The Back Building by Julie Dewey Read Free Book Online

looking up from his pad of paper.
    “I like to take walks. I like the fresh air. I like to be with my family’s horses, and also the chickens. I like to hunt, and my family thinks that is improper.” I crossed my arms in my lap and held them close.
    “Tell me about the chickens, are they your responsibility then?”
    “Well, I collect their eggs. Did you know the color of the hen’s ears dictates the color of her eggs?”
    “I didn’t know that, that is interesting,” he said seeming genuinely impressed by my knowledge of the bird.
    “I like to be outside so I take a long time collecting eggs. I sit in the coop and tell the birds stories and I sing to them sometimes too.”
    “So, would you consider the chickens to be your pets?”
    “Sort of, I guess, yes.”
    “It says here you pluck their feathers and that you strangled one? Tell me about that.” He pushed his glasses up further on his nose and looked directly at me. His eyes penetrated right through me, making me uncomfortable.
    I looked down at my white knuckles. “Well, it was Hetty’s job, but Hetty doesn’t like blood. I told her I would do it for her. One time she had to wrangle a chicken and pluck it, she really didn’t like the work at all. I don’t mind the task so I did it for her.”
    “You don’t mind even though they are your friends, or pets, rather?”
    This felt like a trick question. “Well, Sir, Hetty is my friend, too. Either way the chicken in question was going to be served for dinner that night, so I just offered to save Hetty the trouble.”
    “I understand. Tell me about Hetty then. What is she like?”
    “Hetty is funny. She tells me some good jokes that make me laugh.”
    “Where did you meet? How did you meet?”
    “She works for us two days a week, she does all the hard chores like scrubbing floors and the baseboards as well as the tub and toilet. She does the laundry too. Her hands are always cracking and bleeding from her calluses.”
    “If I understand correctly, your parents employ her to work. How did the two of you become friends when she is so busy working?”
    Another trick. “Well, my mother wanted me to shadow Hetty because she is such a good worker. She always gets the rings out of the tub and the floors shine when she is done with them. The laundry smells good and fresh and is always properly pressed.”
    “I wish I had someone like Hetty!” He laughed.
    “Yes, she is really nice to me too.”
    “How so?”
    “Well, she has patience with me. She never yells at me when I scorch a shirt or dump a pail of water by accident. She just tells me to learn from it and do better next time.”
    “She sounds very wise. How old is Hetty?”
    “Hetty is a few years older than me.” I liked talking about Hetty, but it made me sad too because I missed her something fierce. A tear welled up in the corner of my eyes and threatened to spill down my cheek.
    “You look sad. What’s wrong, Iona?” he asked with true empathy.
    “I just miss Hetty. I want to go home,” I admitted.
    “I know you do. What would you do differently if you went home?” There it was, the question I had been waiting for.
    “Well, I would listen to my parents and become a proper young lady. I would cook and sew and do whatever else they wanted. I would mind them better,” I said.
    “I understand you have a new baby coming into the folds of the family soon?”
    “Yes, and I want to be there to meet him.”
    “Him?”
    “Or her, but I think it’s a boy. My mother mostly has boys.”
    “I see.”
    The doctor closed his pad and put the top on his pen. He told me he’d really like it if I stayed a while longer. He thought I would start to like the facility once I got used to it. He also told me I could volunteer anywhere I wanted in Hadley Hall, the entertainment building. I would think about it I told him. Then I was released to Emily who sat outside the office waiting to bring me back to the ward. We took a detour through Hadley Hall