Dante didn’t bother to look at Lysa. He braced himself for a cacophony of “What did I just tell you NOT to do’s?” from Lysa. She would be unsympathetic. She’d survived this treatment for decades. It hadn’t yet been half a day, and Dante was sure he was already half way to breaking completely.
“You okay, Dante?” she asked? You okay, Dante?! Was this a setup?
“Yeah, sorry I freaked out.” he replied. Here it came.
“It’s alright.” she said. “Happens to all of us sometimes. It’s just that, usually, it’s not till couple days in this place that the initial grief sets in.” She said “us”. Maybe super-shrew was a real person after all. Maybe she was worth confiding in outside of pumping for information.
“Yeah…sorry,” Dante sniffed. “I kind of had a breakdown, there didn’t I?” Lysa was kind enough right then not to agree. He took a deep breath. “When they brought me here, I heard them say that if I was one minute later, I wouldn’t be allowed in here.”
Lysa clapped her hand over mouth. Her eyes widened with recognition. “Oh my” she sputtered, “you mean…?” Dante could only nod. He was already all cried out. Lysa crawled over and hoisted her self onto her knees. She held her arms open, inviting him for a hug. Despite his ego, he shuffled toward her and accepted it.
She squeezed him, tightly. He squeezed her right back. No back rubbing, nose wiping, bouncing, cooing, or cuddling. This is what a hug should be like: Two people just holding each other, equals if only for the moment. The moment didn’t last though. A third set of arms joined the hug, and Dante found himself on the receiving in of another sloppy drool covered kiss. The Judy looked on from outside the playpen, having already placed Midori back inside. The angel just stood there, mesmerized by the cuteness of three children playing nicely together in a big group cuddle.
“Love you too, Dori,” Lysa said, sounding only slightly exasperated. “Now go play.” Midori complied.
“Thank you.” Dante whispered, still embracing Lysa.
“Welcome,” she whispered back. They released and looked at each other for what seemed like a while. Remembering the conversation that the two Judy’s had had rocked him to his very core. Why would they even tell him that? Why would they even bother to say that in front of him?
The wheels in Dante’s head started turning. His eyes glazed over as he searched inward. The Judy’s treated everyone here like babies, no matter what. That meant talking over them like they didn’t understand what was being said.
BEEN HERE SINCE 11:59 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME.
IT’S THE 18TH NO NEW ARRIVALS TILL NEXT YEAR.
ANOTHER NURSERY.
Doors labeled 0101A, 0102A, all the way down to 1017AB and beyond.
Eureka!
