Grievous Sin

“I agree,” Decker said. “So why don’t you forget about my manners and just get back to work.”

Red-faced and shaking, Darlene opened and closed her mouth. Then she turned and disappeared within the inner sanctum of the nursery. Decker looked down at his sides and saw his hands clenched into fists. Slowly, he uncoiled his fingers. Cindy came back a moment later. She was breathless.

“She’s fine, Daddy. Sleeping like …” Suddenly, Cindy broke into tears. “I’m sorry.”

Decker hugged his daughter tightly. “No, I’m sorry, Cynthia. I shouldn’t have belittled you like that. That was terrible.” He laughed nervously. “A heap of thanks for all your help, huh?”

“But you were right,” Cindy dried her tears on his sweats. “I shouldn’t have left Hannah. I should have just called you.”

“As long as Hannah’s okay.”

Cindy pulled away and nodded. “She’s fine. I’ll just go back—”

Decker pulled her back into his arms and hugged her again. “Cindy, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

She smiled. “It’s okay, Daddy.”

Decker said, “I’m checking Rina and Hannah out just as soon as Rina gets the final okay from her doctor. This place is a security nightmare. You better believe Rina’s doctor as well as the administration are going to be hearing from me. Some heads are going to roll.”

“Daddy, Darlene is a single parent—”

“I don’t care, Cynthia. If this is a typical example of her competence, it stinks!”

“What about Marie?” Cindy said. “Isn’t she at fault, too?”

“Cindy, as far as I’m concerned, the both of them aren’t fit to run a chicken coop!”

Cindy broke off and whispered, “Daddy, you’re shouting.”

Decker stopped. “Dad on the rampage, huh?”

Calm down, Deck.

“I’m all right, Cindy.” Decker gave her a forced smile.

And remember to unclench your jaw.

Sighing, Cindy hooked her arm around her father’s. “I understand your feelings. I’d be upset, too. As a matter of fact, I am upset! I was panicked, seeing all those babies and not knowing what to do. Watching Hannah has really turned into an awesome responsibility.”

Decker digested that. “You’re right. It’s not what you’re supposed to be doing. It was just that Rina needed me very badly. But now, you and Hannah need me more. You go on home. I’ll stay with Hannah.”

“Daddy, I didn’t mean that.”

“I know. I just want you to go home and get some sleep, okay?”

Cindy looked down.

“Princess, it has nothing to do with trust. You’re as capable as I am, we both know that. We also both know that I’m not going to be able to sleep a wink until Hannah is out of here. You know how I am once I get a bug in my brain. So humor me, okay?”

“I understand. Would you like me to look after Rina?”

“No, I’d like you to go home and get some sleep.”

“I can sleep on your cot, Daddy. If Rina needs something, I can get it for her. Besides, I’ve gotten to know Hannah. Maybe Rina would enjoy hearing all about her. How often she sleeps, how often she eats, how many ounces she drinks, how often she poops.”

Decker laughed. “That’s really nice, Cindy. And yes, I think Rina would really like to hear all about Hannah.”

“It’s her first daughter.”

“Yeah.” Decker winked at her. “Something special about those first daughters.”

Cindy smiled.

Decker said, “Go bunk down in the cot. When Rina wakes up, tell her we switched places. Don’t tell her what just happened. No sense scaring her.”

“I’ll just tell her you were giving me a sleep break.”

“That’s good.” Decker looked around. “I need a gown, don’t I?”

“Yes. Oh, here’s Darlene. Can you get my father a gown? He’s going to spend some time with Hannah.”

Darlene didn’t answer. She looked dazed.

“What is it, Darlene?” Decker said tensely. “Is everything all right?”

“It’s …” Darlene put her hand to her mouth. “I don’t know where the devil Marie is. I’ve paged her and … this is … I …”

Decker regarded the nurse’s face—as white and blank as an empty canvas. Her voice was unnatural; her hands were shaking. He said, “Sit down and tell us what’s wrong.”

She gazed helplessly at Cindy. “I’ve called Security. They’re going to want to talk to you.”

“Me?” Cindy felt her chest tighten. “Why do they want to talk to me?”

“What’s wrong?” Decker said louder.

“It’s crazy …” Darlene muttered. “She came back at twelve-oh-five. She was on her way here when I left to help out in some of the other nurseries.”

“Who was here?” Cindy said. “Marie? Marie hasn’t been here for the past hour.”

“I can’t seem to locate … It’s simply not … and Marie’s not answering her page. It’s crazy. In all my years as a nurse, I’ve never … I mean you read …” Again she faced Cindy. “Somebody had to have been here, Cindy. Someone must have been in the nursery.”

“Maybe somebody was here, Darlene,” Cindy said. “I was with Hannah. I wasn’t in the main nursery—”

“So you must have seen someone. Who did you see?”

“I didn’t see anyone. I was busy with Hannah.”

“Why are you interrogating my daughter?” Decker said.