Chapter 3

December 24th

Gabriela smiled in her sleep. For the first time in months she was having a pleasant dream. She and MJ were flying a red and yellow kite while playing on a deserted wide sand beach. She’d never been to any kind of beach in her thirteen years, despite the fact the iconic Santa Monica Pier was less than 15 miles from her home in Huntington Park.

MJ was laughing with delight and the smell of cooking bacon carried on the ocean breeze.

Bacon?

Gabriela opened her eyes. She was in a hospital bed. The memories of their rescue by the two Latinas and their treatment by the kind doctor flooded back. She watched MJ who was across the room at a small table eating from a plate on a white tray. The storm of the evening before had passed and the winter sun from the window next to her bathed her in its soft glow.

Gabriela’s throat constricted and tears pricked her eyes. Even in hospital pajamas she looks like an angel. A Christmas angel. Is it really Christmas Eve? What kind of Christmas will it be for us? It doesn’t really matter since we’re together and away from that awful place.

MJ wasn’t alone. A nurse in green scrubs, the older of the two nurses from last night, was sitting with her.

What’s her name? I can’t remember. MJ’s having breakfast and she’s laughing at something the nurse is telling her. I’m so happy to hear her laugh.

The smell of bacon? Mystery solved. I feel so much better.

She tried to sit up but immediately thought better of that idea.

My head hurts and the pain in my back and sides is still there, but maybe not quite as much, and my breathing is easier. I’m not coughing as much, so I must be getting better and I do feel more rested. The doctor said six weeks for my ribs to heal but he wants me up and around so I can get rid of this pneumonia.

Suddenly her worries came back.

What did the doctor and ... She fished for a name. Oh yes, her name is Essie. What did they say about this place? This school?

I was pretty sick and it was confusing. I do remember the doctor said we wouldn’t have to go back. He said something about a lawyer and we wouldn’t have to pay and the lawyer would arrange for us to stay here, but here where? I don’t care how nice it is, if they try to separate me from MJ, we’ll have to run away again.

The nurse noticed she was awake and came over to the bed. “Good morning. I’m glad to see you’re awake. I’m Nurse Isabela. We met last night. Do you remember?” Gabriela nodded.

“Good. Would you like to sit up a bit?”

“Please,” she rasped. The nurse did something with the controls on the side of the bed and then turned and consulted the adjacent monitor.

“I’m happy to see your temperature is down – almost back to normal – and your oxygen levels are much higher. Doctor Prescott was pretty happy to see these results.”

“Doctor Prescott. Is he here?”

“You were asleep when he left this morning, but he checked on you through the night – you and MJ.” She turned and smiled as she looked over at MJ who was concentrating on cleaning her plate.

“Is MJ going to be okay? She looks much better.” Her voice sounded hoarse.

Nurse Isabela took her hand. “MJ is doing fine.” She smiled. “She had a shower this morning, and considering her appetite, I’d say she’s almost recovered. She just has a little cold and will be better in a couple of days. Doctor Jones is on duty today and has already seen MJ. I expect she’ll be in to see you soon. Should I get you some breakfast?”

Gabriela nodded, and as if on cue her stomach growled. Nurse Isabela grinned. “Well, I guess that answered that question!” She handed Gabriela a large plastic cup with ice water in it.

“Try to drink as much of that as you can. You’re still dehydrated and it’ll make your throat feel better. I’ll be right back. Bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, and juice sound okay?”

Gabriela nodded and sipped the water. That does make my throat feel better. I’m very hungry. I must be feeling better.

Nurse Isabela looked over at MJ. “Did you get enough, Pequeña?”

MJ suddenly turned shy and held out an empty cup.

We could never ask for more of anything at Aunt Elena’s house.

“Podría tomar más jugo, por favor?”

And there never was any orange juice. We were lucky to get much food most days. Tía and Roberto or some other guest ate first. I did the shopping and the cooking and the cleaning and kind Señor García at the market always slipped me some extras, which I had to hide from Tía.

As Isabela was leaving, Gabriela saw a tall, exotic-looking woman with café au lait skin appear in the doorway.

She’s wearing a white coat like Doctor Prescot wore last night. She must be the doctor.

The doctor and Isabela exchanged a few words and then Isabela went on her way.

