Gabby took the old woman’s hands in both of hers. Towels and all.
“I know you will, Jean,” she said. “You always do.”
I stood in the doorway. I didn’t move.
Behind me, I felt Mark go very still.
Jean looked up past Gabby. She saw me standing there.
She frowned.
“Who’s that?”
Gabby glanced over her shoulder at me. Then back at Jean.
“That’s a friend,” she said. “She’s going to help.”
Jean looked at me for a long time. Her eyes were cloudy. Searching.
Then she smiled.
“Good,” she said. “We need all the help we can get. Babies don’t care about tornadoes.” She patted the towels in her lap. “They come when they come.”
Elmer stood by the shelves. He didn’t say anything. He just watched his wife.
Ezoic
His face was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.
Gabby talked to Jean for twenty minutes. Kneeling on the concrete. Holding her hands.
