Unwed 💍

Chapter 15: A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

A hard knock jolted Izzy from her sleep. The dormitory door flew open, causing the windows to rattle hollowly. "Get up and get dressed," Sister Mary Helen commanded. "You are all getting seen by the doctor this morning."

Without any further explanation she slammed the door closed. Barely conscious, Izzy groaned and turned on her back, trying to comprehend the nun's words through the fogginess of her mind. On the other side of the room, Gloria cursed, flinging her blanket aside as she as she struggled out of bed. Her hair fell over her face in tangles. "What on earth do we need to be seen for this early in the morning!"

Izzy pulled her legs around the edge of the bed. The doctor. Her thoughts turned to Dottie. The little girl was already up, dutifully making her bed. Her movements were stiff as she pulled the blankets taunt and folded them over. Izzy knew she had to be terrified after the nun's announcement.

As the edges of sleep disappeared from her mind, Izzy thought of the nurse they'd met the night before. A sudden thought occurred to her, quickening the pace of her heart. What if she'd told the sisters that they'd snuck downstairs to visit Rita? Was that what this was all about?

"Ugh," hissed Gloria, distracting Izzy's thoughts. "What I wouldn't give for a mirror." She stood peering at her faint reflection in the window. Her slender hands arranged her blonde curls around her face, her lips coming together in a pout.

Mirrors represented vanity and were not allowed in the home. It was one rule that Izzy didn't mind. She was afraid to see the person she'd become on the other side of the mirror. If her outward appearance had changed as much as she had on the inside, she'd rather remember herself the way she used to be.

The sound of footsteps and hushed whispers echoed in the hall outside, and Izzy suddenly realized that Sister Mary Helen had meant that all of the girls would be seen by the doctor that morning. After some coaxing, Izzy was able to convince Dottie to go with her to the bathroom and change. Shortly after, they found themselves lined up with Gloria and the other girls, waiting to see the doctor.

No one seemed to know what was going on. The scheduled day for the doctor wasn't for a couple of weeks. Izzy watched with wide eyes as an older girl who'd been coughing fitfully into a handkerchief was moved out of the line by a young nurse with a mask covering her mouth.

The nurse from the night before rounded the corner, a notepad and pen in her hand. Izzy hadn't realized how pretty she was. Her cheeks were rosy and full of life, her figure accented by her white, knee length dress. Her slender legs moved purposefully down the hall towards the line of girls. With a tilt of her auburn curls, she began asking the girls behind her questions,one by one. "Been coughing?...Sweating at night?... Lost weight?" Her painted fingers gripped the pen, checking their answers on the pad.

"Well, hello again," she said as she came to Izzy, giving her a conspiratorial smile.

"Please, can you tell us what's going on?" Izzy asked, leaning in closer. "Why are we all seeing the doctor?"

"A recent arrival was found to have tuberculosis." The nurse frowned when she saw the look of confusion in Izzy's eyes. "Perhaps you know it by the name consumption?"

"Oh." Izzy stepped back, placing a hand over her mouth. Consumption. Her mother's brother had come down with consumption when her mother was her age. He'd been taken away and her mother had never seen him again. Suddenly feeling weak, she took a deep breath, testing her lungs.

"Have you had a cough?"

"No, ma'am." Izzy said.

"Have you been sweating at night?"