Finding Her Family

“C’mon, Jan. We used to be pals when we worked together.”

“Until you left us for upstairs.” She wagged a finger at her. “I don’t think so.”

Page admitted her colleague was right, but still, she needed to know if Ruby was okay. She walked toward the trauma area, but she didn’t find Ruby. She was able to track down April as she left a curtained area. “Your shift over already?”

Page shook off the question. “Where’s Ruby? The girl who came in earlier?”

April gave orders to a nurse, then turned back to Page. “Why are you asking?”

“Because she’s been on my mind all afternoon for some reason. I want to make sure she’s okay.”

April gave a nod. “She was sent upstairs about an hour ago. Dr. Achatz is keeping her overnight just to be safe.” She leaned in close. “I don’t think the girl has anywhere else to go, to be honest. And at least while she’s here, we can monitor her and take care of her and the baby.”

“Good.” Page should have felt relief, but the knowledge left her antsy. “I guess I’ll go home.” The way April watched her made her even more anxious. “What?”

“You should go see her. She was asking about you.”

Really? That didn’t seem possible, since the girl had made it obvious that she wasn’t interested in anything Page had to offer. “What can I do?”

“Talk to her. Maybe get some information that can help her.” April gave a shrug. “Maybe you could reach her where we couldn’t.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Try.” April turned away when another doctor called her name.

After several stops and peeks into patient rooms, she found Ruby sitting up in bed watching a reality court show in the maternity wing. “Hey, Ruby. How are you feeling?”

The girl turned and peered at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I got off work and thought I’d check in on you.” Page entered the room and took a seat, placing her purse in her lap. “So they were able to stop labor for now.”

“Yeah.” Ruby picked up the remote and started to flip through the channels.

Page would need to do more to get the girl to open up. “Are you sure there’s no one we can call for you?” When Ruby didn’t answer, Page stood and walked closer to the bed. “Where’s your mom?”

Ruby paused on a channel. “Dead.”

Oh. “And your dad?”

“Don’t know. My mom told me his name and that he was from Detroit, but I’ve never met him.”

Page watched as the girl scanned more channels, although she didn’t seem interested in any one in particular. “There’s gotta be someone who’s worried about you.”

Ruby turned her attention away from the TV screen and glared at Page. “There’s no one who looks out for me but me. Got it?”

Page sure did. She had been about Ruby’s age when she realized her parents were more concerned with themselves than they were about their only daughter. They may have been living in the same house, but neglect was neglect. She’d been ignored unless it was convenient for them to use her in their continual war against each other. She’d learned to take care of herself because no one else was going to.

“Did you run away?”

Ruby laughed, but the sound was anything but cheerful. “You gotta have a home to run from.” She returned to flipping through the channels. “Are you done with the questions?”

“Nope.” She took a step closer. “Where are you going to go when they release you from here?”

“Why do you care?”

Page gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Because maybe everyone needs someone who worries about them.”

“I don’t need you.”

“Well, it seems I’m the best you’ve got right now.”

Ruby turned off the television and placed the remote on the bedside table. “You serious?”

The strange thing was Page had never been more serious. The idea of taking care of this girl had been planted hours before, as she’d mulled over Ruby’s circumstances, and it had taken root, watered by her worry and concern. This girl claimed to have no family, and the thought of offering her a home had bloomed. Maybe it was because she wished someone had helped her when she was Ruby’s age. That an adult might have seen her circumstances and gotten her out of a bad situation. Who knows what might have happened if someone had stepped in. What pain and loss she might have avoided. “You know I’m a nurse, so who better to take care of you?”

“I told you. I take care of myself.”

Page well remembered what that was like. Making her own meals. Buying her own clothes with what little money she had. Taking care of her own needs because her parents had checked out of her life early on. She took a seat in the chair beside Ruby’s hospital bed. “How long have you been doing that?”

Ruby looked down at her hands. “Almost a year. My mom died, and they put me in this horrible foster home back in Oklahoma. I ran away as soon as I could.” She sat up straighter in the bed. “You’re not going to send me back there, are you?”

“No.” She hoped she wouldn’t have to.

She wilted back into the pillows. “I won’t go. I’ll run away before that happens.”

“What happened after you left the home?”

“I started to make my way here. My mom told me stories about when she met my dad here. It wasn’t like I had anything keeping me in Oklahoma.” She sniffed and seemed to be holding back tears. “My boyfriend took off when I told him about the baby.”

“Have you decided what you want to do about the baby?”

“I don’t know. I keep changing my mind.”

“That’s okay.”

Ruby looked her over. “What happens if I agree to live with you?”

“You take care of the baby you’re carrying, and I’ll watch over you. At least for now.”

Ruby shrugged. “Maybe that could work.”

Page patted her bald head. “You should know that I’m fighting cancer.”

Ruby glanced up at her head. “Figured that was what it is. So do you get sick a lot?”

“Sometimes. But I’m still able to take care of us. They wouldn’t let me keep working here if I couldn’t.” She moved and sat on the edge of her seat. “So what do you think?”

Ruby nodded. “I guess.”