THE JIG IS UP
“ARE YOU SURE this is going to work?” Judith asked as she checked her makeup in her compact mirror for what was probably the hundredth time. “Johnny can recognize nonsense from a mile away. It’s very difficult to fool him.”
“It’ll work like a charm,” Millie assured her. “And for the first time, I’m glad that this car is so stifling hot in this weather, the sweat will only make you look feverish and worn down and as long as you play the part, nothing can go wrong!”
The three girls had woken up feeling rotten after their night of hair dying and special lemonade. Breakfast and coffee had barely helped and Millie was convinced that the hangover was perfect because the sicker Judith came across, the better. At this rate, Judith was convinced that when it was all over, she really would have influenza. The scheme couldn’t get more legitimate than that, could it?
Now they were in Millie’s car. They were parked a block away from the speakeasy, in between two other cars on the busy curb, so they didn’t stick out like a sore thumb and pedestrians paid them no mind. Using the glow of the nearby street lamp to the best of her ability, Millie yanked Judith’s chin this way and that, checking to make sure that the makeup job that she and Bessie had done on her was perfect. It took a fair amount of rouge and powder to redden Judith’s eyes and nose, and the lard that sat underneath her nostrils made her feel like she really did need to blow her nose. “It’s perfect that way!” Millie exclaimed. “The more uncomfortable you are, the more convincing you’ll be.”
Judith would have never stepped out in public this way, sick or not. Her hair was a humidity-filled, disheveled mess, she wore no mascara or lipstick, and Millie refused to let her apply any balm so that her lips stayed dry, cracked, and chapped. “Now. Let me see you shiver and sneeze one more time, and then you go in there and give it all you got!” Millie instructed. “Make sure you really gross him out. Even better if you can get the attention of any of the customers in there!”
By the time Judith walked down the back alleyway and to the top of the steps that led down into the speakeasy, she was sure she wouldn’t have to fake the shivers anymore. Her nerves were getting the best of her and, if she wasn’t careful, Johnny might think there was something more going on with her than influenza. She had to play this exactly right. She only had one chance to save both herself and Isaac and if Johnny even suspected that something was amiss, she was sure he would waste no time contacting his cronies in New York City.
After rapping lightly on the door, she mustered a weak, “Black cat,” and was quickly shooed inside the cracked door. Slipping past the guard, who quickly stepped away from her and wiped his palms on his pants, she stepped inside the club and looked around. Business was slow, as the night was just getting started, and the basement’s brick walls weren’t enough to keep the heat out. But a fan blew in the top corner behind the bar and the lighting remained dim as always and Judith was now wondering if her makeup could be seen well enough to be convincing.
The looks she was already receiving from the couple of men who sat at the bar were already questionable so that had to be a step in the right direction, she figured. Even old Moe behind the bar was eying her curiously. She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or ecstatic.
As she approached the bar to inquire about Johnny’s whereabouts, the wooden legs of the nearest bar stool could be heard scraping across the concrete floor and she pretended to ignore the fact that she knew the noise was meant for her. Not to draw himself closer, that was, but to move himself away. Her first instinct was to be offended by the gesture, but then she remembered that repulsing the patrons was a good thing—it meant the ruse was working!
She’d just opened her mouth to speak when her cousin’s voice rang out in disgust behind her. “What in the hell happened to you?” Johnny sneered.
Judith turned around to face Johnny and he instinctively took a cautious step backward as he gave her the once-over, not once, but twice and then a third time. “You look like something the cat dragged in.”
Judith froze. Her eyes widened as her mind blanked. This was it! It was now or never! Tell him! Tell him you’re wrought with influenza!
Weakly, she let out a cough. Then she followed up with a light sneeze. And Johnny took another step back. She fought not to smile.
“Judith,” he warned. “What is going on with you?”
She shook her head. “I came to work Johnny. On time, just like every night, just like you asked.”
“I see…” he replied warily.
“I came regardless of—“ cough “—of what the doctor said. I think he’s lost his marbles, Johnny, there’s no way—“
“What did he say?” Johnny spat.
She paused to shiver. “He thinks it’s—“ She took a step toward him and leaned in close, making sure to breathe on him. She thought he might die of the horror. “He thinks it’s influenza!” She hissed. “But I think he’s wrong, I think it’s just a sniffle. I mean, body aches and fever comes with just about any sniffle, right? I think he’s just being extreme, I don’t see why I can’t work!”
A sneeze. And then an animated wiping of the nose with the back of her hand.
Shoot! Red makeup smeared across her thumb. She quickly hid it behind her back.
Johnny, fortunately, didn’t seem to notice. He pulled the handkerchief out of his back pocket and offered it to her, carefully, at an arm’s length. She accepted it and used it as best she could muster without getting makeup on it. Then she went to hand it back to him and the both of them stared at the white material in horror.
“You’re bleeding!” He exclaimed.
No! The makeup! She’d been so careful! It was—it was…holy smokes, she was bleeding!
Touching her fingers to her nostrils she verified that, in fact, what she was touching wasn’t slimy lard under her right nostril, but blood. A full-on nosebleed.
You couldn’t get a better special effect from a movie set!
Perplexed, Judith realized that she had never felt such joy from a nosebleed before. Part of her wished she would bleed into oblivion right there in front of her cousin just so that he would turn her away and order her never to return. Could she possibly graduate influenza to the infamous Black Death of ancient Europe? Could he really be that gullible?
She decided not to test it. Instead, she insisted, “All I have to do is go clean up and I’ll be good as new for work!”
“Absolutely not!” He hissed. “You think I want my patrons catching wind of…of this? I shouldn’t even be standing here right now! If I lose money because you walked in here diseased like this, so help me God…”
Judith tried not to look as hopeful as she felt. So help him God. So help him God, what?
Her hopes and her dreams were shattered when the next words flew out of his mouth. “I can’t believe I’m even about to do this, but if that doctor of yours thinks you have influenza, then I’m taking you to the hospital right now to have it confirmed. If I find out that this isn’t influenza and that you’re not on the level with me, it’s curtains! But if you are sick…then we need to get you medicated fast. I need you on the up and up in here, these cats pay good dough to see you, you understand?”
Understand? What she didn’t understand was how this suddenly went so horribly wrong. Johnny was supposed to turn tail and run, he was supposed to threaten to burn the whole place down if she didn’t leave and take her germs with her right that instant! And now he wanted to…take her to the hospital? No, it couldn’t be! She and Isaac both were practically good as dead now, she had just signed their death warrants!
Another cough. Another sniff. “But I’m telling you, that’s what he said,” she replied, one last effort to change his mind. “Don’t you think it’s a bad idea to go to the hospital where even more germs and disease are residing? Why add fuel to the fire? Besides, I feel fine, I can work tonight! Why, I bet my whole night’s pay tonight that I’ll be hittin’ on all sixes in no time!”
“Nah,” he shook his head underneath his hat. “I ain’t takin’ no chances like that. Come on. If we go now, we can make it back in time for tonight’s rush.”
And then he grabbed her by the elbow and he led her out the speakeasy door.
Helplessly, she followed along, through the speakeasy, out the door, up the steps, and into the open, Tulsa night air. Johnny never let up his grip on her and she had no idea what she would do if he did. As they passed quickly by Millie’s car, Judith turned her head around and saw her two best friends hanging out of the open windows, trying to make sense of the situation. She could only shake her head and shrug a shoulder—if she spoke out, the jig would be up!
As she climbed into the passenger side of Johnny’s car, she heard the revving of a nearby engine and dared to look out the window. The lights in the front of Millie’s car lit up the sidewalk in front of it, but Johnny paid it no mind. He was intent on starting his own car and squealing his tires in an attempt to quickly get Judith’s “influenza” situation resolved.