The woman took a seat on the stool near Gabriela’s bed and smiled as she introduced herself.

“Good morning, I’m Doctor Jones and I work with Doctor Prescott at St. Elizabeth Hospital. I’m working here at the clinic today and he said he had two young ladies visiting and asked me to pay special attention to you today.”

On Nochebuena!

Like Nurse Isabela, Doctor Jones looked at the monitor. “I’m glad to see you’re awake and all the signs here,” she pointed at the monitor, “show me you’re on the road to recovery.”

Doctor Prescott looked worried last night, but Nurse Isabela said he was happy this morning and now Doctor Jones says I’m doing better. I felt pretty sick when Essie showed up – no – not ‘showed up,’ but was the answer to my prayer to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

Gabriela pushed thoughts away of the cold and dark alley where they were going to have to spend the night.

“How are you feeling?”

Gabriela paused before answering. “My head still hurts a little and I’m sore but it doesn’t hurt as much to breathe.”

“Good. From what I see in the chart, that’s real progress. It looks like the medicine has begun to get a handle on the pneumonia, and once your temperature is back to normal, I’m sure the headache will go away. You’re hoarse from all the coughing and that will clear up soon too.”

Doctor Jones frowned. “The rest ... will take a little longer.”

She looked like she wanted to say something more about her injuries, but reconsidered. “I’ve ordered another MRI for later this morning just to double-check what’s going on inside your body.

“Doctor Prescott said you were beaten rather badly, and the X-rays and photographs in your chart certainly bear that out, so I want to keep monitoring your internal organs for a few days. Do you understand?”

Gabriella nodded.

“Now I want to listen to your heart and breathing and have a look at your injuries.”

With that she began her examination.

She’s very gentle and she seems very kind, like everyone I’ve met here so far. No one has been kind to us or even cared about us since Mama died. Her eyes filled with tears.

Doctor Jones looked distressed as Gabriela tried to brush tears away. “I’m sorry...” She sniffed.

Doctor Jones stood and handed Gabriela a tissue and then gently put her arms around the girl.

“I’m sorry too.”

She released Gabriela. “Gabriela, I promise you’re safe here at Magdalena School. No one is going to hurt you.”

“But, how can we stay here? We don’t have any family or money.” Tears threatened again.

Doctor Jones looked confused. “Hasn’t anyone explained about this place?”

Gabriela shook her head.

“I think I can answer your questions.” Gabriela looked up and saw a smiling woman with short dark hair tinged with gray. She was wearing dark slacks, a red silk blouse covered by a cropped dark green quilted jacket.

With her was a tall unsmiling teen who didn’t look but a year or two older than Gabriela. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a short ponytail and she was dressed in jeans, boots, and wearing a dark quilted vest over a red hoodie. She carried a stylus that was poised over a tablet and her green eyes were fixed on the speaker.

That girl’s the only person I’ve seen here who doesn’t smile. What happened to her?

“I’m Mrs. Raniger, the headmistress of the Magdalena School. This is my assistant, Amy, and you and MJ are welcome here.”

“Essie, are you ever afraid?”

Puzzled, Essie paused and then turned and looked at Abriella. They were walking from breakfast at the dining facility to the medical clinic. Each was dressed in a sweater and jeans and both wore fleece-lined denim jackets to ward off the morning chill. Abriella wore her signature pink high tops.

She had been uncharacteristically quiet, so Essie knew something was on her mind.

Afraid? Where did that come from?

Essie took both her hands. “Brie, what’s this about?”

She looked at her feet. “Oh, I just wondered...”

“If I’m ever afraid?”

Brie nodded, shifting her gaze into the miles-wide valley below, bisected by the ribbon that was Interstate 5 leading to the town of Red Bluff in the distance. It was an uninterrupted stretch of concrete that was almost equidistant between Canada and Mexico – about 700 miles each way.

“Of?”

This time she nodded toward the highway.

“The world.”

How do I answer that? Where’s Doctor Jo Archer when I need her?

Before Essie could answer, Brie continued, “Everyone leaves, and they never come back to stay. I don’t ever want to leave.”

“Brie, no one will ever force you to leave Magdalena. That’s a choice you have to make.”

Brie met her eyes for a second and then looked down. “I know. Doctor Prescott said the same thing. He said Consuelo and Gena were going out into the world to find their way.”

