Turning Point

By Mary Ann Fields Whitehead

Kate Mitchum, Leanne LeDeaux, and Kathy Jonesthree little girls, growing up in Saint Elizabeths Orphanage in New Orleans, Louisiana, were as close as any friends could be. That is, until just before Christmas when they were nine years old.

Turning points can come when you least expect them, as Kate Mitchum finds out as a child and later as an adult. She is smart and she is strong and she has the love and support of her friends and family at Saint Elizabeths as she faces lifes continuous strugglesbumps in the road, as Sr. Mary Louise, head of the orphanage, calls them.

Throughout her senior year of high school, Kate works for Matthew Carlton, the new teacher who sets all the female teachers and students hearts aflutter, all the while remaining aloof and mysterious. Mr. Carlton takes a liking to Kate and helps her earn a little pocket money by having her do some of his busy work, such as grading papers and running errands. Little does he know that this association with Kate would one day lead him to fall deeply in love with her, but not until he himself proves to be one of those bumps in the road Kate has to face.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503532540

Mary Ann Fields Whitehead

Mary Ann Fields Whitehead, mother of one son, Christopher Whitehead, is a lifelong resident of Natchez, Mississippi. She works on a drill-ship offshore overseas and is the author of one previous book, Murphy Park.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Mary Ann Fields Whitehead.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 01/20/2015

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

To Mama and Daddy:

Always my biggest cheerleaders!

Chapter 1

Kate Mitchum, Leanne LeDeaux, and Kathy Jones, if you three don’t stop your giggling and go to sleep, I swear, I’ll have to put you outside on the sleeping porch!

Sister Theresa Joseph’s words and tone of voice were appropriately stern, and her left eyebrow was raised menacingly, but her three mischievous charges were not fooled for one minute. The girls couldn’t resist one last giggle between them as Kathy, always the vocal member of their little trio, coyly admonished Sister T J, as they affectionately referred to their favorite nun, about swearing.

And besides, the Channel Four weatherman predicted a heavy frost for tonight, so we would freeze to death if we had to sleep outside, Kathy added, hugging herself and shivering dramatically.

Sometimes I wonder why I make you girls watch the news. Instead of staying on top of current events, you always find a way to use it against me, Sister T J retorted with a wink. Anyway, that so-called weatherman on Channel Four couldn’t predict his way out of a paper bag, she said sternly as she walked around the three beds, tightly tucking the covers around each child. "You might as well listen to the fortune-tellers down in the quarter. They’re right at least half the time. And I don’t know why I bother to threaten you three with the sleeping porch. You already consider it your own private clubhouse. I really should dangle the tower room over your heads. That might get you back in line." With that, she closed the door to the dormitory, signaling once and for all an end to the threesome’s high spirits and thrusting the large room into total darkness.

After a few minutes, the darkness gave way to a soft glow of moonlight, mixed with the old streetlamp in the courtyard of Saint Elizabeth’s Orphanage, on Napoleon Avenue, in the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana. The old building was a monument to the guilt of the fortunate early citizens of the crescent city, who felt it their duty to provide a school for children orphaned by the yellow fever epidemic in the late 1800s. Run by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, the original three-story building, including a chapel, soon became an orphanage for girls. Maybe one day, this fine example of Second Empire style, complete with Corinthian columns, might be broken up into luxury condos for the wealthy, but for now, it was home to fifty-five young girls ranging in age from one to nearly twenty-one.

As in the past, the Sisters of Charity, as they were more commonly known, ran the house and saw to the daily business of raising the girls. They were always firm and, at times, strict, but they never lacked in tenderness. There were only a few nuns left now, so they had to rely on the help of a full-time housekeeper, two cooks, and a gardener.

Molly Landsdowne, the self-proclaimed head of the household, answered only to Sr. Mary Louise, the Mother Superior, so to speak. Both were very strong, Irish women who loved music and saw to it that the house was always filled with laughter. Molly ran the house like a drill sergeant, making sure the older girls helped the younger ones with their daily house-cleaning chores. No one was exempt from work; the tasks just varied, depending on the ages of the children. All girls were required to keep their beds made, with clean sheets once a week, and all common areas were kept scrubbed and polished at all times. Molly made sure the wood shop at the Catholic school around the block, on Feret Street, made enough toy boxes and shelves to enable them to stow all toys, books, and games. She believed in order and felt that the chores helped instill pride in her girls.