To Judith’s relief, she noticed that Millie was following Johnny’s car. She and Bessie, both, were smart girls who could think up an excuse in no time if Johnny saw them at the hospital and questioned their presence there. As they rode in silence, Judith made sure to fill the silence with coughs and sneezes and Johnny was quick to be revolted by it. Soon it became a game to her and it was growing difficult to suppress her giggles. Just when he would pick up a comfortable speed, she would sneeze elaborately, usually in his direction, and he would jerk himself toward his door in an attempt to get away, taking the steering wheel and, subsequently, the entire car with him. He probably looked like an intoxicated driver on the road, but Judith didn’t care. Let the coppers stop him. She’d convince them how sick she was, too!
All Judith knew was that she must have been a sight when Johnny pulled her through the hospital doors and the nurses got one good look at her. The red around her eyes, the blood that was probably dried around her nose—she hadn’t been able to get ahold of a hand mirror—and the hair that now stood all over her head as if she’d just risen from the dead…it was more than enough reason for the horrified looks on their faces.
Johnny didn’t wait for any of them to address them before he pulled Judith up to the counter. “I need a doctor,” he barked.
The lady that sat behind the counter peered up at the two of them from underneath her white nurse’s cap. “You need a doctor?” She clarified.
“For her,” he replied, pointing with his thumb in Judith’s general direction. “She says her doctor told her he thinks she has influenza. I brought her here because I say it ain’t so.”
At first, the raven-haired woman, who appeared to at least be in her thirties, looked aghast when she heard the word “influenza.” The gesture didn’t last long, however, because her expression became flat when Johnny finished speaking. “You do, do you?” She deadpanned. “Did you earn your doctorate at a more prestigious school than the young lady’s doctor did, then?”
Judith wanted to leap for joy and giggle until her heart was content and then hug the nurse’s neck for all she was worth. The only person she had ever seen put Johnny in his place was Isaac and…well, it worked at the time until Johnny went back on his word. Either way. Johnny’s face at the moment was priceless and Judith was eating it up.
Until she remembered that she was supposed to be sick.
Sniffle.
Sneeze.
Sniffle.
Cough.
Johnny finally let go of her arm.
The nurse rose from her chair and peered over the high counter to get a better look at Judith. “What’s wrong with you, dear? Do you have influenza?”
“It’s very possible,” Judith replied with a shiver. “My eyes and my nose are bothersome, I had a fever earlier today, my body aches, and I just got over a nosebleed before we got here…”
“I see,” the nurse observed. “Wait here, I’ll see if there are any beds available.”
“Bed?” Judith and Johnny exclaimed in unison.
“Of course a bed,” the nurse replied. “It looks like you brought her just in time before it got any worse. There’s no telling what’s going on in that body of hers right now. You’re a good…uh…”
“Cousin,” he spat. “She’s my baby cousin.”
“Well, you’re a good cousin for caring so much about her health and well-being.”
Judith nearly snorted.
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” he mumbled. “But, hey, don’t keep her too long, all right?”
“Well, if she has influenza, she isn’t leaving,” the nurse replied matter-of-factly. “Is there some sort of rush? Emergency?”
Johnny looked flustered as he removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “No, uh…no, you know. Just concerned about my baby cousin is all.”
“That’s what I thought,” she nodded. “Wait right here.”
The next few minutes felt like centuries.
Johnny was hot. His entire face was red with rage and Judith could tell that he wanted to say something to her, but he wasn’t willing to step close enough to her to bless her out in private. So he kept his mouth shut. And thank goodness for that.
Judith took a nervous look around the hospital’s waiting room. It was apparent that they’d tried to make it look as comfortable as possible with the white curtains and the leather upholstery, but the light sage of the walls and the checkered pattern of the linoleum floors didn’t help much. To make it worse, Judith wasn’t sure if the sick she was faking was so false anymore or if it was the mixture of medicine and sickness that hung in the air, filling her nose and her mind. As Johnny paced the floor, Judith was nearly tempted to sit in one of the brown, leather chairs to calm her spinning head.
Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed movement at the front door and she whipped her head around. Just around the corner, Millie and Bessie were tiptoeing through the door and into the waiting room. Their eyes darted around nervously and then lit up once they spotted Judith. Judith thought she might faint from fear and she waved her arm nervously for them to stay out of sight. If Johnny saw them…he would know. He would know for sure!
Rapid footsteps sounded behind her and her two friends made themselves scarce behind a wall before anyone could see them. Judith wished so much that they could go into the back with her, as she had no idea what she was going to do now. Panic rose in her throat as the reality of the situation hit her. This was it. This was her death sentence. That nurse was going to find out that she was faking sick, tell Johnny that she was perfectly fine and then…could her daddy even afford a plot for her in the cemetery once her body was found in the gutter? She shuttered at the thought.
“Miss,” the nurse addressed her. “You may come back now. Did you get a chance to fill out the proper paperwork?”
“No, ma’am,” Judith shook her head.
“We can do that back here. Come along.”
As Johnny eagerly fell into step behind Judith, the nurse’s palm came up and she halted him. “Patients only beyond this point.”
“But,” he objected. “But patients are allowed visitors.”
“She isn’t admitted, yet. Please have a seat in the waiting room. There are some magazines and newspapers there to keep you occupied.”
And then, without waiting for a response, she led Judith through the door.
The hallway beyond them was long and intimidating. The same linoleum, checkered flooring extended the length, as did the same sage-colored walls. A few medical carts stood still against either of the walls and a lone nurse walked into a room with her nose stuck on the clipboard she clutched in her hands. It was quiet. So stark and quiet. Was Judith the only patient here? Wasn’t anyone in Tulsa sick?
Judith was nervous about having her own bed. She wasn’t sure what made her more nervous—her ruse being discovered or being around all the sickness she knew she was about to walk into. If she wasn’t sick going in, she would certainly be sick coming out. She hadn’t even set foot into a hospital since she was a child and was struck with a nearly-fatal case of pneumonia. She had been a very lucky child to recover. Would she be so lucky this time around?
She held her breath as the nurse opened one of the doors. This was it. She was so afraid of what she was walking into. All the sick and the injured, the pitiful and the helpless. And Judith? Healthy as a horse. She felt horrible and she was afraid of catching germs and so terribly overwhelmed at how far this lie had carried itself out.
To her surprise, however, the room that the nurse invited her into was a very small room with a single bed, a desk, and a chair. It looked like it hadn’t been used in ages. But why was she getting a private, isolated room?
The nurse closed the door behind her and leaned up against it. Examining Judith with a skeptical eye, she finally said, “I’m Nurse Carolyn Ross. And I know you’re not sick. So, come on, out with it.”
Judith gaped at Nurse Carolyn in disbelief. What happened now? What was she supposed to say? Nurse Carolyn had to believe she was sick! She had to tell Johnny she had influenza! What to do, what to do!
For good measure, Judith let out a sneeze. She tried to make it a good one, one that was loud and obnoxious and, hopefully, a little wet. She even still had Johnny’s handkerchief. Except that Nurse Carolyn’s expression remained unconvinced and she reached out and swiped her thumb firmly across the skin underneath Judith’s right eye.
“See?” She proved, revealing the pink on her thumb. “I know rouge when I see it. I also know illness when I see it. You faked it well enough to convince him, but you can’t fool me. I’m a nurse, I see the real thing every day.”
In defeat, Judith slumped her shoulders and walked over to the bed, sitting herself on the edge of it. The jig was up. There was nothing she could do now but confess—and maybe convince Nurse Carolyn to let her stay in the hospital for a little while until she figured out how she was going to save herself and the love of her life. For all she knew, Johnny was out there in the waiting room right now, calling in a telegram to his cronies up in New York City for good measure, just to have in his back pocket. She wouldn’t put it past him.