Ah, part of this is about those two leaving.

“But they’re braver than I am. I’m afraid to go out there. I’ve found my place. Doctor Prescott said when I get older, I’ll be excited to leave for college and he said I have to make everyone proud.”

“You’ll certainly do that,” Essie replied with a smile.

“But ... there are lots of things that can hurt you out there...”

And you’ve never told anyone about what caused you to hitchhike here that summer. Whatever happened to you must have been horrifying. And now you’ve found a safe place from whatever world you lived in then.

“Yes, there are things to be fearful of and it’s good to have a place that feels safe...”

Essie was rewarded with a brief smile, as Brie added, “But?”

“Tom Moore told me once that his Marine Corps drill instructor used to brag, ‘fear is a great motivator.’ Tom agreed to a point. He went on to say, ‘but fear of things that might happen tends to fix us in place.’”

Brie looked puzzled.

“That means we can’t grow because we’re afraid of new things as well as bad things. Anything that might cause fear or even discomfort is to be avoided. We get stuck in our safe place. We don’t leave people, but people like Consuelo and Gina leave us. Fear can cause loneliness as we push people away because they might leave.”

Brie nodded thoughtfully.

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes.

“As to your original question, if I’m ever afraid, the answer is, not anymore.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve been afraid. When my mother died and my dad was on the road a lot, I was afraid he’d never come back. And then I watched him waste away from cancer. He died when I was fifteen, and I was placed in the foster system. Those were fearful times, three different foster families in three years, and different schools. I learned to keep to myself. Then I got a Brandt scholarship and went off to college. It took a while before I learned to trust people, but I vowed to show Jessica and everyone that I could excel at school and make friends and keep growing.

“A person much smarter than me once said, ‘There’s no love without fear of loss. So, if you want to experience intense connections you have to know those feelings must live side by side with the fear of losing that love.’”

Brie nodded and gave her a slight smile. “I never thought you were afraid of anything. I’ve watched you around the school and horses and I wish I was as brave as you are.”

Essie stopped and faced Brie. “Brie, three years ago, eleven-year-old Abriella Diaz hitchhiked 800 miles from Yuma in the middle of summer. I don’t know what motivated you, but I’d call that act fearless.”

She gently tapped a finger on Brie’s chest. “That eleven-year-old still lives inside you – here inside your heart – and I’m convinced that her fearlessness and determination will always be there to guide you.”

Brie’s eyes glistened as she hugged Essie. “Thank you.”

As they got to the door of the clinic, they ran into Mrs. Raniger on her way out. She was accompanied by a tall, serious-looking teen carrying a tablet. Her expression detracted from her youthful beauty. Even though she was dressed for the weather, Essie could tell she was very thin.

Mrs. Raniger smiled on seeing Essie and Brie. “Hi, Essie. Nice to see you. I ran into Estrella this morning and she filled me in on your adventure of last night. I thought I’d come to the clinic and greet our new guests.”

“Well, I heard a rumor that several girls had graduated, so I wanted to help keep the numbers up,” she replied cheekily.

“Very considerate,” she deadpanned. The twinkle in her eyes gave her away.

She turned her attention to Brie. She fixed her with a look that came as close to disapproval as Mrs. Raniger ever got.

“Nice to see you, too, Abriella. I hope your arm is better.”

It wasn’t lost on Brie that the Headmistress had used her full name. She didn’t exactly wilt under her gaze, but it was obvious that Brie had received the message. She seemed to find the tops of her pink high-tops very interesting, as she mumbled an apology.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Raniger. I was being stupid.”

“I can’t disagree with that assessment, Brie. So, try to learn from it. You’re one of the young women others look up to here at Magdalena. Don’t let me down. Okay?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Lesson delivered, Mrs. Raniger turned back to Essie. “Essie, this is my assistant, Amy Cook.”

Amy showed no emotion as she looked at Essie and at her proffered hand. After some hesitation, she finally shook it.

What’s with her? Under that facade might just lurk a pretty girl, but it’s hard to tell. Sure wouldn’t want to play poker against her!