Molly also reigned supreme in the kitchen. She had handpicked two of the girls, Joyce and Jayne Delafield, when they were teenagers, and helped them hone their particularly keen culinary skills. As identical twin sisters, they not only looked alike, but also thought alike. Each girl was tall and very lean, considering their chosen professions, and had very long, very straight blonde hair that necessitated the wearing of matching bandanas when they were working. Over the years, Joyce had proved herself the better cook, while Jayne excelled at baking, so Molly’s kitchen ran smoothly, almost without her help. Every girl over the age of five, and admittedly the sisters too, loved to sit at the long dining room tables after Mass and enjoy one of Jayne’s freshly made beignets while sipping Joyce’s delectable coffee-milk—a Sundays-only tradition.

Molly Bordelon had been at Saint Elizabeth’s as a child and loved the idea that she was still there, or rather back there, as an adult. She had been orphaned at two and was sent there by a maiden aunt, who realized after only a week that she was not up to taking care of a toddler. Molly loved the old place and especially the nuns who had raised her. She had decided, at an early age, that she wanted to become a nun and be one of those angels in blue, who lovingly raised a house full of children. But, thirty years ago, in the summer of 1945, all thoughts of donning the habit and dedicating her life to God flew right out the window. That was the year she had turned twenty-one and, at a church festival, had met David Landsdowne, a shrimper from Slidell.

Dave had been the tallest and the most handsome man on the cakewalk that day, but he had caught Molly’s eye, not because of those obvious traits, but because he had been walking step-by-step, square-by-numbered-square, holding the hands of two towheaded toddlers. She had found out later that the kids were his brother and sister—his mother’s change-of-life babies, he had explained.

David Landsdowne had returned to Slidell, Louisiana, from the war in the Pacific to work on his father’s shrimp boat, and he had only been at the church bazaar that day because he had promised the twins he would take them for a ride. The youngsters had squealed with joy when Dave had driven past Our Lady of Lourdes and they had seen balloons and heard music. Molly had fallen in love with her gentle giant the moment she saw him. They had been married nearly thirty years now and had raised three children of their own, as well as hundreds of Saint Elizabeth girls.

Today, as every year at this time, Molly felt profoundly grateful for the life she had attained and was hopeful for all the girls in her care. This Sunday was family day at Saint Elizabeth’s. It was a special day set aside where families interested in adopting children could visit the orphanage and meet the girls. Traditionally, this Sunday, a week before Christmas vacation, marked the beginning of the holiday season. The parlors were decorated with ornaments that each girl had made, and that would ultimately hang on the trees in each of the four dormitories. The girls were on their best behavior, all of them dressed up in their Sunday finery. Over the years, Molly had seen childless couples ecstatic with joy when they connected with that perfect child. But mostly, she wiped away the tears of the girls who had not been chosen, the ones who wanted desperately to belong to a real family. She couldn’t remember the number of times she had repeated the story of how she had never been picked, but how she had trusted in God to eventually help her find her own family. That story always helped the younger girls, at least for a while, but Molly was especially worried today about little Leanne LeDeaux. She seemed so fragile lately, and she might not be able to handle the rejection that could come by the end of the day. Thank goodness for Kate and Kathy. Those two will help her through it, Molly whispered to herself as she hurried down the front hallway to answer the doorbell.

Just as Molly feared, once again, Leanne was not picked. Before she left for the night, Molly sneaked her favorite girls into the kitchen and offered them an extra dessert. As she headed out the back door, she hugged each of them, Leanne a little tighter than the others. I’ll see you three in the morning, she promised, stepping over the threshold.

Not if we see you first, Kathy quipped, laughing at the joke she knew was one of Molly’s favorites. Gee, I crack myself up, she added, gently jabbing Leanne on the arm.

Come on, let’s get some milk, Kate suggested, herding her friends toward the double doors of one of the refrigerators after Molly left.

The three girls sat picking at their contraband pie, not really feeling like eating after all.

I don’t want to feel bad, but I think I do, just a little, Kate finally said, breaking the gloomy silence.

Yeah, me too, Kathy added, wrapping her arms around her two friends.

I tried to be so good …, Leanne began, but stopped short, choking back a sob.

Kate, ever the wise old sage, patted Leanne’s hand and pulled Kathy’s arm tighter around her own neck and sighed, As much as I would like, or I think I would like, a family of my own, I think it would be very hard leaving here.

I know what you mean. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you guys as best friends, Kathy said sincerely. Let’s go to bed now. We can talk under the covers.