“Dear, what’s your name?” Nurse Carolyn asked gently.
Judith glanced up at the nurse, whose eyes were now kinder than they were when they addressed Johnny in the waiting room. They were dark and kind and warm and trusting and Judith was immediately put at ease by her. “Judith,” she murmured quietly.
“Judith,” Nurse Carolyn smiled. “That’s lovely.”
“Thank you.”
“Care to explain to me why your cousin thinks you have influenza? And why you’ve done such a shotty rouge job to your face? It’s a good thing that men stay so clueless half the time because you look more like a circus clown than an influenza patient right now.”
Judith cracked a shy smile and she shrugged a shoulder as she fidgeted with her thumbs in her lap. “My cousin…runs a business. A popular business. And I work for him. And…I don’t want to work for him anymore. But I can’t quit because I’m…under a contract. And the only way I could think of to get by with, um…breaking that contract was if I came up with something uncontrollable. Like an illness. A potentially incurable one?”
Nurse Carolyn nodded. “I see. You know, there are people out there begging for work these days—not trying to get out of it.”
“Believe me. Nobody wants my work. Not even the desperate.”
Nurse Carolyn crossed the room and sat herself gently on the bed beside Judith, smoothing out the white apron on her uniform. “Judith. Are you in some kind of trouble?”
Judith looked up at her and, suddenly, she had the urge to spill her guts and tell her everything. But she couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t. So she kept it vague. “I’m in a situation that’s impossible to get out of. Except that I have to get out of it. It’s…potentially very hazardous and…well, it’s not like I’m getting hazard pay for it or anything.”
Nurse Carolyn smile politely at Judith’s attempt to lighten the mood. “I remember when I was young like you. I got myself into all sorts of mischief and was constantly inventing ways to cover it up. One time the situation got serious—involving a boyfriend—and I faked sick once to hide a, uh…false alarm from my parents. Thank goodness it was only a false alarm and thank goodness my parents never found out. After that, I made sure to keep my nose as clean as possible. It was too close a call for me to go looking for trouble anymore.”
“Well, I wasn’t looking for trouble,” Judith replied. “It just…turned into trouble.”
“I’m sure that’s the case,” Nurse Carolyn nodded. Then she let out a breath. “So. Faking influenza is really your only way out of this?”
Judith nodded. “There is no other way, honest. We thought of everything. Then my best friends convinced me to fake sick until I go back to school in a month or so. And then they helped me make up my face and they drove me to the—to work. And then my cousin drove me here because he doesn’t want to believe I have influenza. But he has to believe it!”
“So nobody knows about this except for your cousins and your friends? What about your parents or--?”
“It’s just my daddy and my brothers. And they all work long hours at the lumber yard. We just came up with this at a sleepover last night.”
“I see.” Then Nurse Carolyn smiled. “So you’re going to school?”
Judith smiled. “Nursing school. To do exactly what you do. Ironically…”
Nurse Carolyn giggled lightly. “Well, then. Now you know what to do when you’re in my shoes and a young girl like you comes into the hospital, faking sick.”
Judith swallowed hard and bit her bottom lip. “So…what do you do in that situation?”
Suddenly, Nurse Carolyn’s expression fell flat. “For starters, I strongly dislike that cousin of yours—he is your cousin, right?”
Judith nodded rapidly.
“All right, then. I strongly dislike him and his attitude. I’d imagine he’s a nightmare to work for. I couldn’t imagine Sunday dinners with him! But because I’ve been in your shoes before, I’m going to do for you what a nurse did for me once. I’m going to cover for you. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to tell your cousin that you have influenza and that there’s no point in him sticking around the hospital. Now, chances are, word is going to spread like wildfire, all the way to your daddy and your brothers. How you handle it at home is going to be all on you, do you understand? I can let you sit here long enough to phone someone to pick you up—“
“My ride is already here,” Judith replied earnestly. Then she blushed. “My friends followed us here…but Johnny doesn’t know!”
Nurse Carolyn smirked. “Naturally. You’ve thought of everything haven’t you? At any rate, confirming the influenza to your cousin is as far as I can go—and that’s already putting my neck on the line. All right?”
“Yes,” Judith replied eagerly. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you. Thank you so much, you have no idea what this means to me!”
Nurse Carolyn stood up and smoothed her uniform skirt out. “It means that you’re going to finish nursing school and graduate at the top of your class. Understood?”
Judith grinned. “Yes, ma’am. You have my word.”
“All right. Now wait here while I go and…deliver the bad news. And then when I come back, we’re going to wash that mess off of your face.”
As Nurse Carolyn disappeared, closing the door behind her, tears of joy and relief sprang to Judith’s eyes. She wanted to drop to her knees and pray to the good lord above for the blessing she had just received. But now she had to remember—and accept—the consequences. Chances were, word of her “illness” would travel fast. She would, indeed, have to fake it in order to keep up the façade. She didn’t know how she would live in the house with her brothers and her father once they received word about it. Would they send her away? Could they potentially make her live at the hospital? Would they lock her away in her room and feed her by…why, how would they feed her? Well, she could just tell them she was faking, right? To get away from Johnny? No, because they worked at the lumber yard with him and they would want details. Telling the truth would be impossible. She would need another sleepover with Millie and Bessie so that they could brainstorm her next step…
The good news, though, was that Isaac would be safe. Judith wouldn’t go to jail. And she wouldn’t be doing that…abhorrent and unspeakable job in the back of the speakeasy anymore. Yes, being isolated from the rest of the town for a few weeks was more than worth all of that.
And with that, Judith anxiously awaited Nurse Carolyn’s return with a smile on her face.
“THIS FEELS SO awkward!” Bessie hissed at Millie as they stood with their backs pressed against a wall on the inside of a doorway that Bessie was sure they probably weren’t supposed to be in.
“We can’t take any chances,” Millie hissed back. “Do you want him to see us here and put two and two together? It would look so suspicious, neither of us sick or needing to visit anyone!”
Millie was right. When the two of them saw Johnny escorting Judith out onto the street, Bessie thought she might vomit out of fear. It had taken nothing at all to see the distress on Judith’s face as the soft glow of the street lamp hit it and Millie instructed Bessie right away to hold on tight because they were going on a chase. When they pulled up to the hospital, Bessie was much too relieved to learn that they weren’t going to find themselves in a dangerous situation involving bootleggers and revolvers—at least not tonight.
Now Bessie’s heart pounded loudly against her chest as she and her cousin listened to the tapping of Johnny Carter’s feet as he feverishly paced the waiting room just several yards away from them. They were convinced that he hadn’t seen them come in, but Judith had, and that was enough for them. And now they waited. The anxiety was overwhelming.
Finally, a woman’s voice sounded in the waiting room. “Uh, Mr…”
“Carter,” Johnny yapped. “Johnny Carter.”
“Mr. Carter. Of course. I’m afraid your cousin’s doctor was right. It absolutely is influenza, and a very severe case of it, at that. We’re going to have to admit her and keep her until she is well enough to receive treatment at home. If we act quickly, she should be well in the next…several weeks or so. Depending on how she responds to the medications, that is.”
Bessie and Millie gaped at each other in absolute disbelief. Confirmed influenza? How on Earth had Judith managed to pull off such a thing? What had happened after the nurse took her back there?
“Several weeks?” He squealed. “Why, that’s—that’s--!”
“Unless you’d rather care for her yourself, since you seem to be quite protective of the girl. I can give you the instructions, but I must warn you that treating her yourself will be a risky and daunting task—“
“Myself? Are you swacked? I can’t get near someone with influenza, much less care for them, I’ve got a sp—I’m a very busy man, you see.”