“Amy, it’s nice to meet you in person. It’s always nice to be able to put a face to a person on the other side of a text. I hope we get a chance to talk more while I’m visiting.” She grinned and said conspiratorially, “And you can tell me all Mrs. Raniger’s secrets.”

Mrs. Raniger, who was behind Amy, chuckled.

Her façade has cracked just a bit, but now she just looks like she wants to run away. Poor girl, I made her uncomfortable.

Mrs. Raniger came to Amy’s rescue. “Amy, would you take Brie and introduce her to our two new guests?”

She hasn’t said a word to me but now she looks relieved she doesn’t have to.

“Yes, Mrs. Raniger.”

“Brie, go in and do your ‘sorting hat’ magic and figure out which house to put them in.”

Brie parroted Amy. “Yes, Mrs. Raniger.”

Brie’s grinning like a Cheshire Cat. She liked the ‘sorting hat’ comment. Of course, she’s done this several times before because she has an encyclopedic memory of the twenty houses and their approximately two-hundred residents and which ones now have vacancies. She’ll easily figure out where Gabriela and MJ will fit in. I wonder if she’ll ‘sort’ them into her own house to replace Gena and Consuelo.

Essie and the Headmistress watched the teens disappear inside.

“Amy – not exactly our usual demographic,” Essie commented.

Mrs. Raniger smiled and shook her head. “No, not exactly the Latina waif demographic, but Anglo waif is close enough.”

“You’re right. So, how did that come about?”

The Headmistress motioned Essie to a sun-splashed bench outside the door to the clinic.

“Amy’s from Oakland, although originally from southern California. Apparently, her parents were small-time drug dealers, always looking for the next big score, except they were users too. They moved around and Amy didn’t get much formal education. Actually, she was lucky, most days, to have food and a roof over her head, although sometimes they didn’t even have that, living in their van off and on.”

Essie frowned. “I can imagine lots of not so pleasant scenarios that brought her here.”

“Last March, the family – if you can call it that – traveled to Portland and picked up a shipment of drugs. Dad and Mom decided to sample the merchandise and during the night Amy’s mother overdosed on fentanyl. Her father panicked and dragged Amy out of the seedy motel where they were staying and headed south, leaving Amy’s mother’s body behind.”

“That’s terrible. I can’t imagine what she must have been going through, to wake up and find her mother dead from drugs no less.”

“It gets worse.”

“Worse?”

“According to Amy, she was pretty upset and crying all the time they were heading back south through Oregon and her father kept popping some kind of pills and yelling at her to shut up.”

Essie shook her head.

“They stopped at a rest stop on I-5 in the Siskiyou’s, just outside Yreka, and when Amy came out of the restroom, she discovered her father had taken off.”

“He left her?”

Mrs. Raniger nodded.

“Amy waited around for a couple of hours thinking maybe her father would return, but no luck. That rest stop is probably at about three thousand feet and it was still winter up there and it was cold and there were snow flurries around.”

“Poor Amy.”

“After she waited around, she was freezing and it was getting dark so she finally got the courage to approach a family that came into the rest stop. It turns out that the family was from Redding, returning from visiting family in Oregon. The dad is a pastor at one of the churches up there that supports Magdalena. After hearing her story, they brought her directly here.”

Essie smiled a tight smile. “Who says miracles don’t happen?”

Mrs. Raniger looked at her. “Like last night for two cold, sick, and frightened girls.”

Essie opened her mouth to disagree, but closed it again, and nodded.

Maybe that was a miracle or at least divine intervention. I had pretty much decided to skip the stop at Mama’s Kitchen and push straight on through to the school when I got an overwhelming urge to have hot chocolate.

“That family still sees her often. I think they would have liked to adopt her, but they knew we were better equipped to fight any battles with the father or the state of California over custody, or any other problems that might arise. They’ll be here tomorrow for a little while to bring her a few gifts. It’s nice for her to see what a stable happy family looks like. They have two teen girls of their own.”

“That’s nice of them. I’m glad she has them and they care enough.”

“Yes, they’re loving people, and I’ve even seen Amy smile when she’s with them. She has a beautiful smile, but she hides her youthful beauty behind a mask of indifference. There’s a lot of anger hiding behind that mask.”

“That’s sad.”

“Yes. It’s tragic what these adults do to children. Thankfully most of our girls are resilient, but they’ll carry the scars for life.”

