Chapter 2
The nursery door was shut.
I did not stop to debate what I was seeing.
I moved toward them.
The caregiver looked up, startled, and her hand paused over the baby’s wrist.
I knocked the container from her fingers before she could say anything.
It hit the floor and spilled more red powder across the rug.
Then I reached for the baby.
His body was so small against my arms that the contrast made the whole situation feel even more wrong.
I scooped him up and pulled him against my shoulder.
I turned his face away from the women as I backed toward the door.
The other woman moved first.
She stepped into the doorway.
She was trying to control the exit.
I pushed the door open anyway.
The hallway was only a few steps away, but getting through those few steps became a struggle.
I kept the newborn pressed securely against my chest.
I turned my body so that my shoulder and back stayed between him and the women.
The caregiver came after me.
She struck me across the face.
The blow split the skin on my cheek.
I felt the heat before I felt the pain.
For an instant my balance shifted.
But my arm stayed around the baby.
That was the one thing I refused to loosen.
The second woman grabbed the front of my uniform.
Her fist closed in the fabric and yanked me backward.
My upper arm slammed into the metal medical cart beside the nursery entrance.
The cart shook.
Gauze packets spilled onto the floor.
A thermometer shot beneath the crib.
May you like
Several bottles rolled out through the doorway, bouncing against the hall before coming to rest in different directions.
Red chili powder scattered under our shoes.