After cleaning up their dishes, the three of them headed upstairs to their dormitory. At nine years old, they were close in age to over half the girls at Saint Elizabeth’s, but they usually spent most of their time in each other’s company.

Kathy had been there the longest, having been dropped off three days after she was born. She had short brown hair and hazel eyes. She was strong and athletic; healthy was what Molly always said when she described Kathy. She was quite smart, but didn’t much like school and studying. Kathy would much rather draw or listen to music and sing than learn fractions. Because she was so outgoing, she was popular at school. And her recent declaration of love for one of the boys in her fourth grade class had Sister T J counting the sleepless nights she saw in her future.

Kate had been left there, oddly enough, on New Year’s Day, when she was only a year old. The lady who had brought her there had promised to come back for her, but she never did. After a month of calling her sweet-pea or carrot top, Molly decided to give her a name. She christened her Katharine Mitchum, after her two favorite movie stars, Katharine Hepburn and Robert Mitchum. Kate was a very serious child growing up. From an early age, she developed a keen sense of self-reliance. She had always been obedient and rarely misbehaved. Kate was smart, excelling in her lessons, but her teachers, although they loved her dearly, feared that she might never reach her true potential because she was so reserved.

Leanne was found wandering the streets of the French Quarter when she was four years old. Her father had thrown her out into the yard before killing her mother in a jealous rage, then turning the gun on himself. A policeman and a social worker brought her to Saint Elizabeth’s a week later, when all efforts to locate any relatives were exhausted. Leanne was so frightened when she had first arrived that she would not speak. Sr. Theresa Joseph found it necessary to sleep with the child for nearly a month in order to gain her trust. Eventually, she became everyone’s favorite, in part because she was so beautiful, with long black hair, piercing black eyes, and pale porcelain skin, but mostly because she was so sweet. Leanne was painfully shy and easily hurt. She was the only member of their little group who actually had any memories of a family, but they were just that—faint, fading images of a life she had lost but had never stopped longing for.

Maybe I’m just too ugly for anyone to love me, Leanne sighed wearily as the girls settled themselves onto a cot on the sleeping porch.

Kathy and Kate looked at each other and then turned back to Leanne. Kate voiced what they were both thinking. "Don’t say that, and don’t even think it! You are so pretty, and even if you weren’t, you’re special. If those people didn’t see that you are beautiful and sweet, then they didn’t see anything."

Right, Kathy added. And if you can’t see how pretty you are, you might want to try opening your eyes when you look in the mirror! I heard one lady say you were Cajun exotic, whatever that means.

"Linda T’s brother Bobby said once that there are no Cajuns in New Orleans, only Creoles, so you must be Creole exotic," Kate announced with authority.

"Oh great, we don’t even know what ‘Cajun’ means. Now we have to find out what Creole means?" Kathy groaned.

I think it just means Leanne is pretty and special, like a doll with a china face, Kate ventured, hoping to make her friend feel better about herself.

Brrr, it’s freezing out here, Kathy announced, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. Wait, I know just what we need, she added, jumping up and disappearing through the French doors. She returned less than a minute later, wrapped head to toe in a dark green comforter, dotted all over with yellow flowers.

Doesn’t that belong to Mary Agnes? Kate asked warily.

"Snooty Agnes is on a sleepover with her snooty sixth-grade friends. She’ll never know we borrowed it," Kathy declared as she shared the cover with her cohorts.

This really is pretty, Leanne said softly.

Yea, I like these colors. I think it looks like …

Oh! I forgot to tell you, Kathy interrupted, nearly falling off the bed in her excitement. Mary Agnes thinks Louis Devereaux likes her, but he doesn’t.

How do you know he doesn’t like her? Kate asked.

Because he likes somebody else!

Who? Leanne and Kate asked in unison.

I can’t tell you. It’s a secret!

Oh come on, we won’t tell anybody, Kate begged.

Who would we tell … Mary Agnes? Leanne added with a giggle.

I’m not supposed to tell, but if you promise.

We promise.

Louis likes you, Kathy whispered, turning to face Leanne.

White-faced, but grinning widely, Leanne gasped. He doesn’t like me. He won’t even talk to me.

That’s because he’s really shy, Kathy explained. He said that he was too scared to ask you to eat lunch with him.

Oh gosh … what do I say if he asks me? Leanne groaned.

"Tell him you would really like for him to sit with you. But tell him you can’t marry him because if you do, your name will be Leanne LeDeaux Devereaux!" Kathy answered, breaking into a fit of laughter.