“Very well, then. She must remain in the hospital where she can get round-the-clock care.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“All right. I suppose that, uh, her parents should be informed…”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get word to her old man,” Johnny mumbled.
After a few moments, heavy footsteps tapped loudly against the linoleum and soon disappeared through the hospital’s doors. Bessie’s and Millie’s chests heaved as their backs nearly molded themselves to the inside wall of the doorway. Both of them were too nervous to even breathe.
Until the nurse’s voice sounded again. “Girls,” she coaxed gently. “I know you’re in here somewhere.”
The cousins’ eyes widened at each other. Bessie blinked at Millie in question. Millie’s eyes darted around for a moment in response and then she peeled herself off the wall. She smoothed out her skirt, fluffed her shoulder-length locks, and she grasped her hands behind her back. Hesitantly, Bessie followed suit.
Around the doorway and into the waiting room, the nurse was peeking through the curtain above one of the brown leather chairs. Noticing the cousins as they stepped into view, she smiled at them and released the drapery. “The coast is clear. It’s all right.”
“How do you know?” Millie whispered meekly.
The nurse’s smile widened. “I knew as soon as I saw your friend that she wasn’t sick. She told me everything. And she told me you were here. Once we wash that monstrous makeup off of her face, she’ll be ready to go home, good as new.”
Bessie ducked her head in shame.
As they followed the nurse through the doorway on the opposite side of the waiting room, she glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not sure what sort of contract that cousin of hers has her under, but she picked the perfect night to fake sick, I can tell you that. It’s a good thing that it’s a slow night and none of my superiors are here or else it would have been my neck for this. So I hope you have a plan for her once you take her out that door. I have a feeling that cousin isn’t going to be very thrilled to find out that the influenza was just a ruse—and I can’t afford to lose this job.”
“Thank you for being so understanding,” Bessie replied.
“You’re welcome. But this is a one-time favor. Next time I see one of you in here, there better be real mucus and real fevers.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Millie said.
The nurse opened a door and revealed Judith sitting on the edge of a hospital bed in a small, solitary room. The cousins immediately leapt for their friend and wrapped their arms around her neck. “Oh, Judith, we were so worried!” Millie spilled out. “When we saw you come out with Johnny, we thought it was curtains for sure!”
Judith raised an eyebrow and glanced in the nurse’s direction, indicating that perhaps the nurse didn’t quite know every detail to the story. Catching on quickly, Millie clamped her mouth shut.
Judith smiled. “Nurse Carolyn has been very nice. Even offered to let me sit for a moment so that Johnny could get a head start out of here. Also, we need to wash my face and brush this horrendous hair of mine!”
With relief in their hearts, the girls helped their friend return to normal again. Nurse Carolyn had been right, however, a plan was needed to keep Judith out of the public’s eye until Johnny lost interest in her—or until she went back to school, whichever came first. But for now, though, Judith was safe and sound and she would never be used and violated by another soul in another basement for as long as she lived.
Or at least as long as Millie Jennings and Bessie Harlow could help it.
SILENCE FILLED THE trailer as The Incredible Hansons turned back into The Mystical Hanson Brothers. It was like a fairy tale, one of those Grimm’s versions with the gore and questionable subject matter. They weren’t lucky enough to live happily ever after like the fairy tales that had been adapted to suit children. They had been lured into a deal with the promise of wealth and success, only to have it ripped away from them in just a week’s time.
Living in the trailer had been intended as a temporary living arrangement after they’d moved out of the Plaza and while they got established with the Mahoney. In a couple of short weeks’ time, Zac would have been living with Bessie in a high-rise New York City apartment that overlooked the city lights at night. He had dreamed of it night after night, the way he and Bessie would gaze out of their window as he wrapped her in his arms and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. Her art would cover their walls and he would come home to her open arms after the show every night, her proud smile the perfect end to a long day.
But that dream had been shattered just yesterday when Harvey Goldstein had abruptly pulled the plug on their act. They had worked so hard and so tirelessly to change their entire act. They sang. Isaac played his guitar. They found ways to incorporate music and illusions in a way that would have captivated just about any audience. But Mr. Goldstein was convinced that it was too late. Tickets weren’t selling. And if tickets weren’t selling, he needed to find another act that would sell them. So they made out with one week’s pay and what they had managed to stash away from the rest of the tour with Barney Harper.
In a way, Zac was relieved. Soon, in a matter of a few short days, he would be back in Tulsa, back home, back in his true love’s waiting arms. But he would also be home, sharing a travel trailer with his two brothers, on top of a dirt patch on a campground by the river. Bessie would leave him and go to school next month. He would be back at square one.
Despite his longing to be home, he felt like such a failure.
The trailer’s silence was suddenly broken by the loud snapping of Taylor’s suitcase as he flipped the buckles on it to secure it shut. Then he straightened his spine, looked around, and took in a breath. “I need to run an errand before we leave the city,” he informed them.
“Since we’re leaving,” Isaac muttered as he folded a shirt. “Care to fill us in on all this secret running around you’ve been doing?”
Taylor sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Might as well. Before, I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to jinx it, but…the meetings have been with a publisher who’s interested in possibly turning my photographs into a book.”
Isaac dropped the shirt he was folding and Zac gaped in disbelief at his flaxen-haired brother. “Are you kidding?” Zac deadpanned.
Taylor nodded earnestly. “I’m dead serious.”
Zac could feel his ears growing hot. “I could kill you right now.”
“What?” Taylor argued. “What now? Haven’t we been through this enough already?”
“Exactly,” Zac nodded fervently. “That’s exactly it, we have been through this already. I nearly choked you unconscious over your incessant moodiness and then you stood there and exclaimed that you had nothing to live for and all this time you’re in talks of publishing a book? Why, I oughta--!”
“All right, all right,” Isaac interrupted in an attempt to keep the peace. “Tay, why didn’t you just say so? See, you do have more talent than just the act. You have your photography. And you’re damn good at it, too. Hell, some guy wants to turn it into a book. That’s a hell of an accomplishment!”
Taylor winced as he shook his head. “Yeah, but…you can’t make a living at photography in a place like Tulsa. It’s gotta be somewhere where there’s culture and art and…you know, like here.”
“Tay,” Zac addressed him hesitantly. “Are you—are you staying behind?”
“No,” Taylor replied solemnly. “No, I’m going home, I have to—I miss my girl. You know? I mean, hell, I asked her to marry me, didn’t I? I just—I miss her. But I have to go give this guy my contact information, what little bit I have, and—and pray that he might be willing to work with me long-distance. Maybe? If that’s an option? I don’t have this act anymore, so I have to figure out what I’m going to do with my life and how to support the family I’m about to have.” Then, suddenly, his expression wandered into the distance. “I’m about to be the man of a household with two children. I’m about to…support an entire family…”
Well, hell. That would be enough to make any man want to lose his mind.
Zac sympathized with his brother instantly.
And then, as quickly as he drifted off, Taylor snapped back into the present. “Zac, you wanna tag along?”
Did he? It couldn’t hurt, right? It wasn’t like staying behind was going to speed up their journey home. They would have had to wait on Taylor regardless. And besides…
“Yeah,” Zac accepted. “Yeah, I, uh…I should probably send one last telegram to Bessie.”
BESSIE
HEY SWEET GIRL STOP IT’S OFFICIAL I’M COMING HOME STOP WE’RE LEAVING TODAY STOP THINGS DIDN’T WORK OUT WITH THE THEATRE BUT I’LL EXPLAIN WHEN YOU’RE IN MY ARMS AGAIN IN A FEW DAYS STOP I’M SORRY I FAILED YOU STOP I PROMISE TO NEVER LEAVE YOU AGAIN STOP
YOURS FOREVER
ZAC
“ARE YOU SURE this is going to work?” Judith asked as she checked her makeup in her compact mirror for what was probably the hundredth time. “Johnny can recognize nonsense from a mile away. It’s very difficult to fool him.”
