Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere (30 page)

I glanced over at pretend-sleeping Mr. High Pockets, and the man had the tiniest smile sitting in the corner of his mouth. I covered my own smile with my hand and waited to see what Mama was gonna say.

“Yes, of course he can stay with us.” Mama stood and reached her hands out to Miss Priscilla. “I don't know how to thank you.”

Just then a bald, busy nurse squeezed her oversized self into the room. We all squished backward as far as we could, trying to make room for the nurse and her overflowing backside and big, shiny white head so she could get up close by her patients. The woman filled the room the same way Mrs. Louell filled the doughnut shop.

“Good afternoon,” she said to nobody. She right away went to fussin' with the tank that pumped oxygen into the tube going up my brother's nose. “Do we have to go tee-tee?”

“I do,” said Lukey.

Everyone in the room looked at the boy who hadn't said one word since his foster mama had got crushed—everyone except the nurse.

“Pardon?” she asked, still not looking at anyone.

“Oh, it's nothin',” I said, putting my arm around the little boy's shoulder. “Lukey here just needs to use the bathroom.”

She finally looked up like she was noticing the room full of us for the first time.

“Are you all family?” she asked.

Matthew came and stood beside me. “Yes, ma'am, we're family.”

The nurse locked eyes with Mr. High Pockets. He smiled with his twinkly copper-colored eyes and gave a thumbs-up.

The nurse looked at me, then Matthew, then around the room at each one of us. “I'm sorry for interrupting, but I need to check vitals.”

“You do whatever you need to, sugar,” Miss Priscilla said.

She fiddled with Khayla's IV bag. Then she reached up under my sister's head and pulled out her little pillow. She held Khayla's head careful with one hand and gave the pillow a couple of good shakes with the other. Quicker than Daddy could give a raspberry, the nurse had the fluffed pillow back under her patient's head. After foolin' with my sister, she checked Kheelin's temperature. I liked the way she tickled his belly before she did her exam.

I spotted her name tag—Bitty Pinkerton, R.N. I wondered if her mama had known that her daughter was gonna grow to such a large size when she chose the name Bitty.

After the nurse named Bitty finally finished doing all of her nurse stuff, she stood in the center of our room and slowly turned herself in a circle, pointing at each one of us, and counted. One . . . two . . . three. . . . By the time she got to eight she was saying the numbers like it was one hundred and eight instead of just eight.

“Eleven,” she said like she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen us with her own two eyes.

My heart sank. I just knew that woman with her big bald head was fixin' to tell us we were gonna have to go back to our cots in the
corner. I was already feeling the burn in my eyes coming on and the woman hadn't even spoke yet. I inched my way closer to Mama.

“Y'all are blessed,” she said, still shuffling herself around in a circle, looking at the bunch of us. “There's folks up in here that've lost more than half their families. There's some . . .” She got choked up on her words. Water pooled up in her eyes. “... lost
everything
. I haven't even heard from my own people. Some in New Orleans and my daddy's people who stay in Bogalusa.” The nurse buried her face in her hands, but it couldn't stifle the tiny cry that came from her.

I took a couple steps toward Miss Nurse Bitty. I wrapped my arms the best I could around the middle of the lady and shushed into her ear. “It's okay, it's gonna get better.”

The nurse placed one of her wet hands over the top of mine. “I know you're right. I know you are.”

The lady blew her nose softly, then she stood up good and straight. She cleared her throat. “Like I was saying, y'all are blessed. Don't any of you forget that.”

No one said nothin'.

“I best get back to work,” she said with a soft smile. Miss Nurse Bitty looked at me, with wetness still under her eyes, and said, “Let me know if you need anything, you hear?”

“Yes, ma'am,” I said.

I never saw Miss Nurse Bitty Pinkerton, R.N., or her beautiful bald head again.

Miss Priscilla blew kisses into the air for all of us, then she said we needed to be good and keep the noise down so the sick folk could get their rest.

“I'll walk with you, Miss P.,” Matthew said. “I need to take Lukey to the bathroom and check to see if we left anything at the cots.”

“Well, I sure would enjoy the company. . . .” Miss Priscilla stopped and turned to face us like she just remembered something.

Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. “Oh, never mind, don't mind me. I best be goin'.” She turned and started walking away, giving us a little wave over her shoulder. Matthew looked at me and shrugged. But after about two steps, Miss Priscilla whipped herself around and said, “Well, I'm just gonna come out with it.”

Every single one of us stared at Miss Priscilla, waiting to hear what she was fixin' to say.

“What is it, Miss Priscilla?” Mama asked.

“Well,” she said, and sat down in a folding chair. “Shortly after y'all get transported in the mornin' to the hospital, I'll be leavin' myself.”

I think every single one of us let out a gasp.

“What are you talkin' about, Miss P.?” Matthew said.

Sealy's eyes went all big and she looked over at me, shaking her head.

“The authorities have opened the spillway bridge to people with special clearance.” She was talking to the floor. I don't know about Matthew and the rest of them, but me and Mama looked at each other 'cause we knew the road home to New Orleans went over the spillway bridge. The road
home
.

“But,” Mama said, “I was told just yesterday that no one's allowed back into the city.”

Miss Priscilla tore her eyes from the floor. “Well, technically, that's true, unless you have one of these.” She pulled out a badge hanging at the end of a necklace from inside her blouse and showed it to us before putting it back where she kept it. “With my clearance as a CPS
representative, I've been granted a permit to enter the city. Of course they've implemented a strict curfew, so we're only gonna have a few hours. I sure hope it gives us enough time.”

My mind was going a million miles a minute.