Before they could recover from their giggling jag, Sister T J opened the door to the porch. What in the world are you doing out here? It’s freezing! She admonished them for being foolish, all the while rounding them up off the cot and sending them inside to their beds.

Kate and Kathy followed Leanne, who was wrapped up tight in Mary Agnes’ pilfered comforter, and the three girls piled into one bed. Kate was precariously close to falling onto the floor, so she lay on her side with one arm wedged between the two mattresses and the other tightly wrapped, as far as it would reach, around her friends.

Sister T J stood over them with her arms folded in front of her, eyeing them closely. She waited only a moment before the girls began their nightly prayer.

Now we lay us down to sleep, we pray the Lord our souls to keep. If we should die before we wake, we pray the Lord our souls to take. Amen.

All right now, off to sleep with you, the nun whispered firmly as she made her way to the dormitory door. She stopped before leaving and took a deep breath. She turned her head back to face her charges and blew them a goodnight kiss.

Later as she lay quietly, next to the sleeping girls, Kate thought about Leanne and how much she wanted to be adopted. She felt tears well up in her eyes just thinking about how crushed her dear friend had been when the last of the families had left earlier. Kate was also sad for herself, because deep down, she felt the same rejection. She truly loved Saint Elizabeth’s and everyone there, but she had to admit to herself that she longed for a family of her own, just like Leanne did. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, willing the tears to stop. "This is my home—these people are my family," she whispered to herself before finally giving in to fatigue and closing her eyes.

Chapter 2

Leanne, wake up, it’s time to get up, Kate prodded, as she leaned down and tied the laces on her brown-and-white saddle oxfords. Standing back up, she pulled the blanket off her friend. Come on lazybones, we’ll miss breakfast if you don’t hurry.

Leanne moaned softly and pulled the cover back up to her chin. I don’t feel good. I don’t want to go to school today.

What’s wrong? Kate asked, instinctively placing a hand on the girl’s forehead. Do you have fevers?

No, I just don’t feel good. I have a tummy ache, Leanne suggested.

Satisfied that there was no fever, Kate folded Mary Agnes’ comforter up and returned it to the foot of the older girl’s bed; and then she tucked Leanne’s blanket tightly over her slight form. I have to go now. I’ll send Molly up here. I know she will make you all better by the time I get home from school, Kate declared, before she left the big room.

Bounding down the stairs, she ran into Sister T J, who was on her way up. Young ladies do not run, she reminded Kate.

Sorry Sister, but I wanted to tell Molly about Leanne.

What about Leanne?

She doesn’t feel good. I don’t think she has fevers, but maybe she does. I only used my hand to check, Kate explained.

You go on down and have your breakfast. I’ll check on your patient. As Kate started back down the stairs, Sister T J added, And don’t you disturb her when you come back up to brush your teeth.

I won’t, Kate promised before resuming her trek down the stairs.

Making her way through the dormitory, Sr. Theresa Joseph pulled a low chair up and sat down next to Leanne’s bed. She brushed wayward bangs off the child’s face while checking her forehead for fever.

You do feel a little hot … does it hurt anywhere?

My tummy.

Did you throw up, or do you feel like you might?

No ma’am.

Could it be that you just feel bad because of what happened yesterday, or could it be Molly’s pie? Sister T J winked conspiratorially.

Oh no Sister, it wasn’t the pie, Leanne quickly explained, her lip beginning to quiver. Then before she could stop herself, she bolted upright and threw her arms around the nun and sobbed, I … want my mama! I’m sorry, Sister … I love you … but I want my mama!

That’s all right, let it all out. You go ahead and cry. I know you love me and all the sisters and the girls. We love you too. You just go ahead and cry.

At that moment, Sister T J caught a glimpse of Kate standing in the doorway. She silently motioned her away with a quick wave of one hand. Turning her full attention back to the child in her arms, she patted her back gently and hummed softly in her ear.

Finally, when all the tears were spent, Leanne pulled herself away and got up to go to the bathroom.

Don’t forget your slippers. The floor is cold.

I won’t.

Did you wash your face? Sister asked when the girl returned minutes later.

Yes ma’am.

Lie back down and rest a while. I’ll go to the kitchen and get you some toast and maybe a glass of Sprite.

Before she stood up to go, she leaned over and stroked the girl’s cheek.