“It’ll work like a charm,” Millie assured her. “And for the first time, I’m glad that this car is so stifling hot in this weather, the sweat will only make you look feverish and worn down and as long as you play the part, nothing can go wrong!”
The three girls had woken up feeling rotten after their night of hair dying and special lemonade. Breakfast and coffee had barely helped and Millie was convinced that the hangover was perfect because the sicker Judith came across, the better. At this rate, Judith was convinced that when it was all over, she really would have influenza. The scheme couldn’t get more legitimate than that, could it?
Now they were in Millie’s car. They were parked a block away from the speakeasy, in between two other cars on the busy curb, so they didn’t stick out like a sore thumb and pedestrians paid them no mind. Using the glow of the nearby street lamp to the best of her ability, Millie yanked Judith’s chin this way and that, checking to make sure that the makeup job that she and Bessie had done on her was perfect. It took a fair amount of rouge and powder to redden Judith’s eyes and nose, and the lard that sat underneath her nostrils made her feel like she really did need to blow her nose. “It’s perfect that way!” Millie exclaimed. “The more uncomfortable you are, the more convincing you’ll be.”
Judith would have never stepped out in public this way, sick or not. Her hair was a humidity-filled, disheveled mess, she wore no mascara or lipstick, and Millie refused to let her apply any balm so that her lips stayed dry, cracked, and chapped. “Now. Let me see you shiver and sneeze one more time, and then you go in there and give it all you got!” Millie instructed. “Make sure you really gross him out. Even better if you can get the attention of any of the customers in there!”
By the time Judith walked down the back alleyway and to the top of the steps that led down into the speakeasy, she was sure she wouldn’t have to fake the shivers anymore. Her nerves were getting the best of her and, if she wasn’t careful, Johnny might think there was something more going on with her than influenza. She had to play this exactly right. She only had one chance to save both herself and Isaac and if Johnny even suspected that something was amiss, she was sure he would waste no time contacting his cronies in New York City.
After rapping lightly on the door, she mustered a weak, “Black cat,” and was quickly shooed inside the cracked door. Slipping past the guard, who quickly stepped away from her and wiped his palms on his pants, she stepped inside the club and looked around. Business was slow, as the night was just getting started, and the basement’s brick walls weren’t enough to keep the heat out. But a fan blew in the top corner behind the bar and the lighting remained dim as always and Judith was now wondering if her makeup could be seen well enough to be convincing.
The looks she was already receiving from the couple of men who sat at the bar were already questionable so that had to be a step in the right direction, she figured. Even old Moe behind the bar was eying her curiously. She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or ecstatic.
As she approached the bar to inquire about Johnny’s whereabouts, the wooden legs of the nearest bar stool could be heard scraping across the concrete floor and she pretended to ignore the fact that she knew the noise was meant for her. Not to draw himself closer, that was, but to move himself away. Her first instinct was to be offended by the gesture, but then she remembered that repulsing the patrons was a good thing—it meant the ruse was working!
She’d just opened her mouth to speak when her cousin’s voice rang out in disgust behind her. “What in the hell happened to you?” Johnny sneered.
Judith turned around to face Johnny and he instinctively took a cautious step backward as he gave her the once-over, not once, but twice and then a third time. “You look like something the cat dragged in.”
Judith froze. Her eyes widened as her mind blanked. This was it! It was now or never! Tell him! Tell him you’re wrought with influenza!
Weakly, she let out a cough. Then she followed up with a light sneeze. And Johnny took another step back. She fought not to smile.
“Judith,” he warned. “What is going on with you?”
She shook her head. “I came to work Johnny. On time, just like every night, just like you asked.”
“I see…” he replied warily.
“I came regardless of—“ cough “—of what the doctor said. I think he’s lost his marbles, Johnny, there’s no way—“
“What did he say?” Johnny spat.
She paused to shiver. “He thinks it’s—“ She took a step toward him and leaned in close, making sure to breathe on him. She thought he might die of the horror. “He thinks it’s influenza!” She hissed. “But I think he’s wrong, I think it’s just a sniffle. I mean, body aches and fever comes with just about any sniffle, right? I think he’s just being extreme, I don’t see why I can’t work!”
A sneeze. And then an animated wiping of the nose with the back of her hand.
Shoot! Red makeup smeared across her thumb. She quickly hid it behind her back.
Johnny, fortunately, didn’t seem to notice. He pulled the handkerchief out of his back pocket and offered it to her, carefully, at an arm’s length. She accepted it and used it as best she could muster without getting makeup on it. Then she went to hand it back to him and the both of them stared at the white material in horror.
“You’re bleeding!” He exclaimed.
No! The makeup! She’d been so careful! It was—it was…holy smokes, she was bleeding!
Touching her fingers to her nostrils she verified that, in fact, what she was touching wasn’t slimy lard under her right nostril, but blood. A full-on nosebleed.
You couldn’t get a better special effect from a movie set!
Perplexed, Judith realized that she had never felt such joy from a nosebleed before. Part of her wished she would bleed into oblivion right there in front of her cousin just so that he would turn her away and order her never to return. Could she possibly graduate influenza to the infamous Black Death of ancient Europe? Could he really be that gullible?
She decided not to test it. Instead, she insisted, “All I have to do is go clean up and I’ll be good as new for work!”
“Absolutely not!” He hissed. “You think I want my patrons catching wind of…of this? I shouldn’t even be standing here right now! If I lose money because you walked in here diseased like this, so help me God…”
Judith tried not to look as hopeful as she felt. So help him God. So help him God, what?
Her hopes and her dreams were shattered when the next words flew out of his mouth. “I can’t believe I’m even about to do this, but if that doctor of yours thinks you have influenza, then I’m taking you to the hospital right now to have it confirmed. If I find out that this isn’t influenza and that you’re not on the level with me, it’s curtains! But if you are sick…then we need to get you medicated fast. I need you on the up and up in here, these cats pay good dough to see you, you understand?”
Understand? What she didn’t understand was how this suddenly went so horribly wrong. Johnny was supposed to turn tail and run, he was supposed to threaten to burn the whole place down if she didn’t leave and take her germs with her right that instant! And now he wanted to…take her to the hospital? No, it couldn’t be! She and Isaac both were practically good as dead now, she had just signed their death warrants!
Another cough. Another sniff. “But I’m telling you, that’s what he said,” she replied, one last effort to change his mind. “Don’t you think it’s a bad idea to go to the hospital where even more germs and disease are residing? Why add fuel to the fire? Besides, I feel fine, I can work tonight! Why, I bet my whole night’s pay tonight that I’ll be hittin’ on all sixes in no time!”
“Nah,” he shook his head underneath his hat. “I ain’t takin’ no chances like that. Come on. If we go now, we can make it back in time for tonight’s rush.”
And then he grabbed her by the elbow and he led her out the speakeasy door.
Helplessly, she followed along, through the speakeasy, out the door, up the steps, and into the open, Tulsa night air. Johnny never let up his grip on her and she had no idea what she would do if he did. As they passed quickly by Millie’s car, Judith turned her head around and saw her two best friends hanging out of the open windows, trying to make sense of the situation. She could only shake her head and shrug a shoulder—if she spoke out, the jig would be up!
As she climbed into the passenger side of Johnny’s car, she heard the revving of a nearby engine and dared to look out the window. The lights in the front of Millie’s car lit up the sidewalk in front of it, but Johnny paid it no mind. He was intent on starting his own car and squealing his tires in an attempt to quickly get Judith’s “influenza” situation resolved.
