Dante stared at the toothless boy who was shamelessly breastfeeding from the wet nurse.A lump formed in the back of Dante’s throat.Now he knew why Lysa, despite close to 60 years being treated this way, had never tried to escape.This place might not be Hell, but it was looking close enough the more Dante learned.For all it pretended to be a daycare center, Limbo still couldn’t change the fact that it was a prison for lost souls.
“Thanks for showing me that,” Dante said to Lysa, as the stroller started moving again.Midori had settled down after her brief, Lysa-trained tantrum.“These guys don’t mess around,” he added.
“Don’t worry about it,”Lysa responded, “I benefit just as much as you do.”Dante’s eyebrow cocked.
“What?” Lysa asked casually, as though Dante were asking a stupid question.”You think I’m trying to help you just out of the kindness of my heart?I’m a survivor, kid, not a savior.Dori cracked and went full baby years ago.Now she makes a good pet, but she’s a lousy conversationalist.If I don’t have an intelligent conversation every once in a while,I’ll go full baby too.”Dante’s feelings should have been hurt by this confession, but they weren’t.If anything, it made him like Lysa more.Greed and self-preservation were emotions that a man could trust.Ideals and sentimentality made someone unpredictable.
The ruthless, reptile part of Dante’s brain definitely liked Lysa.She was aggressive and obnoxious, but knowledgeable, and ruthless in her own way as well.She knew when to recognize emotions, and when to disregard them and go with logic.
It’s a shame she had ended up here, really.If she had gone to college like she had intended, she could have had a very productive life.Once Dante got the swing of things around here, this could turn into a beautiful and mutually beneficial friendship.The fact that Lysa was being so brutally honest about her reasons only cemented the partnership in Dante’s eyes.
“The Judy’s are getting better and better at their jobs every year.” the girl went on as the Newborn Room doors whirred open and the big babies were wheeled back into the main nursery, “and because of that I’m getting fewer and fewer people to shoot the poop with every year.”
“So if you train my mind up,” Dante finished her thought, “we can keep close by and keep each other from ending up like Dori.”Midori had heard her name and started babbling nonsensically from the Judy’s back.Dante called back, “Love you too, Dori!”The babbling quieted.
“Exactly,” Lysa said, a small show of pride on her face.“You know, Dante, you’re pretty smart….when you’re not crying like a wimp or throwing a complete temper tantrum.” she giggled.She balled her hands into fists and placed them on her cheeks.She started rotating her fists to make the classic “cry baby” pose “Wah wah. I’m dead.Wah!Why didn’t they draw on my face?”Even Dante had to laugh at himself, remembering that performance earlier this morning.
“Oh yeah?” Dante said good naturedly, “You’re pretty good at getting sophisticated, and thoughtful, and deep….until you wet yourself.”
Lysa laughed, nodding her head.“Yeah, that’s the problem with getting philosophical around here: the more you talk, the better chance you have of peeing your pants right in the middle of it, and ruining the whole mood.”
“Then it’s a good thing neither of us are wearing pants, isn’t it?” he grinned.Lysa burst out into a full hysterical cackle.If she hadn’t been buckled in so tightly, she would have definitely been doubled over in laughter.
“Good one,” she said once she had regained enough composure to talk.She stuck her hand out for a high-five and Dante obliged her.
“So,” Dante asked.“How’d you and your sister end up here, on the same day no less?”
“Huh?” Lysa said, caught off guard. “Oh right, that.I figured you were gonna ask that.I’d rather not talk about it right now.”She looked away to avoid Dante’s gaze.
“Come on,” Dante gently nudged, “I’ll tell you my death, if you tell me yours.”
“You,” Lysa said pointedly, still not looking at Dante, “probably died acting like a party animal and a hot dogafter drinking too much.”Damn.She had him in there.“Probably at some stupid early birthday party to celebrate your ‘man hood’”, she added.Ouch. This was the problem of having emotional breakdowns and ranting in front of smart girls.Against the better part of his valor, Dante still tingled with curiosity.Time for another tactic.
“Oh come on, Lysa,” he persisted.”It’s not like you murdered your little sister.”Lysa’s head whipped around and looked him dead in the eye.
“Her name is Caroline,” she spat, “and I did not murder her.”
“Well, what else am I to think with you doing the whole silent and guilty thing?” Dante asked, trying to sound innocent and failing miserably.“I mean, if you tell me the truth, there’s no way I’d think that you were responsible for Caroline’s death.”
“You want the truth?!” Lysa hissed.”Fine.”She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them.
“My father wasn’t what you would call a good man,” she began.“He drank and had a temper.Even when he was sober he had a temper, but especially when he drank.He used to beat my mother all the time.I was lucky to get even one baby sister, from all the miscarriages he caused.But the cops never looked into it.Damn sons of bitches” she cursed.Dante felt horrible and it must have shown.Lysa’s face softened, as did her tone.
“It was a different time,” Lysa said in explanation.As if that could explain it.”Anyway, soon after Caroline was born, he came home VERY drunk one night.More drunk than usual.When I woke up, he was shouting at my mother.Caroline was crying her head off. Something about the new baby ruining everything.
“Then,” she kept talking, “I heard my mother screaming; telling him to let the baby go.To stop shaking the baby.”The lump in Dante’s throat reformed.He had a sinking feeling about what was coming next.But he let her continue.He had asked for this after all.
“My mom’s screaming only got louder when the baby stopped.Dad decided to try and shut her up, so he started swinging on her too.Then she got real quiet.”, Lysa whispered.“I ran and took his hunting rifle fromthe fireplace mantle.Then I went and splattered his brains all over the silly clown wallpaper.” she shuddered.
“I had wanted to go to college, mostly so I could get out of that place.But after that, I knew there was no going to college.So I ran upstairs, took out his shaving razor,” Lysa took two fingers andraked them across her wrist, “and ended it the only way I could bear.”Through all this, Lysa didn’t even shed one single tear.Only the slightest tremble in her voice gave hint at any emotion resembling sadness.Poor girl had gone numb from the ages.
“Happy?”Lysa asked.
“No.” Dante answered.
“Good.”, she said.
“Man, that’s messed up,” Dante exclaimed.
“Yeah, it is.”Lysa confirmed.They rolled on through twists in turns in silence for a few moments. “Oh look,” she said, her tone brightening as the grayish blue carpet gave way to checkered linoleum.“Lunchtime!”
They came upon what looked like a kitchen set-up.A white refrigerator sat in the corner.In the middle of the floor, about a dozen high chairs- most of themalready occupied with babies of various ages- sat in a semicircle.Three more Judy’s: A ginger in a green dress, a tow-headed Judy in jeans and a white t-shirt with colorful handprints on it, and dark haired one in a cardigan sweater- had already begun spoon feeding their kids.
Dante hadn’t spotted this area yet either, but considering there were bottomless trashcans and magical supply cabinets, he supposed it was possible for the floors and play areas to change as they needed.This might have been like a giant “Room of Requirement” geared specifically for big babies.
“Sorry, we’re late gang,” the Judy in the scrubs said. “We just got done with a visit to Caroline.”The other Judy’s just nodded and said the equivalent of “don’t worry about it.” as their Judy walked over to three empty highchairs and began detaching the holding trays.They were the modern style high chairs, the kind designed to cradle the occupant as they were being spoon fed.