Leanne, I wish I could say something that would make everything better for you, but I can’t. You know that your mother is in heaven, looking down on you and watching over you. You just have to be strong and do your best to make her proud. You are such a good girl, and we all love you so much. We hate to see you sad. You shouldn’t let it hurt you because those people didn’t pick you yesterday.

But I tried to be so good so someone would like me, Leanne whimpered softly.

"Sweetheart, it is not you. Most people want babies, but if they decide to adopt an older child, they always have an idea of how old a child they want, or whether it will be a boy or a girl, and even the color hair they prefer. We just haven’t connected with the perfect couple that we feel is good enough for our perfect angel."

I’m not perfect, Sister, Leanne mumbled, before admitting, I forgot to brush my teeth last night.

Taking the girl in her arms and hugging her gently, Sister T J laughed out loud.

"No, not perfect, but you are our little angel."

I love you, Sister T J, Leanne pronounced as she lay her head back down on the pillow.

"I love you too, little angel," Sr. Theresa Joseph answered, blowing Leanne a kiss.

I love you too, Sister T J, Kate whispered as the nun closed the door to the dormitory.

You heard?

Yes ma’am. I just went down and got my lunch bag and came back upstairs, but I didn’t go away like you wanted me to. I just listened. I’m sorry. I know I was bad.

Come here Kate. Sister T J pulled the child close. It sure seems like I’m doing more hugging than healing today.

Hugs can heal too, Sister. Kate was often wise beyond her years.

Now young lady, let’s go down to the office so I can write you a note … You realize you are very late for school.

Kate looked stricken but realized quickly that if she had a note, it would be okay. She followed the nun downstairs and watched as she put pen to paper.

Here’s one for you and one for Leanne. I trust you will give these to Sister Beata as soon as you get to school.

Oh yes Sister, I will, Kate answered, proud to know that Sr. Theresa Joseph trusted her to deliver the notes to the principal.

Kate saw the sign on the door as soon as she stepped through the courtyard gate, after school. Sister T J had gotten Kathy to draw a sign showing a happy face with a shushing finger pressed against its smiling lips as a notice to all the girls to keep the noise and commotion down. It usually meant that someone was sick.

It’s Leanne, Kate said as she and Kathy made their way up the stairs to their dormitory. With her hand on the doorknob, Kate turned and looked at her friend. The house is so quiet, she whispered before opening the door.

Leanne was not in her bed.

She must be in the infirmary, Kathy said, after she checked the bathroom and found it empty.

No girls, Leanne is not here.

Startled by the voice, Kate and Kathy turned around to find Sr. Mary Louise standing behind them. Neither girl had even heard her come into the cavernous room.

Where is she? Kathy asked.

Come here and sit down girls, Sr. Mary Louise suggested, ushering her young charges to a circle of low chairs in one corner of the room.

What’s wrong, Sister? Kate asked, noting the nervous way the nun was wringing her hands together.

Leanne has … well … she was very sick … and our dear Lord has called her home to heaven.

No! Kathy shrieked and jumped straight up out of her chair.

I’m afraid it’s true, Sr. Mary Louise said, reaching out and wrapping the child in her embrace.

What happened? Kate asked.

The doctor is not sure yet what happened. He will have to do … some tests to find out.

But what happened? Kate insisted.

Sweetheart, you know that she didn’t feel good this morning. Well, not long after you left for school, she … got worse. Sister T J and Molly had to take her to the hospital.

Is she still at the hospital? Kate pressed.

Sweetheart, I don’t think you understand … Leanne is—

Dead … I understand, Kate interrupted. Will they bring her back here? Or will we have to go to the hospital to see her?

Sister Mary Louise tried to take Kate’s hand, but she held her arms straight down by her sides while she silently waited for an answer.

After the … tests are done … the funeral home will pick up Leanne’s … will pick her up.

When … will we get to … see her? Kate demanded, her breath now coming in short blasts.

Later tonight, I should think, the nun answered finally, still hugging Kathy to her bosom.

Kate slowly turned away and walked over to her friend’s bed. She reached out one hand and gingerly touched a bedpost. She pulled the blanket and both sheets off and dropped them on the floor. Sr. Mary Louise made a move to stop her, but decided against it and left Kate to her chore. Instead, she got to her feet, pulled a handkerchief out of her deep pocket, and wiped the tears off Kathy’s face.

Kathy slowly joined Kate, and the two girls silently made up Leanne’s bed. When they were done, they carried the discarded linens downstairs to the laundry room.