To Judith’s relief, she noticed that Millie was following Johnny’s car. She and Bessie, both, were smart girls who could think up an excuse in no time if Johnny saw them at the hospital and questioned their presence there. As they rode in silence, Judith made sure to fill the silence with coughs and sneezes and Johnny was quick to be revolted by it. Soon it became a game to her and it was growing difficult to suppress her giggles. Just when he would pick up a comfortable speed, she would sneeze elaborately, usually in his direction, and he would jerk himself toward his door in an attempt to get away, taking the steering wheel and, subsequently, the entire car with him. He probably looked like an intoxicated driver on the road, but Judith didn’t care. Let the coppers stop him. She’d convince them how sick she was, too!
All Judith knew was that she must have been a sight when Johnny pulled her through the hospital doors and the nurses got one good look at her. The red around her eyes, the blood that was probably dried around her nose—she hadn’t been able to get ahold of a hand mirror—and the hair that now stood all over her head as if she’d just risen from the dead…it was more than enough reason for the horrified looks on their faces.
Johnny didn’t wait for any of them to address them before he pulled Judith up to the counter. “I need a doctor,” he barked.
The lady that sat behind the counter peered up at the two of them from underneath her white nurse’s cap. “You need a doctor?” She clarified.
“For her,” he replied, pointing with his thumb in Judith’s general direction. “She says her doctor told her he thinks she has influenza. I brought her here because I say it ain’t so.”
At first, the raven-haired woman, who appeared to at least be in her thirties, looked aghast when she heard the word “influenza.” The gesture didn’t last long, however, because her expression became flat when Johnny finished speaking. “You do, do you?” She deadpanned. “Did you earn your doctorate at a more prestigious school than the young lady’s doctor did, then?”
Judith wanted to leap for joy and giggle until her heart was content and then hug the nurse’s neck for all she was worth. The only person she had ever seen put Johnny in his place was Isaac and…well, it worked at the time until Johnny went back on his word. Either way. Johnny’s face at the moment was priceless and Judith was eating it up.
Until she remembered that she was supposed to be sick.
Sniffle.
Sneeze.
Sniffle.
Cough.
Johnny finally let go of her arm.
The nurse rose from her chair and peered over the high counter to get a better look at Judith. “What’s wrong with you, dear? Do you have influenza?”
“It’s very possible,” Judith replied with a shiver. “My eyes and my nose are bothersome, I had a fever earlier today, my body aches, and I just got over a nosebleed before we got here…”
“I see,” the nurse observed. “Wait here, I’ll see if there are any beds available.”
“Bed?” Judith and Johnny exclaimed in unison.
“Of course a bed,” the nurse replied. “It looks like you brought her just in time before it got any worse. There’s no telling what’s going on in that body of hers right now. You’re a good…uh…”
“Cousin,” he spat. “She’s my baby cousin.”
“Well, you’re a good cousin for caring so much about her health and well-being.”
Judith nearly snorted.
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” he mumbled. “But, hey, don’t keep her too long, all right?”
“Well, if she has influenza, she isn’t leaving,” the nurse replied matter-of-factly. “Is there some sort of rush? Emergency?”
Johnny looked flustered as he removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “No, uh…no, you know. Just concerned about my baby cousin is all.”
“That’s what I thought,” she nodded. “Wait right here.”
The next few minutes felt like centuries.
Johnny was hot. His entire face was red with rage and Judith could tell that he wanted to say something to her, but he wasn’t willing to step close enough to her to bless her out in private. So he kept his mouth shut. And thank goodness for that.
Judith took a nervous look around the hospital’s waiting room. It was apparent that they’d tried to make it look as comfortable as possible with the white curtains and the leather upholstery, but the light sage of the walls and the checkered pattern of the linoleum floors didn’t help much. To make it worse, Judith wasn’t sure if the sick she was faking was so false anymore or if it was the mixture of medicine and sickness that hung in the air, filling her nose and her mind. As Johnny paced the floor, Judith was nearly tempted to sit in one of the brown, leather chairs to calm her spinning head.
Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed movement at the front door and she whipped her head around. Just around the corner, Millie and Bessie were tiptoeing through the door and into the waiting room. Their eyes darted around nervously and then lit up once they spotted Judith. Judith thought she might faint from fear and she waved her arm nervously for them to stay out of sight. If Johnny saw them…he would know. He would know for sure!
Rapid footsteps sounded behind her and her two friends made themselves scarce behind a wall before anyone could see them. Judith wished so much that they could go into the back with her, as she had no idea what she was going to do now. Panic rose in her throat as the reality of the situation hit her. This was it. This was her death sentence. That nurse was going to find out that she was faking sick, tell Johnny that she was perfectly fine and then…could her daddy even afford a plot for her in the cemetery once her body was found in the gutter? She shuttered at the thought.
“Miss,” the nurse addressed her. “You may come back now. Did you get a chance to fill out the proper paperwork?”
“No, ma’am,” Judith shook her head.
“We can do that back here. Come along.”
As Johnny eagerly fell into step behind Judith, the nurse’s palm came up and she halted him. “Patients only beyond this point.”
“But,” he objected. “But patients are allowed visitors.”
“She isn’t admitted, yet. Please have a seat in the waiting room. There are some magazines and newspapers there to keep you occupied.”
And then, without waiting for a response, she led Judith through the door.
The hallway beyond them was long and intimidating. The same linoleum, checkered flooring extended the length, as did the same sage-colored walls. A few medical carts stood still against either of the walls and a lone nurse walked into a room with her nose stuck on the clipboard she clutched in her hands. It was quiet. So stark and quiet. Was Judith the only patient here? Wasn’t anyone in Tulsa sick?
Judith was nervous about having her own bed. She wasn’t sure what made her more nervous—her ruse being discovered or being around all the sickness she knew she was about to walk into. If she wasn’t sick going in, she would certainly be sick coming out. She hadn’t even set foot into a hospital since she was a child and was struck with a nearly-fatal case of pneumonia. She had been a very lucky child to recover. Would she be so lucky this time around?
She held her breath as the nurse opened one of the doors. This was it. She was so afraid of what she was walking into. All the sick and the injured, the pitiful and the helpless. And Judith? Healthy as a horse. She felt horrible and she was afraid of catching germs and so terribly overwhelmed at how far this lie had carried itself out.
To her surprise, however, the room that the nurse invited her into was a very small room with a single bed, a desk, and a chair. It looked like it hadn’t been used in ages. But why was she getting a private, isolated room?
The nurse closed the door behind her and leaned up against it. Examining Judith with a skeptical eye, she finally said, “I’m Nurse Carolyn Ross. And I know you’re not sick. So, come on, out with it.”
Judith gaped at Nurse Carolyn in disbelief. What happened now? What was she supposed to say? Nurse Carolyn had to believe she was sick! She had to tell Johnny she had influenza! What to do, what to do!
For good measure, Judith let out a sneeze. She tried to make it a good one, one that was loud and obnoxious and, hopefully, a little wet. She even still had Johnny’s handkerchief. Except that Nurse Carolyn’s expression remained unconvinced and she reached out and swiped her thumb firmly across the skin underneath Judith’s right eye.
“See?” She proved, revealing the pink on her thumb. “I know rouge when I see it. I also know illness when I see it. You faked it well enough to convince him, but you can’t fool me. I’m a nurse, I see the real thing every day.”
In defeat, Judith slumped her shoulders and walked over to the bed, sitting herself on the edge of it. The jig was up. There was nothing she could do now but confess—and maybe convince Nurse Carolyn to let her stay in the hospital for a little while until she figured out how she was going to save herself and the love of her life. For all she knew, Johnny was out there in the waiting room right now, calling in a telegram to his cronies up in New York City for good measure, just to have in his back pocket. She wouldn’t put it past him.