Essie nodded sadly. “And what about Amy’s father? Any chance he might turn up? I know the state of California, in its wisdom, is loath to sever parental rights regardless of the fact the parent or parents might be despicable low-lifes.”

Mrs. Raniger shook her head. “We’ve searched high and low for him. No sign. He may have been the victim of his own drug excesses, or a victim of the cartel wars, or anything else that can befall a drug dealer and abuser these days. Also, we’re fortunate to have Mr. Cervantes and his legal team and a sympathetic local judge. Once that judge heard Amy’s story and saw the police report about her mother’s death, he had no hesitation in severing parental rights.”

“That’s a blessing.”

“Yes. Yes, it is.”

“And how did she become your assistant?”

Mrs. Raniger looked into the distance. “She was a mess when she got here – no surprise – but she was assigned to the house where my former assistant, Raquel, was the senior girl. Raquel had a traumatic childhood too and recognized a kindred spirit so she arranged for Amy to be her roommate and they became friends. Raquel took her under her wing and whatever Amy lacked in formal education she made up with sheer determination. On top of that, she’s very bright and soaks up information like a sponge. I think she and Raquel conspired almost from the first that Amy would take her place. So, when Raquel graduated last spring, Amy became her understudy all summer until Raquel left for USC.”

“And how’s she doing?”

“She took Raquel’s leaving very hard since she was her only friend. Amy doesn’t make friends easily. I think that will change in time, but she does tend to keep everyone, but me, at arm’s length.

“She’s only fifteen, but she’s amazingly organized and almost embarrassingly loyal to me. I just wish I could get her to lighten up a bit.”

“She does seem awful serious, but after what you just told me I can understand.”

“Like many girls here, she’s terrified of being abandoned again. It’s like she’s afraid she’ll wake up someday and everyone will be gone, and it will be her fault.”

Essie nodded. Been there.

“She’s been meeting with Jo Archer. It seems to be helping.”

“That’s good. How often is Jo here these days?”

“Once a week for a full day and sometimes makes the trip if we have a new girl who’s having problems. I think if she and Matt didn’t live 130 miles away, she’d be here more often. Jessica and Sofía agree that we should have a pediatric psychiatrist on staff full-time. Jo has given us some recommendations, and so we’re looking at putting that position in the budget for next year.”

“And a full-time physician?”

Mrs. Raniger looked at her, comprehension dawning. She smiled. “I guess Doctor Prescott made an impression.”

Essie blushed. Busted!

She tried to tamp her enthusiasm. “He seems quite competent. He was really good with Gabriela and MJ last night. Just from that short time, I think he’d make a great addition to the school.”

Mrs. Raniger gave her a knowing smile. “I agree, but he still has a year and a half to finish his residency. St. Elizabeth’s has been very accommodating in letting us have him once a week, but like most hospitals outside large urban areas, they’re short-staffed.”

“But you think he might be interested?”

“We haven’t discussed it yet, but Jessica tells me an offer will be made, and she’s confident he’ll accept.”

Essie didn’t even try to suppress a grin. “Ah, the Jessica Brandt connection. I should have known.”

“Worked for you, didn’t it?” Then she turned serious. “Now, let’s talk about you.”

I know what’s coming.

“I know you still have some months left on your contract with SpaceX, and this is nothing you have to decide today, but I’d like you to come to work here teaching the STEM courses along with Halley. The school continues to grow and teachers with your qualifications are rare, I just ask you to think about it for now.”

Essie took her time formulating her response. Finally, she said, “Thank you for the offer. I’m flattered that you would offer and think I’m qualified to teach at Magdalena. I’ll consider it. When do I have to let you know?”

The Headmistress patted her hand. “I was hoping for today.” She smiled letting Essie know she wasn’t serious. “I do need to know by the middle of March.”

Essie nodded.

“One other thing. Believe me, no flattery was intended. I’ve watched you as you developed and implemented the riding curriculum – no easy task – and how you took so many girls in hand and taught them to be confident around thousand-pound animals. You’re a natural teacher and leader and a positive example. You’re well known around here, not just because of the riding school, or your involvement with La Banda, but because your story is known – you overcame a great deal of adversity to become successful and respected. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t accept, but engineers sending rockets to Mars are important too.”

