When our shifts ended that evening, Grace and I walked outside to see a small crowd of people in the clearing. A car bearing the radio station logo WHKY was parked in the scrubby grass nearby.
“What’s that all about?” Grace asked, pointing.
As we walked closer, we could see that the group stood in a semicircle around a man holding a microphone. Henry was there, and he smiled when he spotted me and waved us over. When we reached the outskirts of the circle of people, I realized that the man with the microphone—a reporter?—was interviewing Vincent. Next to him stood Mayor Finley and his wife, Marjorie.
Marjorie spotted us and let out a squeal. She grabbed me, pulling me into a hug. “Thank you!” she said, then turned to Grace. “Thank you both so much!”
“These must be the nurses,” the reporter said, grinning at us, and only then did I realize WHKY was there because of what had happened that morning with Amy Pryor and her baby.
Vincent smiled. “Yes, these are the nurses,” he said. “Tess DeMello.”
“Kraft,” I corrected him.
“Tess Kraft,” he said. “And Grace Wilding. All the nurses here are excellent,” he added, “but Amy Pryor and her son are alive today because of these two women. Grace operated a handheld inflator to help Amy breathe while outside of the iron lung, and Tess delivered the baby on her own. The baby wasn’t breathing and Tess performed artificial respiration—what we call mouth-to-mouth insufflation—on him, which required a great deal of care and skill.”
“Mrs. Kraft,” the reporter said to me, “can you tell us more about what happened?”
I explained what had taken place the best I could without making the whole event sound too frightening for Amy’s parents to hear. The man next to Henry threw a question my way and I noticed he was jotting my answer down on a notepad. A newspaper reporter, I guessed, and then I realized he was not the only one. A couple of men and one woman were taking notes. Another man was snapping pictures. The story was bigger than I’d imagined.
“Did you have special training to know how to save the baby?” one of the reporters called out.
“Only in theory,” I said. “Frankly, I never thought I’d have to put what I learned into practice.”
“How does it feel to save a life?” the female reporter asked.
I was surprised when I teared up at the question. I’d saved a life. No doubt about it. “I’m just glad Grace and I were there at the right moment,” I said, my voice thick.
I felt Vincent’s hand on my back. “She’s being modest,” he said. “I’ve known Tess all my life, and I always knew she’d be an exceptional nurse. What she did took a clear head, quick action, and a lot of courage. She and Grace really saved the day today.”
* * *
Henry and I were quiet as we walked toward the Cadillac after the meeting with the reporters. He had his hand on my elbow, and I felt affection in the touch. He smiled at me as we got into the car. “I’m really proud of you,” he said.
I thought it might have been the kindest thing he’d ever said to me.
“Thank you.”
He started the car and began driving out of the clearing and we opened our windows to let in the evening air.
Neither of us spoke for a few minutes. Then he glanced at me. “So, what did that doctor mean when he said he’d known you all his life?” he asked. “He called you Tess DeMello before you corrected him.”
I hesitated, unsure how much to say. “It’s a coincidence that he’s here,” I said finally. “His family lived next door to my family in Baltimore.”
“Did he know you were here? In Hickory?”
“He had no idea,” I said. “We were shocked to see each other when he arrived at the hospital last week.”
The air felt heavy between us. I licked my lips, unsure whether to tell him more. Finally, he spoke.
“He looked at you like he cares about you.” He glanced at me.
“He’s the man I was engaged to,” I said, as simply as if I’d said the weather was balmy.
Henry didn’t respond right away and I bit my lip, waiting. After a moment, he pressed on the brake and gradually steered the car to the side of the road. He turned off the engine, then shifted in the seat until he was looking at me.
“Why didn’t you tell me this as soon as he showed up?”
“I saw no reason to,” I said.
“And he didn’t know you were here?”
I shook my head. “He didn’t come looking for me, if that’s what you mean,” I said. “He had no idea where I was. I wanted it that way.”
I felt Henry’s gaze on me. I couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Why didn’t you marry him, Tess?” he asked.
“Why do you think?” I asked. “I got pregnant with your baby. I didn’t think he would still accept me if I told him I cheated on him with you and that I was pregnant, so I never told him. I just left. And then you asked me to marry you, and…”
“He knows you’re married to me?”
“Yes. Of course. I explained everything to him.”
“And…?”
“There is no ‘and.’ I’m married to you, not to him. He and I both understand that, so you have nothing to be concerned about.”
Henry looked through the windshield at the darkening sky, his right hand rubbing his left. “I thought I was doing something good, asking you to marry me.”
“You were,” I said. “And if Andrew had lived, everything would be so different.”
“Are you still in love with him? The doctor?”
There seemed to be no point in lying. “I love him with all my heart,” I admitted, my voice again growing thick.
Henry shut his eyes. Leaned back in the seat. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or sad or indifferent. I waited. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at me.
“This is a painful story, Tess,” he said. “I’m very sorry. Your tragedy was my salvation.”
“How?” I asked, utterly perplexed. “How is our marriage your salvation? I don’t understand.”
He reached his hand out to run his fingers down my cheek. His smile was sad. “You’re very dear to me,” he said, and then he started the car and I knew that was all the explanation I would get from him tonight.