"Whoa." M'Lady Three cried. "Listen to her. A couple of days in the desert and she thinks she's tough or something. I'll tell you. girls, I'm really impressed. How did you manage to find your way back?"
"How could you leave us out there like that?" I countered.
"It broke our hearts to do it." M'Lady One said. "But we have to do what we have to do. Go shower up and wait in the bunkhouse for Dr. Foreman." she followed curtly.
"What about Teal?" Robin asked,
"She'll live, although I can't say the same for the snake."
"She can't walk on her own." I said.
"We'll take care of her. Move it."
Slowly, we lowered Teal to a sitting position.
"I'm sorry, Mother." Teal said. "It couldn't be helped. Our car broke down."
"Oh, did it?" M'Lady Two asked. They all laughed again,
"She still has a high fever. She's delirious, She needs medical help," Robin said.
"She was always delirious." M'Lady Two said. "Will you two get moving or do we move you?"
"We're not leaving her." I declared, reaching a firm, quick decision. I reached down to help Teal up. Robin did the same,
"I told you we would take care of her," M'Ladv Two said.
"Like you've been taking care of us?"
She stepped forward threateningly. but I didn't flinch.
"Go on," I said. "I have just enough strength to fight one more battle."
"Me. too." Robin said.
Maybe it was the ordeal in the desert. Maybe it was the wild, determined look on both our faces, or maybe it was just the sight of us, standing fast despite all that we had endured. Teal wavering between us, whatever, but M'Lady Two hesitated, then relaxed and backed up.
"Take her to the house yourselves then," she ordered, and stepped aside.
We walked on, struggling because Teal was doing less and less to move herself now. Despite the effort. both Robin and I reached down into some reservoir of energy, fueled by our anger, our hate, our indignation, by years and years of our pain and suffering. We stumbled and nearly fell. The buddies roared with laughter, then. suddenly. I could hear Natani's drum. Robin heard it. too. We looked at each other and found the strength to cross that yard to the front of the hacienda.
As we continued. I kept my eyes forward, never wavering, so I didn't see or know if Gia and Mindy were watching us. When we stood at the steps, the front door opened, and Dr. Foreman, dressed in a cool, mint green skirt suit, her face freshly made up with a brighter lipstick and even some eye shadow, looked down at us and smiled,
"Oh. I just knew you would do well. I just knew you had it in you to be cooperative, unselfish, and resilient. My girls. my Foreman girls, always come through for me, for themselves. What a wonderful day." she cried.
Was she blind? Could she not see that Teal was practically comatose and we were standing on legs held up only by sheer determination?
"Teal was bitten by a sidewinder," I said. "She's delirious."
"And you knew what to do. I see." Dr Foreman replied, still not moving to help us. "Natani's lessons. How fortunate that you paid attention. Imagine if you paid attention in regular school as well. Maybe now you will. See?" she asked as if in that simple question she justified this whole experience, her techniques and theories and all that was done to us in the name of recovery,
"Teal is very sick," I replied in a dry, stiff voice.
She blinked rapidly, but held that cold, egotistical smile I had came to hate, to have dreams about shattering.
"She'll recover," she said. "and she'll be better for it."
"Have you been bitten by a sidewinder?" I fired back at her.