.”

The woman, now frowning and with her arms crossed, peered into Dawn’s carriage. Her eyes widened at the sight of Eve. She looked at Dawn and said, “You’re pushing a doll around?” Her elevated voice caused passersby to glance at the two of them. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Excuse me?” Dawn looked down at Eve inside the carriage. She leaned inside and adjusted the blanket wrapped around her. The doll’s eyes snapped open. Dawn glanced back at the woman and said, “There’s . . . there’s nothing wrong.”

“Tell her about me,” Eve said.

Dawn turned back to face Eve. The doll’s sapphire blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the sun.

“This is Eve,” Dawn said as she stood upright. “She’s part of my therapy. From my miscarriage. It’s a long story.”

“How the hell is pushing a doll around therapy?” The woman rolled her eyes. “Seems stupid to me.”

Dawn lowered her head and reached inside to caress Eve’s curly hair. She whispered, “Ignore her, Eve.”

“Confront her,” Eve said.

Dawn stared at Eve and debated what to do. She briefly wondered if it was worth getting into a discussion with a stranger. But then she looked at Eve’s mesmerizing eyes and remembered how close they’d become since Eve finally began talking to her. Dawn stood upright and glared at the other woman.

“Who are you to question my therapy?” Dawn leaned forward as she continued. “I’ve had five miscarriages. Five! Each has been more traumatic than the last. My doctor’s encouraged this.”

“I’m . . . I’m sorry.” The woman lowered her head and pulled her stroller closer, taking a few steps away. “I didn’t know.”

“Insult her,” Eve said.

“No, you didn’t, did you?” Dawn replied, her confidence growing with each