Unwed 💍

Chapter Thirty-Two: Baby Mine

Baby mine, don't you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Lay your head next to my heart, never to part, baby of mine.

Ten years ago, Izzy was sitting in the theatre with her mother, tears streaming down her face as she watched the Disney cartoon, Dumbo, on the big screen. In front of her, Dumbo was being taken from his mother by the circus men after she'd gone mad trying to protect him. Izzy sat, her legs swinging in the big velvet theatre chair, clinging to her mother's arm as Dumbo's mother extended her trunk through the bars of her cage and cradled her elephant baby, rocking him back and forth.

She was seven years old at the time, and the thought of anyone taking her away from her mother was terrifying. Her mother meant everything to her as a child. Their bond was so close—she was her whole life. She supposed every little girl felt that way about their mother at one point in their life.

It wasn't until she hit her teens that she'd started to feel their bond slipping away. As hard as she tried, she couldn't pinpoint what caused it to begin to fade. She'd been so wrapped up in her own world, her friends—and Donny, that she didn't realize it was gone. It wasn't until that dreadful day at the train station when her mother looked straight through her—stone cold—as she stepped onto the train platform that she realized. She'd become the lost little elephant, abandoned by his mother.

But, despite it all, she still loved and missed her dearly. She could only hope that she regretted sending her away, and would be happy to see her come back home. She couldn't imagine living without her.

How would it feel to grow up not knowing your mother at all?

The baby just a few doors down crept, unwanted into her head just as the door flung open and Mara rushed in. "Izzy, where's Gloria? She didn't show at the dining hall this morning. I just checked her room. Her roommates say she's been missing since last night."

Gloria. Izzy almost forgot. So much had happened the day before. "She left."

"Left? As in, ran away? How long have you known this? And why didn't you tell me?"

Izzy squirmed under her gaze. "She'd already left by the time you returned. I was in labor, there was so much going on," she said, rather pitifully.

Mara huffed, running her hands through her hair. "She talked to you first, I take it? Where did she go?"

Izzy thought back to their conversation, a jolt of anxiety flowing through her. "She said she was going to California," she whispered.

"California? What in heaven's name? Just how did she plan on making it to California? How did she plan on making it off the island?"

Izzy swallowed, feeling guilty. What if something happened to Gloria? "I don't know."

"Gosh Izzy," Mara said, her voice lowering. "Why didn't you tell me? Things are heated up enough around here with Dottie's drowning. Now this."

She plopped into the chair next to her, her head in her hands, muffling her voice. "Damn you, Gloria. You stubborn, stubborn girl!" She let out a heavy sigh. "This is it. Both of them were under my care. I'm sure to lose my employment now. I need to let the others know that Gloria's run away, we need to find her." She stood.

Izzy's heart jumped at the thought of Mara leaving. "No. No, it's not your fault. I'll tell them it wasn't your fault."

"I appreciate your concern Izzy, but we both know your word isn't worth two cents around here," said Mara, halfway towards the door. She paused to cast her an apologetic glance. "Oh Izzy, I'm sorry. Things are tense upstairs. Dottie's parents were called yesterday night. Within an hour, the police were gone and the reporter was told the missing girl had been found. It's all being covered up."