“Dear, what’s your name?” Nurse Carolyn asked gently.
Judith glanced up at the nurse, whose eyes were now kinder than they were when they addressed Johnny in the waiting room. They were dark and kind and warm and trusting and Judith was immediately put at ease by her. “Judith,” she murmured quietly.
“Judith,” Nurse Carolyn smiled. “That’s lovely.”
“Thank you.”
“Care to explain to me why your cousin thinks you have influenza? And why you’ve done such a shotty rouge job to your face? It’s a good thing that men stay so clueless half the time because you look more like a circus clown than an influenza patient right now.”
Judith cracked a shy smile and she shrugged a shoulder as she fidgeted with her thumbs in her lap. “My cousin…runs a business. A popular business. And I work for him. And…I don’t want to work for him anymore. But I can’t quit because I’m…under a contract. And the only way I could think of to get by with, um…breaking that contract was if I came up with something uncontrollable. Like an illness. A potentially incurable one?”
Nurse Carolyn nodded. “I see. You know, there are people out there begging for work these days—not trying to get out of it.”
“Believe me. Nobody wants my work. Not even the desperate.”
Nurse Carolyn crossed the room and sat herself gently on the bed beside Judith, smoothing out the white apron on her uniform. “Judith. Are you in some kind of trouble?”
Judith looked up at her and, suddenly, she had the urge to spill her guts and tell her everything. But she couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t. So she kept it vague. “I’m in a situation that’s impossible to get out of. Except that I have to get out of it. It’s…potentially very hazardous and…well, it’s not like I’m getting hazard pay for it or anything.”
Nurse Carolyn smile politely at Judith’s attempt to lighten the mood. “I remember when I was young like you. I got myself into all sorts of mischief and was constantly inventing ways to cover it up. One time the situation got serious—involving a boyfriend—and I faked sick once to hide a, uh…false alarm from my parents. Thank goodness it was only a false alarm and thank goodness my parents never found out. After that, I made sure to keep my nose as clean as possible. It was too close a call for me to go looking for trouble anymore.”
“Well, I wasn’t looking for trouble,” Judith replied. “It just…turned into trouble.”
“I’m sure that’s the case,” Nurse Carolyn nodded. Then she let out a breath. “So. Faking influenza is really your only way out of this?”
Judith nodded. “There is no other way, honest. We thought of everything. Then my best friends convinced me to fake sick until I go back to school in a month or so. And then they helped me make up my face and they drove me to the—to work. And then my cousin drove me here because he doesn’t want to believe I have influenza. But he has to believe it!”
“So nobody knows about this except for your cousins and your friends? What about your parents or--?”
“It’s just my daddy and my brothers. And they all work long hours at the lumber yard. We just came up with this at a sleepover last night.”
“I see.” Then Nurse Carolyn smiled. “So you’re going to school?”
Judith smiled. “Nursing school. To do exactly what you do. Ironically…”
Nurse Carolyn giggled lightly. “Well, then. Now you know what to do when you’re in my shoes and a young girl like you comes into the hospital, faking sick.”
Judith swallowed hard and bit her bottom lip. “So…what do you do in that situation?”
Suddenly, Nurse Carolyn’s expression fell flat. “For starters, I strongly dislike that cousin of yours—he is your cousin, right?”
Judith nodded rapidly.
“All right, then. I strongly dislike him and his attitude. I’d imagine he’s a nightmare to work for. I couldn’t imagine Sunday dinners with him! But because I’ve been in your shoes before, I’m going to do for you what a nurse did for me once. I’m going to cover for you. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to tell your cousin that you have influenza and that there’s no point in him sticking around the hospital. Now, chances are, word is going to spread like wildfire, all the way to your daddy and your brothers. How you handle it at home is going to be all on you, do you understand? I can let you sit here long enough to phone someone to pick you up—“
“My ride is already here,” Judith replied earnestly. Then she blushed. “My friends followed us here…but Johnny doesn’t know!”
Nurse Carolyn smirked. “Naturally. You’ve thought of everything haven’t you? At any rate, confirming the influenza to your cousin is as far as I can go—and that’s already putting my neck on the line. All right?”
“Yes,” Judith replied eagerly. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you. Thank you so much, you have no idea what this means to me!”
Nurse Carolyn stood up and smoothed her uniform skirt out. “It means that you’re going to finish nursing school and graduate at the top of your class. Understood?”
Judith grinned. “Yes, ma’am. You have my word.”
“All right. Now wait here while I go and…deliver the bad news. And then when I come back, we’re going to wash that mess off of your face.”
As Nurse Carolyn disappeared, closing the door behind her, tears of joy and relief sprang to Judith’s eyes. She wanted to drop to her knees and pray to the good lord above for the blessing she had just received. But now she had to remember—and accept—the consequences. Chances were, word of her “illness” would travel fast. She would, indeed, have to fake it in order to keep up the façade. She didn’t know how she would live in the house with her brothers and her father once they received word about it. Would they send her away? Could they potentially make her live at the hospital? Would they lock her away in her room and feed her by…why, how would they feed her? Well, she could just tell them she was faking, right? To get away from Johnny? No, because they worked at the lumber yard with him and they would want details. Telling the truth would be impossible. She would need another sleepover with Millie and Bessie so that they could brainstorm her next step…
The good news, though, was that Isaac would be safe. Judith wouldn’t go to jail. And she wouldn’t be doing that…abhorrent and unspeakable job in the back of the speakeasy anymore. Yes, being isolated from the rest of the town for a few weeks was more than worth all of that.
And with that, Judith anxiously awaited Nurse Carolyn’s return with a smile on her face.
“THIS FEELS SO awkward!” Bessie hissed at Millie as they stood with their backs pressed against a wall on the inside of a doorway that Bessie was sure they probably weren’t supposed to be in.
“We can’t take any chances,” Millie hissed back. “Do you want him to see us here and put two and two together? It would look so suspicious, neither of us sick or needing to visit anyone!”
Millie was right. When the two of them saw Johnny escorting Judith out onto the street, Bessie thought she might vomit out of fear. It had taken nothing at all to see the distress on Judith’s face as the soft glow of the street lamp hit it and Millie instructed Bessie right away to hold on tight because they were going on a chase. When they pulled up to the hospital, Bessie was much too relieved to learn that they weren’t going to find themselves in a dangerous situation involving bootleggers and revolvers—at least not tonight.
Now Bessie’s heart pounded loudly against her chest as she and her cousin listened to the tapping of Johnny Carter’s feet as he feverishly paced the waiting room just several yards away from them. They were convinced that he hadn’t seen them come in, but Judith had, and that was enough for them. And now they waited. The anxiety was overwhelming.
Finally, a woman’s voice sounded in the waiting room. “Uh, Mr…”
“Carter,” Johnny yapped. “Johnny Carter.”
“Mr. Carter. Of course. I’m afraid your cousin’s doctor was right. It absolutely is influenza, and a very severe case of it, at that. We’re going to have to admit her and keep her until she is well enough to receive treatment at home. If we act quickly, she should be well in the next…several weeks or so. Depending on how she responds to the medications, that is.”
Bessie and Millie gaped at each other in absolute disbelief. Confirmed influenza? How on Earth had Judith managed to pull off such a thing? What had happened after the nurse took her back there?
“Several weeks?” He squealed. “Why, that’s—that’s--!”
“Unless you’d rather care for her yourself, since you seem to be quite protective of the girl. I can give you the instructions, but I must warn you that treating her yourself will be a risky and daunting task—“
“Myself? Are you swacked? I can’t get near someone with influenza, much less care for them, I’ve got a sp—I’m a very busy man, you see.”