Essie hugged her. “Thank you. Thank you for that vote of confidence. I’ll let you know soon.”

Amy appeared. “I’m sorry to disturb you Headmistress, but you have a conference call in fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you, Amy.” She looked at her watch. “Whatever would I do without you?” Amy gave her just a hint of a smile.

That wasn’t much of a smile, and directed at her boss, but better than nothing. I think I need to get her on a horse! Wait. I’m thinking like I’ve already made my decision.

Essie stuck her head into Gabriela’s hospital room. MJ was napping, curled under her blankets, with only the top of her head showing. She decided not to interrupt the animated conversation going on between Brie and Gabriela. Unsurprisingly, it seemed Brie was doing most of the talking, but Gabriela was smiling and nodding. Apparently, the ‘sorting’ had already taken place.

“I’ve been here three years, and it’s a wonderful place. You and MJ will share a room. There are other girls here who choose not to live with their sisters...” She grinned. “Sometimes they don’t get along.”

Gabriela smiled and examined what she could see of the pink cast on Brie’s arm.

Seeing her gaze, Brie pulled back the sleeve of her sweater and held out her arm. “I had a disagreement with a sidewalk.”

Essie watched Gabriela laugh, but it was cut off by coughing and a grimace of pain.

It’s nice to see her laugh but obviously, her ribs are protesting. I imagine laughs have been few and far between over the last several months, with her mother’s illness and then moving in with that vile Tía Elena.

The way they’re getting along, I’ll bet Brie’s added them to her house to fill the slots soon to be vacated by Gena and Consuelo.

Brie tried to look solicitous. “I’ll try hard not to make you laugh too hard.” She winked. “At least for now.”

That got the expected smile and nod from Gabriela, and the conversation moved on.

“Everybody here has a nickname. You said María José goes by MJ, so what should we call you?”

Brie put a finger to her lips as she thought.

“I’ve already taken Brie, and there’s another Gabriela and she goes by Gela, so what do you want to be called?”

“Well ... When MJ was little, she started calling me Ella, and she’s called me that since.”

Essie watched Brie as she thought for a few seconds. Finally, she nodded. “Nobody else has that name so, if it’s okay with you, you’ll be Ella.”

Gabriela ‘Ella’ smiled and nodded.

Essie left them to their conversation and went in search of the doctor.

She found an attractive woman in a lab coat, maybe late twenties, early thirties, typing away at a desktop in one of the offices off the main hallway.

She knocked on the open door and the woman looked up, puzzled.

“Hi, I’m Essie Sinclair. I brought the Hidalgo sisters in last night. I just want to check to see how they’re doing.”

The woman stood and came around the desk and smiled as she held out her hand. “I’m Mariel Jones.”

Oh, the Doctor Jones. Seeing her, I’m really glad she’s not the competition!

“Essie, nice to meet you at last.”

At last?

Seeing her puzzled expression, Doctor Jones went on. “Like many in these parts, I know you from La Banda. I’m a fan.”

“Oh dang, I forgot my baseball cap and sunglasses. Sorry, no autographs.” Essie chuckled.

Mariel laughed. “Come on in and have a seat.” She gestured to the chair in front of the desk. Mariel returned to her chair and said, “Doctor Prescott left a note in the chart about you.”

Oh?

“He wrote Gabriela had given permission for the staff here to discuss her medical condition with you.”

Essie nodded. “I’m glad since I feel responsible for them.”

Doctor Jones smiled. Yes, I can see that.” Then her tone turned serious. “It really is more than that. Your actions saved their lives.”

“I knew they were sick, but...”

“And terribly malnourished. Of course, Gabriela was savagely beaten. A couple more days living rough and Gabriela would have died, and MJ’s cold would have turned into something worse, most likely with the same result.”

Essie winced. And would that terrible Tia Elena and her child abuser boyfriend ever have been brought to justice?

“Now, they’re on the road to recovery. I’ve ordered between-meal snacks, plus protein and other supplements for the malnourished part, and I’m keeping a close eye on Gabriela’s injuries. She had healed fractures which point to continuous physical abuse on top of the beating a couple of days ago. Someone who would hurt a child ... well...”

She smiled grimly “Know any assassins?” She tried to make a joke of it, but the undertone was serious.