Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
The meal was mostly silent, with Malika chowing down while Bette and I did our best to make it look like we were eating by pushing food around our plates.
When we were finished, the three of us returned to the dining room where several minders stood next to the depleted buffet, bins of dirty plates in front of them as they barked orders at us. Again, I felt like I was in school.
“Scrape any leftover food into the trashcan and place your dirty plate in the bin,” one said in a schoolmarm tone. “Cutlery goes in the second bin and glasses in the third. Stack them, please. We don’t want them to break.”
With my mask once again in place, they couldn’t see my scowl as I obediently scraped my food into the trash, which I was grateful for. I had no desire to be threatened for a second time tonight.
When I’d cleaned my plate, I followed orders and placed it, my cutlery, and my glass in the proper bins. Then I stood to the side and waited for Bette and Malika.
When I spotted Hilary talking to the minder from earlier, my stomach dropped. Great. As if my fertility counselor didn’t dislike me enough.
When Bette and Malika had joined me, we followed the line of fertile women heading for the door. Once again, the minders were ready with instructions.
“Your luggage has been delivered to your room,” a tall woman with light brown skin said in a much kinder tone than the ones inside the dining room had used.
“We know it’s been a long day, so please go to your room and get settled in for the night.
Breakfast will begin at seven tomorrow morning and conclude at nine. Be sure you’re up in time.”
“What if we’re not tired?” a woman a few feet in front of me asked.
The minder didn’t hesitate before saying, “It’s time to turn in for the night.”
The woman who’d asked the question blinked in confusion, but the minder’s unyielding expression must have been enough to convince her that she didn’t have a choice, because she said nothing else before moving on.
The minder continued giving instructions. “After breakfast tomorrow, there will be a briefing where you’ll get more information about what your stay here will be like. In the meantime, be sure to get some rest. Remember, your health is of the utmost importance.”
“What about calling our family to let them know we’re okay?” someone I couldn’t identify asked, while another woman called out, “Is there WIFI? My phone doesn’t have reception.”
The corners of the minder’s eyes wrinkled, indicating she was smiling behind her mask.
“The Department of Fertility has sent word to any family you have, letting them know you’ve made it to your destination safely.
You’ll receive more information about contacting them yourselves tomorrow.
As far as WIFI goes, that, too, will be addressed tomorrow.
In the meantime, please proceed to your rooms.”
She’d said family had been contacted, but what about those of us who didn’t have any?
Trevor was all I had, which was why he was listed as my emergency contact.
And I couldn’t be the only person in that position, not with the pandemics that have plagued our lives.
Had the government bothered touching base with people who weren’t blood relatives?
I wasn’t sure but knew by the minder’s repeated comments that I wouldn’t get any answers today.
It was also very clear that we were expected to get to our rooms as soon as possible.
Malika, Bette, and I headed upstairs with the rest of the women, passing minders and armed soldiers. Most of the former repeated what we’d already been told, telling us to rest as much as possible, while the latter watched us with unemotional expressions.
“Is this a curfew thing or what?” Malika muttered.
Bette glanced at me like she thought I might have more information. I didn’t, but I also didn’t have a problem telling her my theory about what was going on.
“My guess? Yes. I don’t know if we’ll be expected to adhere to one every night, but they obviously want to make sure they know where we are right now.”
Malika blew out an irritated breath. “And what’s this bullshit about them not letting us call home? I mean, that’s messed up. Am I right?”
It wasn’t until she said it that I realized I didn’t even know if she had family. She hadn’t exactly been chatty during group, and even if she had, it wasn’t like Destiny had encouraged us to share things about our personal lives. She’d only wanted to talk about the program.
“Who did you leave behind?” I asked Malika.
“Boyfriend.” She rolled her eyes. “We’ve been together for years, and he still hasn’t put a ring on it, but I don’t know if I can really blame him for that.
This Fertility Act bullshit has been hell on our relationship.
I mean, it was bad enough before I was actually in the program, but now that we have the added stress of the Department of Fertility breathing down my neck, it’s taken a toll. ”
“You two didn’t want to have a baby together?” Bette asked as we reached the stairs.