What do you think happened? Kathy asked much later as the two girls sat on the edge of the folding table, listening to the incessant drone of the washing machine.

I shouldn’t have left her alone, was all Kate said in reply.

You didn’t leave her alone. Sister T J and Molly were here to take care of her.

I know, but I should have stayed.

Even if you wanted to, Sister T J wouldn’t let you, Kathy pleaded, knowing that Kate was feeling responsible for what had happened and no words would help convince her otherwise.

After a few more minutes passed, the washing machine spun to a noisy halt. Kate slid off the table and opened the lid while Kathy rolled the makeshift laundry basket close. The two girls sat cross-legged on the floor and watched the round door in front of them, as the white sheets tumbled erratically in the dryer.

We shouldn’t have gone outside last night … It was too cold, Kathy finally whispered, feeling the weight of the silence when the machine finally stopped.

Leanne led the way. We just followed her because she was so sad. And besides, you got us a cover.

"You took my comforter without asking! I knew it!" Mary Agnes Lautier shouted, startling Kate and Kathy out of their lethargy.

We just used it for a few minutes, Kathy explained.

I can’t believe you just took it, Mary Agnes growled. Then she added, A dead girl touched my new comforter. Now I’ll just have to throw it away.

Slowly rising to her feet, Kate faced the bigger girl.

"I’ll buy you a new cover, Mary Agnes, but I swear, I’ll rip it to shreds while you’re sleeping under it if you ever say another word about Leanne," she promised, gritting her teeth and keeping her voice just above a whisper.

You can’t talk to me like that, Kate Mitchum, the girl bellowed, raising a hand and slapping Kate across the face.

Kate stood rooted to the spot, but Kathy jumped to her feet.

Before she could lunge at Mary Agnes, Sister T J stopped her in her tracks.

Kathleen Elizabeth Jones … we’ll have none of that, the woman said sternly as she slowly made her way into the basement room.

Yes Sister, Kathy said more to the floor than to the nun.

Mary Agnes, get those sheets out of the dryer and put them away, Sister T J said slowly.

We’ll do it, Sister, Kate said, removing the still-warm linens from the machine.

I think Mary Agnes would like to do it.

No Sister, Kathy and I will do it, Kate insisted.

Sister T J watched silently as the girls folded the sheets, a thick blanket, and one single pillowcase. After they left the room she turned her attention to Mary Agnes. That was an awful thing that you said and did, young lady.

I’m sorry, Sister, but they are always taking things that don’t belong to them. And they always get away with everything. It’s just not right!

"Right? You think it’s right to keep all of your possessions to yourself just because you are too selfish to share them? You think it’s right to slap another human being in anger?"

But, Sister, she made me hit her … She shouldn’t have talked to me like … .

Stop! Not another word! Sr. Theresa Joseph cut her off before she could dig a deeper hole. "Go to the kitchen and help Molly with whatever chores she might have for you, and while you are working, you will think about what you said and what you did today. I will decide on an appropriate punishment later."

But Sister, Mary Agnes protested.

"But Sister what?"

Nothing, the girl whispered.

Good. Now go.

Watching the girl’s back as she left the room, Sr. Theresa Joseph shook her head wearily. That one is so selfish, she thought to herself. I suppose it’s my fault … I couldn’t help loving Leanne a little bit more than the others, she admitted to herself, as the first bitter tears of the day stained her cheeks.

The ordeal at the hospital today had given Sister T J plenty of time to think, and she realized, with no small measure of regret, that most of her cherished memories were connected to Leanne. There had been something so special about her from the day she had arrived at Saint Elizabeth’s. No one had been able to resist her quiet charm. Kate and Kathy had attached themselves to her from day one, and they had been inseparable since then. Those three were sisters in every way that mattered. They were a constant source of pride and delight, and with that thought, Sister T J had realized that in loving them as she had, she surely must have treated them differently from the other girls.

Now, as she stood alone in the basement laundry room, she knew that she would go easy on Mary Agnes Lautier when choosing her punishment because of the guilt she herself felt. Sr. Theresa Joseph Licata vowed to try to make it up to all the girls she may have inadvertently slighted in favor of those who were closest to her heart. She quickly dried her eyes and walked wearily out the door to see to the needs of a house full of grieving girls.

Chapter 3

I hate geometry! Kathy proclaimed, to anyone within earshot in the library.

You missed out on Sister Helen in fifth grade. That’s why you’re having so much trouble, Kate explained for the hundredth time since sixth grade.

"I missed out on math