“There's a nice gentleman who'll be ridin' with me. Poor thing is just as distraught as he can be with worry about his family. Since I don't know my way around the city, he's comin' along as my guide.”

“But you're comin' back though, right?” Matthew asked, flinging his bangs out from in front of his face. His breathing was faster than normal.

Miss Priscilla placed her hand on the side of his face. “Of course I'll be back, sweet boy. Even if Brad Pitt himself asked me to marry him tomorrow and move me to a palace in Rome, Italy, I'd still choose to come back here to be with y'all.” She grabbed hold of his chin and gave it a squeeze before letting go. Matthew smiled and put his head down, but not before I seen the pink spread into his cheeks.

Mama started to say something, but before she could get her first word out, my own words exploded into the air. “I'm goin' with you.”

“No, Armani!” Sealy threw herself into me so hard it knocked the air out of me. I had to pry the girl's arms from around my middle.

“Armani, I can't let you—” Mama was on her feet.

“But Mama, I can try to find Daddy and Georgie!” My heart was about to pop out of my chest. So many things were flying into my head all at the same time. I couldn't decide what to say first.

“No,” Mama said firm with her eyes closed. “I just got you back. I can't let you go.”

“Please, Mama,
please
. I can do this.” I looked at Miss Priscilla. “Will they let me ride with you?”

Miss Priscilla looked from me to Mama with her lips moving but no words coming out. Finally she managed to say, “Well, I . . . I sure don't see why they wouldn't.”

“See, Mama?”

“But of course, it's up to your mama, honeybee. I don't think I'd let you out of my sight till the day you turn thirty-one if I was your mama, especially after all that's happened.”

“Yeah, but my daddy and brother might still be there.
Please
, Miss Priscilla. Tell Mama we'll be careful. Tell her we'll be back.”

“Oh, honey, I can't. It has to be your mama's decision.”

I went to Mama and looked up at her, knowing that she wasn't gonna let me go. I forgot about anybody else who might've been up in that room with us. Right then it was just me and Mama. I wasn't gonna let myself cry, but I knew the tears were coming anyway. “Mama, please. You
have
to let me go and at least
try
to find them.”

Mama shook her head and kept closing her eyes. “They'll find us. I can't let you go.”

“Mama, you don't understand. It's because of me that Daddy and Georgie aren't here. Please. Let me go, Mama.”

Mama gathered me into her and fought back her own tears. “It is
not
your fault, Armani. It is not your fault.” Over and over she said those same words. She let me cry into her till I ran out of tears.

I didn't wanna wipe my nose on my new shirt, so I looked up to ask Miss Priscilla for a tissue, but she wasn't there. Everyone else was
gone except for the twins sitting quiet up in their bed, and Sealy standing close by Mama.

“Everyone went for a walk,” Mama said. “They'll be back soon.”

Mama let out a loud sigh and fell heavy into the rocking chair. She looked about as tiny as I'd ever seen her. I stood there feeling wore down and tired, and ready to go home to find Georgie and Daddy.

“There's something I have to tell you, sweetheart,” Mama said, looking at me with eyes as tired as I felt. “Uncle Alvin's here.”

A shot of happy zapped through me—till I seen the look on Mama's face. My mouth went dry.

“He hasn't seen TayTay since Monday,” Mama all but whispered.
It was Thursday
. “He's been to two other shelters. He can't find her.”

I didn't wanna hear no more.
Not TayTay. Not my best friend
.

“I'm so sorry, Armani.” Mama patted the top of her leg. “Come here, sweetheart.”

I went to her and she pulled me onto her lap. My head went straight to her shoulder and found that cradle-spot made for holding heads—a place that felt safe.

Mama held her arm out to my sister. Sealy came over, sat on the floor, and rested her head on Mama's knee. Mama stroked Sealy's head. My sister's hand found mine. I took it and held tight. I closed my eyes and breathed my mama in, wishing that somehow we could stay like that forever.

“Mama,” I said calm and quiet, still wrapped in her arms. “Did Memaw die 'cause I snuck her them apple fritters?”

“No, darling, Memaw died because it was her time. There isn't anyone or anything to blame.”

“There's no one to blame,” Sealy whispered.

Mama took a long, slow breath. “It would make your Memaw so sad if she thought you were blaming yourself, Armani. Please understand that it wasn't your fault. Can you do that for me?”

I lazy-shrugged.

“I owe you girls an apology—especially you, Armani.”

I lifted my head. Mama gently pushed my head back onto her shoulder. “I shouldn't have left you like I did at the Super Dome. I was so scared and confused and I didn't realize—”

“It's okay, Mama,” I said. “You had to get help for Kheelin. We understand. I'm the one who's sorry. I should've listened to you and stayed put like you said.”

“Oh, sweetheart, you did exactly the right thing. You've taken such good care of my babies. You're an amazing young lady.” Mama pulled in a long breath. “Your Daddy's going to be so proud of you—proud of
both
of you.”

Sealy sniffled and her thumb rubbed the back of my hand like I used to rub Memaw's.

Mama shifted in the chair when I got up. She stared at me a good long while—into my eyes—studying my face. “You've grown so.”

Mama reached behind her neck with both of her hands. She took off the compass-locket and held it out in front of her. Then she reached up under my hair and fastened it back around my neck, the same way Memaw had done up in that awful attic.

“Now,” Mama said, “I need you to do one more thing for me.”

I blinked, never taking my eyes off hers. “Anything, Mama.”

“I want you to go with Miss Priscilla tomorrow.”

The air got sucked right out of me.

“But,” Mama said. She took hold of my chin and leaned in a little closer. “I don't know what you'll find when you get there. And Armani?”