I sat beside Paige for several minutes after the doctor left.<\/p>\n
My phone was in my hand.<\/p>\n
Kate's name was on the screen.<\/p>\n
I had opened her contact information.<\/p>\n
But I hadn't pressed the call button.<\/p>\n
I wasn't trying to keep Paige's condition from her.<\/p>\n
I knew she needed to know.<\/p>\n
I simply didn't know how to begin.<\/p>\n
How do you tell your sister that the baby she left with you for a shopping trip has a fractured leg?<\/p>\n
How do you explain that doctors are concerned about bruising covered with makeup?<\/p>\n
I looked at Paige.<\/p>\n
Her fingers had relaxed around mine.<\/p>\n
She was resting more quietly now.<\/p>\n
I watched her chest rise and fall.<\/p>\n
Then I pressed Kate's number.<\/p>\n
The phone rang.<\/p>\n
I stood beside the bed while I waited.<\/p>\n
She answered after several rings.<\/p>\n
"Hey, Ally."<\/p>\n
Her voice sounded ordinary.<\/p>\n
That almost made the conversation harder.<\/p>\n
"Kate, I'm at the hospital with Paige."<\/p>\n
There was a pause.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"She was crying really hard. I found something wrong with her leg."<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
"Why are you at the hospital?"<\/p>\n
I tried to keep my voice steady.<\/p>\n
"Because she's hurt."<\/p>\n
I could hear movement on Kate's end of the call.<\/p>\n
Then she spoke again.<\/p>\n
"What's wrong with her?"<\/p>\n
"The doctors found a fracture in her left leg."<\/p>\n
I heard her take a breath.<\/p>\n
"A fracture?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
For a few seconds, I heard nothing except faint noise in the background.<\/p>\n
I imagined her standing somewhere inside a store.<\/p>\n
Maybe Ryan was beside her.<\/p>\n
Maybe she was looking at something on a shelf.<\/p>\n
I didn't know.<\/p>\n
"Kate?"<\/p>\n
"I'm here."<\/p>\n
Her voice had changed.<\/p>\n
She sounded strained.<\/p>\n
"How did that happen?"<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"What do you mean, you don't know?"<\/p>\n
"I mean she was already crying when I realized something was wrong. She screamed when I adjusted how I was holding her."<\/p>\n
Kate didn't answer immediately.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
"When I checked her diaper, her left thigh was swollen. There was bruising underneath what looked like makeup."<\/p>\n
I heard a short breath.<\/p>\n
Then silence.<\/p>\n
"Kate, did you know her leg was injured?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
The answer came quickly.<\/p>\n
I looked toward Paige's bed.<\/p>\n
"Did anything happen last night?"<\/p>\n
"What do you mean?"<\/p>\n
"You said she was teething and had been restless. Did she fall? Did somebody accidentally hurt her?"<\/p>\n
"Ally, she's six months old."<\/p>\n
"I know how old she is."<\/p>\n
My voice came out sharper than I intended.<\/p>\n
I lowered it.<\/p>\n
"That's why I'm asking."<\/p>\n
Kate was quiet.<\/p>\n
Then she said,<\/p>\n
"She was fussy. That's what I told you."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"I thought it was her teeth."<\/p>\n
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.<\/p>\n
"The doctor says there's a broken bone."<\/p>\n
I wasn't trying to argue with her.<\/p>\n
I wanted her to understand.<\/p>\n
I wanted her to remember anything that might help explain it.<\/p>\n
But the conversation wasn't giving me answers.<\/p>\n
Kate asked which hospital we were at.<\/p>\n
I told her.<\/p>\n
She said she and Ryan would come.<\/p>\n
I gave her the department and explained that Paige was receiving care.<\/p>\n
Then I asked something I hadn't planned to ask.<\/p>\n
"Did you see any discoloration on her leg?"<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"A bruise. Anything unusual."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did you change her diaper this morning?"<\/p>\n
There was another pause.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach tighten.<\/p>\n
"Did you notice anything?"<\/p>\n
"Ally, I told you, she was fussy."<\/p>\n
I looked down at the floor.<\/p>\n
That wasn't the question I had asked.<\/p>\n
I didn't say so.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
"Please come to the hospital," I told her.<\/p>\n
"We're coming."<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
I stood there holding the phone.<\/p>\n
My hand felt cold.<\/p>\n
I hadn't expected Kate to have every answer.<\/p>\n
I knew she might be frightened.<\/p>\n
I knew hearing that your baby had a broken leg would terrify any parent.<\/p>\n
But I had hoped she would remember something.<\/p>\n
A fall.<\/p>\n
A sudden cry.<\/p>\n
A moment when Paige became especially upset.<\/p>\n
Anything.<\/p>\n
Instead, she had kept coming back to the same explanation.<\/p>\n
Teething.<\/p>\n
I sat down again.<\/p>\n
Paige was still resting.<\/p>\n
I studied her face.<\/p>\n