Malika snorted. “Maybe one day, but I want to do it on my terms. I don’t need the government telling me when it’s time for me to be a mom. That’s bullshit.”
“Seriously,” I muttered, mostly to myself.
When we reached the third floor, I paused to see if Malika would continue up since I had no idea which room she’d been assigned. She didn’t.
“What about you?” She asked as the women around us reached their rooms and the crowd began to thin. “I mean, I know Miss Southern Princess has a husband, but I don’t know a damn thing about you. You were pretty tightlipped during our group sessions.”
Bette flushed at the other woman’s comment, but I didn’t get the impression Malika was being a bitch. And honestly, the nickname fit.
“I didn’t really feel the need to spill my private life,” I told her.
“Can’t blame you for that.”
Malika stopped outside room 343, and I stopped as well. Bette continued, walking fast like she wanted to put space between herself and the other woman, who was currently standing with her arms crossed, staring at me like she was waiting for a response.
“No husband and no living family.”
“Same story, different person,” Malika grumbled.
“Yeah.” I glanced down the hall to find Bette waiting outside her door, then looked back at Malika. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“And the next day and the next day.” Malika gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “It’s going to feel like fucking Groundhog Day in this place.”
I’d seen the movie she was referring to once but had totally forgotten about it, although I couldn’t say her assessment was that far off.
We didn’t have jobs, and it wasn’t like we were going to be granted day trips or anything, which meant life was about to get pretty mundane for those of us in the program.
Aside from things like daily temperature checks, doctors’ visits, and the occasional forced insemination, that was.
“Goodnight,” I said, taking a step back.
Malika gave a curt nod before heading into her room.
The hall was mostly clear by the time I caught up with Bette.
“I’m not sure I like her,” my friend said, hugging herself protectively.
“She just tells it like it is.”
Bette’s eyebrows rose. “Southern Princess?”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.” I nudged her with my elbow. “I mean, you have to admit that before you married your husband, you would have thought anyone in your financial situation was a princess of sorts.”
She gave a noncommittal shrug, but her expression said I was right.
“Well, anyway, I don’t think – ”
Bette stopped talking when Hilary charged up to us.
“Let’s clear the hall, ladies,” she snapped. “We don’t want to cause any more trouble than we already have, now, do we, Miss Murphy?”
Speak for yourself, was what I wanted to say. I also had about a dozen questions pop into my head, the most pressing revolving around what kind of trouble a person could actually get into.
Instead, I said, “We were just saying goodnight.”
“Say it faster,” Hilary said through gritted teeth.
I turned back to Bette, rolled my eyes, and said, “See you in the morning.”
“Yeah,” she mumbled.
As I headed for my room, I heard Hilary say, “You might want to choose your company more wisely in the future, Mrs. Billings.”
Was this woman serious?
I rolled my eyes yet again as I unlocked my door. I had a feeling I was going to be doing that a lot now that I was going to be seeing Hilary on a daily basis.
I stepped into my room to find my suitcase at the foot of the bed as promised. It was a relief to have my things, but the sight of it also made me shiver because it meant someone had been inside my room.
I looked around as if expecting to find a soldier or one of the minders lurking in a corner. There wasn’t one, and everything appeared untouched, but that didn’t stop me from checking the bathroom and pulling open a few drawers. Not that I knew what I was looking for.
When I was sure nothing had been disturbed, I locked the door and threw the deadbolt. If these people really wanted in my room, they would make it happen, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on them.
That taken care of, I hefted my suitcase onto the bed so I could put my meager belongings away but swore at the disheveled sight I was met with when I opened it.
I’d packed in a hurry and had been in a daze, but I knew I’d folded my things more neatly than this.
What was more, the pictures and photo album I’d packed had been on top when I zipped up my suitcase but were now buried under balled up shirts and pants.
The soldiers hadn’t even tried to hide that they’d searched the bag, which was perhaps the most disturbing part of this whole thing.
“Assholes,” I said, then got to work refolding my clothes.