me when the babies had last eaten and how many wet diapers they’d had.
I told her everything I could remember.
She listened carefully and wrote it down.
Then she looked toward her partner.
‘We’re taking both infants in for evaluation.’
I immediately gripped Leo tighter.
‘Can I come?’
‘We’ll make sure you’re cared for too,’ she promised.
I looked at Valerie, expecting her to argue.
Instead, she folded her arms and announced that I had exaggerated the babies’ symptoms for attention.
The paramedic didn’t respond to the accusation.
She continued preparing Leo for transport.
Then Nadia removed a sealed envelope from the back of her folder.
‘There’s another issue,’ she said to Grant.
‘Your temporary guardianship application included a statement that the person nominated by the children’s parents had declined to care for them.’
Grant looked suddenly ill.
‘What’s that got to do with anything?’
‘It has everything to do with why these children ended up here.’
The rear passenger door of the SUV opened.
An older woman stepped out carrying a faded blue bag embroidered with a little yellow duck.
I recognized it instantly.
My mother had made that bag for her aunt Ruth, stitching the duck herself because Ruth had loved them since childhood.
I hadn’t seen Ruth since the funeral.
Valerie had told me she didn’t want to take on three children and had moved away.
But there she was, standing beside the curb.
The moment she saw us, she stopped.
‘June?’
I stared at her.
‘Auntie Ruth?’
She hurried toward me, then slowed as the paramedics worked around the babies.
Her eyes filled with tears.
‘I’ve been looking for you.’
I didn’t understand.
‘But Aunt Valerie said you didn’t want us.’
Ruth turned toward my aunt.
‘You told these children I abandoned them?’
Valerie looked away.
Nadia took out the letter from the guardianship application.
It was supposedly signed by Ruth Bennett, declining placement because of her age and financial circumstances.
But Ruth had never written it.
‘I’ve been a licensed foster caregiver for twelve years,’ Ruth said.
‘I submitted my willingness to take all three children immediately after the funeral.’
She looked at Nadia.
‘Tell them about the signature.’
Grant suddenly reached toward the folder.
Nadia stepped back.
‘Do not touch that.’
His attempt to grab the letter was so abrupt that Mr.
Okafor moved between him and the children.
‘Back away,’ the old man said.
Grant glared at him but stopped.
I watched the scene from the ambulance doorway, where a paramedic had settled me on a seat with a bottle of water.
For the first time, I understood that the adults who had controlled every part of my life were frightened of a piece of paper.
At the hospital, the doctors confirmed that Leo had a respiratory infection and was showing signs of dehydration.
Miles was also mildly dehydrated and needed careful feeding and observation.
Both babies received medical treatment.
The doctors expected them to recover, but they wanted them monitored because of their age and the circumstances.
A nurse examined my feet and found superficial burns from the hot porch boards.
She asked if I had eaten lunch.
I told her I’d had half a piece of toast that morning.
She brought me a sandwich, some fruit, and a carton of