I tried to picture what the previous night had been like for her.<\/p>\n
Kate had said she was restless.<\/p>\n
Was that when the pain began?<\/p>\n
Had she been crying because of her leg while the adults around her thought her gums hurt?<\/p>\n
I couldn't know.<\/p>\n
That uncertainty was becoming its own kind of pain.<\/p>\n
The nurse returned to check on Paige.<\/p>\n
I told her I'd spoken to the baby's mother.<\/p>\n
She asked whether Kate was coming.<\/p>\n
I said yes.<\/p>\n
I also told her that Kate hadn't given me an explanation for the injury.<\/p>\n
The nurse didn't appear surprised.<\/p>\n
She simply recorded what I said.<\/p>\n
I was beginning to recognize that pattern.<\/p>\n
Every person caring for Paige seemed careful about what they asked.<\/p>\n
Careful about what they wrote down.<\/p>\n
Careful about separating what I had witnessed from what I thought might have happened.<\/p>\n
I tried to do the same.<\/p>\n
I told the nurse exactly what Kate had said.<\/p>\n
I didn't add anything.<\/p>\n
Not even the things I had started wondering.<\/p>\n
The nurse checked Paige's comfort and explained that further evaluation was being arranged.<\/p>\n
I asked whether I could give Paige her bottle.<\/p>\n
She said to wait until the medical team confirmed what was appropriate.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
I had carried the diaper bag into the hospital expecting to use the bottle inside.<\/p>\n
Now even feeding her felt like something I needed help deciding.<\/p>\n
The diaper bag sat beside the chair.<\/p>\n
I moved it closer so it wouldn't be in the walkway.<\/p>\n
Its strap had twisted around itself.<\/p>\n
I untangled it.<\/p>\n
The small action gave me something to do with my hands.<\/p>\n
I thought about opening the bag.<\/p>\n
Then I stopped.<\/p>\n
I didn't know why the thought made me uneasy.<\/p>\n
It was only Paige's diaper bag.<\/p>\n
I had been handed it that morning because I was supposed to care for her.<\/p>\n
But after finding the makeup on her thigh, I was afraid of overlooking anything.<\/p>\n
I decided to leave the bag alone until I knew what the staff needed.<\/p>\n
A doctor came into the room and introduced herself as part of the team evaluating Paige.<\/p>\n
She spoke gently.<\/p>\n
She asked whether I would be willing to explain what had happened again.<\/p>\n
"Of course."<\/p>\n
I moved my chair so we could speak without disturbing Paige.<\/p>\n
The doctor asked me to begin with Kate's arrival.<\/p>\n
I told her about the tired look on my sister's face.<\/p>\n
The diaper bag.<\/p>\n
The green sleeper.<\/p>\n
Ryan waiting in the car.<\/p>\n
The explanation about teething.<\/p>\n
Then I told her what happened after they left.<\/p>\n
The bottle.<\/p>\n
The walking.<\/p>\n
The increasingly sharp crying.<\/p>\n
The scream when I adjusted my hand.<\/p>\n
The left leg that barely moved.<\/p>\n
The powdery floral smell.<\/p>\n
The beige cosmetic.<\/p>\n
The bruising.<\/p>\n
I could feel my voice growing strained as I repeated it.<\/p>\n
But the doctor didn't rush me.<\/p>\n
She asked how much time had passed before Paige began crying.<\/p>\n
I told her approximately twenty minutes.<\/p>\n
She asked whether Paige had been quiet when she first arrived.<\/p>\n
I thought carefully.<\/p>\n
"She wasn't screaming like she was later."<\/p>\n
"Was she completely comfortable?"<\/p>\n
I hesitated.<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
That was the only truthful answer.<\/p>\n
I hadn't recognized anything serious when Kate handed her to me.<\/p>\n
But I couldn't claim Paige had felt fine.<\/p>\n
I hadn't been inside her body.<\/p>\n
I had no way of knowing whether she was already hurting.<\/p>\n
The doctor nodded.<\/p>\n
She asked whether I had changed Paige's diaper before discovering the injury.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did your sister mention any medication?"<\/p>\n
"Not to me."<\/p>\n
"Did you give Paige anything?"<\/p>\n
"No. I warmed a bottle, but she refused it."<\/p>\n
The doctor made a note.<\/p>\n
Then she asked whether anyone else had been inside my house while Paige was there.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Was Paige ever left alone with another person?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did you see any accident?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I could hear myself repeating that word.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
I worried it sounded like I was trying too hard.<\/p>\n
But I wasn't.<\/p>\n
Those were the facts.<\/p>\n
The doctor explained that Paige's age, the fracture, and the unexplained bruising meant they needed a careful evaluation.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
She mentioned additional imaging and examinations to look for injuries that weren't immediately visible.<\/p>\n
I felt my throat tighten.<\/p>\n
"Do you think there could be something else wrong?"<\/p>\n
