I left the barn and returned to the barracks. Teal still had her back to Gia and Mindy and me.
Gia looked up. "You shouldn't have let her sleep." She's exhausted. We're both exhausted."
"You've got to start your work. show Dr. Foreman you're making an effort."
"I don't understand that math. I couldn't even begin to do it."
"You can do it," Gia insisted. "Let me see what she gave you as your first math assignment."
I brought the book and the assignment sheet to her and she nodded. "It's the same one we had to do. Okay, sit." She patted her cot.
I sat and she started to read and explain it to me. Mindy glanced at us every once in a while, but said nothing. Before we were summoned to dinner. I did understand the first lesson.
"Thanks," I said.
"You can show Teal how to do it now." Gia told me.
I woke Teal up but she was too groggy and cranky to listen to anything. She still mumbled about running off as soon as it was dark enough to escape. Dr. Foreman's words returned to me. I'd be
responsible if Teal went off and died out there. and Dr. Foreman would be displeased with me. Who knew what that meant?
M'Lady Two came to our door and summoned us to dinner. I was hoping we would fund Robin at the house when we got there, but she was nowhere in sight. We took off our shots, washed our hands, and went in to have our dinner. Just a simple thing like having our awn bowl and plate had now become a wonderful thing. We went through our ritual of thanking each other and begging each other for forgiveness, then ate what seemed to be a more tasty food that Mindy described as palenta, a mush of cornmeal, black beans, and a beef in some sort of sweet sauce.
Dr. Foreman arrived and declared she was rewarding all of us for putting in a decent day's work. We were given a plate of cookies for dessert. Mindy, Gia, and Teal were assigned to washing dishes and silverware, and I was told to clean the dining room afterward, While I worked. Dr. Foreman reappeared. She watched me for a few moments. I had the sense she was waiting for me to say something.
I stopped working, thought about Natani's tale of the squirrel, and then turned to her.
"What is it, Phoebe?"
"I'm afraid for Teal."
"Tonight?"
&nb
sp; "Maybe."
"You've done a very good thing. Phoebe." Dr. Foreman stepped up to me and took my hands, turning them to look at my palms.
"Follow me." She led me out of the dining room, down the corridor, to a bedroom. It was surprisingly bland and unfeminine. There were no pictures on the walls, no pretty curtains or rugs, nor any photographs of family or friends. What kind of a family did she have? I wondered, Had she ever been married? Did she have a boyfriend, children of her own, parents still alive?
The king-size, four-poster bed looked so comfortable and luscious with its oversize creamcolored, fluffy pillows and comforter. I longed to crawl into it and sleep for a week.
She smiled at the covetous expression on my face. "All good things will come to those who earn them. Phoebe. Reality checks. remember?"
I nodded and she took me into her bathroom, opened a medicine cabinet, and plucked out a jar of some skin cream. She rubbed it into my hands.
"Natani isn't the only one with miracle medicines here." she said. smiling. "You don't want your skin to get too soft when you work a ranch, but you don't want to irritate anything and get infections either."
"Thank you."
She put her hands on my shoulders and looked into my face. "You're going to be one of my girls. I'm confident of that. Now return to your barracks and do your schoolwork."
I thought I heard what sounded like someone sobbing and thought about Robin. Where could she be? Was she sent away? Wherever she was sent, it would be a blessing. I thought,
"Where's Robin?" I asked. and Dr. Foreman's smile faded.
"Robin is defeating a very bad part of herself She will be better tomorrow. Go on."