Chapter 14

Mother asked about Ambrose. Constance said he was pretty dehydrated this time.

“This time?” Mother said.

Constance was working on his mother’s facial cuts, dabbing on an ointment with a cotton swab. She hesitated a moment then said, “He has sickle cell.”

“Sickle cell anemia?” Philip said.

Marta, who was standing by and handing Constance what she needed from the tray, said Ambrose knew how to take care of himself. “He’s been diagnosed a while now and keeps himself hydrated. Stays away from stress—”

Mother laughed out loud. “Stress. Funny you should mention it.”

“Well, usually,” Marta said. “He takes pain meds when he needs to. Right now he’s getting fluids and will likely sleep through the night. They gave him a pain shot earlier.”

“I asked the nurse, the one who brought him upstairs if she was his mother,” Philip said. “Ambrose told us his mother was a nurse here.”