15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Jacquelyn, who always prided herself on taking charge, allowed Frances to take her by the hand and walk her down the hallway to the sleeping area. Along the way, they encountered other girls milling about. “Miss Shaw is going to take a nap, so we have to be quiet,” Frances told them. This simple statement apparently qualified as news at the Sheridan Girls’ Home, as the words spread down the hall.
“Miss Shaw is taking a nap!”
“Shhh, everyone. Miss Shaw doesn’t feel well.”
“We have to be quiet.”
As she and Frances walked, other girls followed, until there was a small crowd accompanying them.
Jacquelyn freshened up in the lavatory, unpinning the braid and raking through her hair with her fingers until it fell loose around her shoulders. When she came out, she found Frances and about a dozen other girls standing by a bed. A bed that she guessed to be Jane’s. Sleeping on this narrow mattress wasn’t appealing, but Jacquelyn wasn’t going to argue. She’d never felt so spent in her entire life. Every ounce of energy gone. Obediently she crawled under the covers. “No pillow?” she asked, forgetting what Jane had told her.
“We don’t have pillows here,” Frances said, as if this would be obvious.
One of the girls took off her sweater and rolled it up, then offered it to her. “Sometimes when I want to put my head on something, I use this,” she said.
Jacquelyn lifted her head and let the girl tuck the rolled sweater underneath. It wasn’t perfect, but it helped. “Thank you.” Jacquelyn closed her eyes. “Frances, could you tell Mary to come and get me when the car comes back? Can you do that?”
“Yes, Miss Shaw. I’ll tell her.”
As she slipped into sleep, she felt small fingers stroke her hair, and she remembered why this gesture seemed familiar. It was exactly what Mildred had done when she was a small child. So comforting.