"We need to check."<\/p>\n
I looked at Paige.<\/p>\n
I had thought finding one bruise was terrible.<\/p>\n
Then I learned about the fracture.<\/p>\n
Now they were examining her for injuries I couldn't see.<\/p>\n
I wanted to ask whether all of this was truly necessary.<\/p>\n
Not because I doubted the doctors.<\/p>\n
Because I was frightened of what they might find.<\/p>\n
But I looked at Paige's little hand resting beside her blanket.<\/p>\n
And I understood that not knowing wouldn't protect her.<\/p>\n
"Please do whatever she needs," I said.<\/p>\n
The doctor nodded.<\/p>\n
She explained that someone from the hospital's child protection team might also speak with me.<\/p>\n
I had heard the words before.<\/p>\n
But hearing them in connection with my niece made my stomach drop.<\/p>\n
I didn't want to believe Paige might have been deliberately harmed.<\/p>\n
I didn't want to imagine someone knowing she was injured and trying to hide it.<\/p>\n
Yet the makeup remained impossible to explain away.<\/p>\n
A six-month-old baby couldn't apply concealer to her own thigh.<\/p>\n
Someone had done that.<\/p>\n
And until I knew why, I couldn't dismiss what it meant.<\/p>\n
The doctor asked whether I had noticed anything unusual about Kate's behavior that morning.<\/p>\n
I thought about her tired face.<\/p>\n
Her quick explanation.<\/p>\n
Her desire to get going.<\/p>\n
I remembered how she had handed me the bag.<\/p>\n
Then the small smile she gave me.<\/p>\n
There had been nothing dramatic about it.<\/p>\n
Nothing I would have questioned at the time.<\/p>\n
"She seemed exhausted," I said.<\/p>\n
"She told me Paige had been restless all night."<\/p>\n
"Anything else?"<\/p>\n
I remembered her final remark.<\/p>\n
"She said she trusted my judgment if Paige became difficult to settle."<\/p>\n
The doctor looked at me.<\/p>\n
"How did she say it?"<\/p>\n
I thought carefully.<\/p>\n
"Like she was giving me permission to make decisions."<\/p>\n
"Did she seem worried?"<\/p>\n
I shook my head slowly.<\/p>\n
"I thought she was tired."<\/p>\n
I paused.<\/p>\n
"I don't know whether she was worried."<\/p>\n
The doctor accepted that.<\/p>\n
She didn't ask me to decide what Kate had been thinking.<\/p>\n
For that, I was grateful.<\/p>\n
I had enough trouble understanding my own thoughts.<\/p>\n
After the doctor left, I returned to Paige's bedside.<\/p>\n
The hospital noises continued around us.<\/p>\n
Footsteps.<\/p>\n
Quiet conversations.<\/p>\n
A cart moving somewhere down the hall.<\/p>\n
A door opening.<\/p>\n
A door closing.<\/p>\n
Ordinary sounds from a place where people came for help.<\/p>\n
I looked at the clock.<\/p>\n
I wasn't sure how much time had passed since my call with Kate.<\/p>\n
I thought about calling again.<\/p>\n
Then I decided to wait.<\/p>\n
She knew where we were.<\/p>\n
She had said she was coming.<\/p>\n
There was nothing more I could tell her until the doctors finished their evaluation.<\/p>\n
I leaned toward Paige.<\/p>\n
"Your mommy's coming, sweetheart."<\/p>\n
Her eyelids moved.<\/p>\n
She didn't open her eyes fully.<\/p>\n
I adjusted the edge of her blanket where it had slipped away from her shoulder.<\/p>\n
I kept my hand far from the injured leg.<\/p>\n
That small movement reminded me of the changing table.<\/p>\n
Of how I'd once expected a diaper change to solve everything.<\/p>\n
I looked at the bag again.<\/p>\n
Kate had packed it.<\/p>\n
Or at least she'd brought it.<\/p>\n
I didn't know who had placed everything inside.<\/p>\n
That distinction suddenly seemed important.<\/p>\n
I remembered the resident asking who had access to Paige before she arrived at my house.<\/p>\n
I began thinking about the previous night.<\/p>\n
Kate.<\/p>\n
Ryan.<\/p>\n
Perhaps someone else.<\/p>\n
I didn't know.<\/p>\n
I hadn't been there.<\/p>\n
I hadn't asked who was home.<\/p>\n
I hadn't asked whether someone had helped care for Paige.<\/p>\n
Those were ordinary questions before that Saturday.<\/p>\n
Now I wished I had answers.<\/p>\n
I heard footsteps approaching.<\/p>\n
A nurse appeared at the doorway.<\/p>\n
She told me Paige's parents had arrived.<\/p>\n
I stood immediately.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I felt relief.<\/p>\n
Kate was here.<\/p>\n
Maybe she would finally be able to explain what had happened.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered our phone call.<\/p>\n
And I realized that having my sister in the hospital would not automatically give us answers.<\/p>\n
It would only mean we could begin asking the questions face-to-face.<\/p>\n
I sat beside Paige for several minutes after the doctor left. My phone was in my hand. Kate's name was on the screen. I had opened her contact information. But … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37710,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37690\/revisions\/37710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}