“Very well, then. She must remain in the hospital where she can get round-the-clock care.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“All right. I suppose that, uh, her parents should be informed…”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get word to her old man,” Johnny mumbled.
After a few moments, heavy footsteps tapped loudly against the linoleum and soon disappeared through the hospital’s doors. Bessie’s and Millie’s chests heaved as their backs nearly molded themselves to the inside wall of the doorway. Both of them were too nervous to even breathe.
Until the nurse’s voice sounded again. “Girls,” she coaxed gently. “I know you’re in here somewhere.”
The cousins’ eyes widened at each other. Bessie blinked at Millie in question. Millie’s eyes darted around for a moment in response and then she peeled herself off the wall. She smoothed out her skirt, fluffed her shoulder-length locks, and she grasped her hands behind her back. Hesitantly, Bessie followed suit.
Around the doorway and into the waiting room, the nurse was peeking through the curtain above one of the brown leather chairs. Noticing the cousins as they stepped into view, she smiled at them and released the drapery. “The coast is clear. It’s all right.”
“How do you know?” Millie whispered meekly.
The nurse’s smile widened. “I knew as soon as I saw your friend that she wasn’t sick. She told me everything. And she told me you were here. Once we wash that monstrous makeup off of her face, she’ll be ready to go home, good as new.”
Bessie ducked her head in shame.
As they followed the nurse through the doorway on the opposite side of the waiting room, she glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not sure what sort of contract that cousin of hers has her under, but she picked the perfect night to fake sick, I can tell you that. It’s a good thing that it’s a slow night and none of my superiors are here or else it would have been my neck for this. So I hope you have a plan for her once you take her out that door. I have a feeling that cousin isn’t going to be very thrilled to find out that the influenza was just a ruse—and I can’t afford to lose this job.”
“Thank you for being so understanding,” Bessie replied.
“You’re welcome. But this is a one-time favor. Next time I see one of you in here, there better be real mucus and real fevers.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Millie said.
The nurse opened a door and revealed Judith sitting on the edge of a hospital bed in a small, solitary room. The cousins immediately leapt for their friend and wrapped their arms around her neck. “Oh, Judith, we were so worried!” Millie spilled out. “When we saw you come out with Johnny, we thought it was curtains for sure!”
Judith raised an eyebrow and glanced in the nurse’s direction, indicating that perhaps the nurse didn’t quite know every detail to the story. Catching on quickly, Millie clamped her mouth shut.
Judith smiled. “Nurse Carolyn has been very nice. Even offered to let me sit for a moment so that Johnny could get a head start out of here. Also, we need to wash my face and brush this horrendous hair of mine!”
With relief in their hearts, the girls helped their friend return to normal again. Nurse Carolyn had been right, however, a plan was needed to keep Judith out of the public’s eye until Johnny lost interest in her—or until she went back to school, whichever came first. But for now, though, Judith was safe and sound and she would never be used and violated by another soul in another basement for as long as she lived.
Or at least as long as Millie Jennings and Bessie Harlow could help it.
SILENCE FILLED THE trailer as The Incredible Hansons turned back into The Mystical Hanson Brothers. It was like a fairy tale, one of those Grimm’s versions with the gore and questionable subject matter. They weren’t lucky enough to live happily ever after like the fairy tales that had been adapted to suit children. They had been lured into a deal with the promise of wealth and success, only to have it ripped away from them in just a week’s time.
Living in the trailer had been intended as a temporary living arrangement after they’d moved out of the Plaza and while they got established with the Mahoney. In a couple of short weeks’ time, Zac would have been living with Bessie in a high-rise New York City apartment that overlooked the city lights at night. He had dreamed of it night after night, the way he and Bessie would gaze out of their window as he wrapped her in his arms and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. Her art would cover their walls and he would come home to her open arms after the show every night, her proud smile the perfect end to a long day.
But that dream had been shattered just yesterday when Harvey Goldstein had abruptly pulled the plug on their act. They had worked so hard and so tirelessly to change their entire act. They sang. Isaac played his guitar. They found ways to incorporate music and illusions in a way that would have captivated just about any audience. But Mr. Goldstein was convinced that it was too late. Tickets weren’t selling. And if tickets weren’t selling, he needed to find another act that would sell them. So they made out with one week’s pay and what they had managed to stash away from the rest of the tour with Barney Harper.
In a way, Zac was relieved. Soon, in a matter of a few short days, he would be back in Tulsa, back home, back in his true love’s waiting arms. But he would also be home, sharing a travel trailer with his two brothers, on top of a dirt patch on a campground by the river. Bessie would leave him and go to school next month. He would be back at square one.
Despite his longing to be home, he felt like such a failure.
The trailer’s silence was suddenly broken by the loud snapping of Taylor’s suitcase as he flipped the buckles on it to secure it shut. Then he straightened his spine, looked around, and took in a breath. “I need to run an errand before we leave the city,” he informed them.
“Since we’re leaving,” Isaac muttered as he folded a shirt. “Care to fill us in on all this secret running around you’ve been doing?”
Taylor sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Might as well. Before, I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to jinx it, but…the meetings have been with a publisher who’s interested in possibly turning my photographs into a book.”
Isaac dropped the shirt he was folding and Zac gaped in disbelief at his flaxen-haired brother. “Are you kidding?” Zac deadpanned.
Taylor nodded earnestly. “I’m dead serious.”
Zac could feel his ears growing hot. “I could kill you right now.”
“What?” Taylor argued. “What now? Haven’t we been through this enough already?”
“Exactly,” Zac nodded fervently. “That’s exactly it, we have been through this already. I nearly choked you unconscious over your incessant moodiness and then you stood there and exclaimed that you had nothing to live for and all this time you’re in talks of publishing a book? Why, I oughta--!”
“All right, all right,” Isaac interrupted in an attempt to keep the peace. “Tay, why didn’t you just say so? See, you do have more talent than just the act. You have your photography. And you’re damn good at it, too. Hell, some guy wants to turn it into a book. That’s a hell of an accomplishment!”
Taylor winced as he shook his head. “Yeah, but…you can’t make a living at photography in a place like Tulsa. It’s gotta be somewhere where there’s culture and art and…you know, like here.”
“Tay,” Zac addressed him hesitantly. “Are you—are you staying behind?”
“No,” Taylor replied solemnly. “No, I’m going home, I have to—I miss my girl. You know? I mean, hell, I asked her to marry me, didn’t I? I just—I miss her. But I have to go give this guy my contact information, what little bit I have, and—and pray that he might be willing to work with me long-distance. Maybe? If that’s an option? I don’t have this act anymore, so I have to figure out what I’m going to do with my life and how to support the family I’m about to have.” Then, suddenly, his expression wandered into the distance. “I’m about to be the man of a household with two children. I’m about to…support an entire family…”
Well, hell. That would be enough to make any man want to lose his mind.
Zac sympathized with his brother instantly.
And then, as quickly as he drifted off, Taylor snapped back into the present. “Zac, you wanna tag along?”
Did he? It couldn’t hurt, right? It wasn’t like staying behind was going to speed up their journey home. They would have had to wait on Taylor regardless. And besides…
“Yeah,” Zac accepted. “Yeah, I, uh…I should probably send one last telegram to Bessie.”
BESSIE
HEY SWEET GIRL STOP IT’S OFFICIAL I’M COMING HOME STOP WE’RE LEAVING TODAY STOP THINGS DIDN’T WORK OUT WITH THE THEATRE BUT I’LL EXPLAIN WHEN YOU’RE IN MY ARMS AGAIN IN A FEW DAYS STOP I’M SORRY I FAILED YOU STOP I PROMISE TO NEVER LEAVE YOU AGAIN STOP
YOURS FOREVER
ZAC