"It's been four months, Ava!"
Ava trembled violently. " Give them a little more time. They might be searching for her".
Molly cocked her brow. " Searching for who? Didn't you hear? She said her family was dead and if they aren't, they don't want her".
"So what? You're just gonna throw her out into the street? She's just a child!"
" Oh come on now Ava. I'm not heartless. I've made arrangements for her to be transferred to a group home in Aurora Heights".
Ava froze. That was downtown, an hour drive from the hospital. "Molly, why're you just telling me this now?"
"Because I didn't need you to do anything".
" And now?! Now you need me to do something for you?"
" Ava don't raise your voice at me. I'm still the head nurse".
" Yeah right",Ava scoffed, "Head nurse but you despise a lil girl for being selectively attached".
" This", Molly interjected, " isn't about her melodramatics that almost cost me my job". Molly said that with so much anger that it made Ava really wonder how petty Molly O'Brien could be.
"So what is it about", Ava asked with a canted hip and hands akimbo.
"Azalea has overstayed. She's well recovered. She has to be discharged. And that's why she's gonna be transferred to a group home".
" How do I come in? Cause none of this has my name on it".
" You are gonna tell Azalea that the caregiver, Lisa West is coming to get her in a week".
Ava recoiled as if she'd been stunned by a taser.
A week?
"I've got the management backing me up on this one baby,so if you resist, you can kiss your job goodbye. You can get back to work now".
She walked outta Molly's office with her hand on her chest. She could feel the walls closing in and it was so difficult to breathe. She felt something warm on her cheeks. She touched it. She was crying. Ava wished at that moment to be able to adopt Azalea,but money and time were very difficult for her.
She let the tears fall for a few minutes as she figured out how she was gonna break the news to Azalea. Then she wiped her tears and marched to Ped-304.
****
"Why would Molly do this?" Henrietta wailed.
She stared hard at the wall, not allowing Henrietta's sobs get to her.
Henrietta got off her bed and entered hers. "Tell me you won't go please. I need you. After Alex, you're another reason to live. I wanna be able to play with you. I wanna teach you how to braid hair and cook and sew and dance and…"
" Henrietta", her voice was raspy with emotion, " You're rambling".
"I'm sorry, but you can't go".
"I don't have a choice. Molly's right,I am fully recovered. I should be discharged. And if I stay, Ava's gonna lose her job. I can't do that".
" Then you can come live with me. Daddy will be very happy to adopt you. He's always wished for me to have someone my age while I was going through chemo".
" Henrietta", she tried to stop her friend from going on and on, " No Henrietta!"
Henrietta quietened and stared into her eyes.
"I can't inconvenience your family like that".
" I need you Alea. You're my friend. I'll do whatever it takes to convince my dad".
She stared into the eyes of the strawberry blonde swimming with pure sincerity and innocence. She smiled. "Thank you Emille". That was the first time she ever called her friend by her middle name.
"Anything for you Alea".
She smiled. She knew that Henrietta was being sincere, but she knew that it was fruitless.
****
Wednesday
Henrietta welcomed her into the room with a deadly contagious excitement. "Daddy said yes!".
Her brows flew up. "Are you serious? Your dad's gonna adopt me?"
" Yeah. He said it's gonna cost him a steep sum, both in money and time,but he said he's gonna get all the necessary processes done before next week".
She smiled so wide and squeezed her friend's frail body.
"Ow Alea, a little more gently". She sniffled.
"I'm sorry. I'm just so excited. Thank you so much".
" Ahhh", Henrietta said bashfully, " it's what friends are for".
She smiled gratefully at Henrietta and enveloped her in another warm hug.
****
"Nigel are you crazy?!"
"Argh, what is your problem Astrid?"
" Don't gimme that crap. How can you actually adopt that girl?"
" I don't see what's wrong with her. She's pretty with her ash blonde hair, green eyes and rosy lips and cheeks".
" How d'you know all this?"
" Well unlike some people, I visit my sick daughter in the hospital".
Astrid Salvatore rolled her eyes. " You know,I really can't believe that after all your experiences, you're still gonna repeat your actions".
" Getting duped by Terrence has nothing to do with this".
" Oh but it does", Astrid Salvatore laughed. "You see, that little girl might just be like Terrence. Cute kids, you think until they commit heinous crimes".
" Astrid she's just a child, with no memory of her past".
" And can't you see that's the first red flag? This girl could be a hardened criminal, and luck ran out on her side. She had an accident, forgot about her shady life and tries to fool people. But one question I keep asking myself is, if she's so cute, then why is it she was abandoned by her family?"
Nigel kept mum.
" Nigel open your eyes to the reality of the country we live in. Valleterra isn't safe, worse still, people in Kyrios are horrible monsters. Looks can be deceptive".
" Henrietta still needs a friend".
" Henrietta's still a child, she'll most definitely make new friends. Do what's right for your family Nigel". And with that, she strutted off.
Nigel sighed and picked up the phone. "Henrietta darling, I'm sorry".
****
I'm sorry.
She replayed the words over and over, first in Henrietta's dad's voice and then Henrietta's.
She wasn't disappointed. And that was because she wasn't expecting any positive response. She laughed to herself, blotting out Henrietta's consolatory rambles. She was right. No one wanted her.