Gone

she needs to poop.” To the little girl she said, “Have you pooped today?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “I’ll sit her on the toilet,” Mary said.
    “Make her drink some water. You know, like a couple of cups.”
    Mary squeezed her hand. “I know you’re not a doctor, but it’s good to have you.”
    Dahra sighed. “I’m trying to read that book. But mostly all it does is scare me. I mean, there are a million diseases I’ve never even heard of and I don’t want to even think about.”
    “Yeah. I can imagine.”
    Mary was stalling. Dahra asked her if there was something else.
    “Listen, um, I know this is weird and all,” Mary said, lowering her voice to a confidential level. “But anything I tell you…”
    “I don’t talk to anyone about what goes on here,” Dahra said a little stiffly.
    “I know. Sorry. It’s not…I mean, it’s something embarrassing.”
    “Mary. I am so past embarrassing. I am way into humiliating and disgusting now, so nothing you tell me is going to bother me.”
    Mary nodded. She twisted her fingers together and said in a rush, “Look, I take Prozac.”
    “What for?”
    “Just some, you know, some issues. The thing is, I ran out. I know it’s not as important as a lot of what you’re doing.” She glanced at Cookie. “It’s just, when I don’t have the pills, I get…” She sucked in sharply and let go of a sigh that was almost a sob.
    “No problem,” Dahra said. She wanted to push for furtherinformation, but instinct told her to drop it. “Let me see what I have. Do you know what strength of pill you take?”
    “Forty milligrams, once a day.”
    “I have to pee,” Cookie moaned pitiably.
    Dahra went to the cupboard where she kept the medications. Some were in large white pharmacy bottles, some in smaller brown twist-top bottles. And she had some sample packs taken from the doctor’s office.
    Elwood woke up with a snort. “Oh. Man. I fell asleep.”
    “Hi, Elwood,” Mary said.
    “Uh-huh,” Elwood said, and rested his head on his hand and fell back to sleep.
    “He’s nice to stay with you,” Mary said.
    “He’s useless,” Dahra said sharply. But then she relented. “But at least he’s here. I guess I can give you some twenty-milligram pills and let you take two.” She tapped the capsules into her palm. “Here’s enough for a week. Sorry, I don’t have a bottle or anything.”
    Mary took the pills gratefully.
    “You’re a good person, Dahra. When this is all over someday, you know, when we grow up, you can become a doctor.”
    Dahra laughed bitterly. “After this, Mary, that’s the last thing I’d want to be.”
    The doors of the hospital pushed in suddenly. Both girls turned sharply to see Bouncing Bette. She staggered in with her right hand pressed against her head. “My head hurts,” Bette said. She was barely comprehensible. She spoke with noticeable slurring. Her left arm seemed to be lifeless, hanginglimp by her side. Her left leg trailed as she took several steps closer.
    Dahra ran to catch her as Bette collapsed.
    “Elwood, wake up,” Dahra yelled.
    Dahra, Elwood, and Mary half dragged, half carried Bette to the bed where Ashley had been examined.
    “I have to poop now,” Ashley said.
    “Oh, God, I need some more pills!” Cookie howled.
    “Shut up!” Dahra shouted. She put her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. “Everyone shut up.”
    Bette was on the table now, whispering, “I’m sorry.” It came out, “Mm shrree.”
    “I didn’t mean you, Bette,” Dahra apologized. “Just lie back.” Dahra looked at her face and said to Elwood, “Get the book.”
    She propped the Physicians’ Desk Reference open on Bette’s stomach and began thumbing quickly through the index.
    “Mm het hur,” Bette said. She raised her good arm to touch the bloody lump on the side of her head.
    “Did someone hit you, Bette?” Elwood asked.
    Bette seemed confused by the question. She frowned as if the question made no sense. She moaned in pain.
    “One side of her body isn’t working right,” Dahra said. “Look at the way her mouth is drooping. And her eyes. They don’t match.”
    “Mmm het hur bad,” Bette moaned.
    “I think she’s saying her head hurts,” Mary said. “What do we do?”
    “I don’t know, how about if I just cut open her head and see if I can fix it?” Dahra was shrill. “Then I’ll just do some quick surgery on Cookie. No problem. I mean, I have this stupid book.” She snatched the