She seemed to get a little nostalgic when she described the baby, and I suspected she was missing her own children. I felt bad for her and let her talk; it seemed to do her good. “She’s beautiful. It makes me very sad, as it’ll be very difficult to convince a foster family to take her given her mother’s connection to crime. It can become very complicated in these cases. If she were an orphan, it would be no trouble at all, but these cases present some problems. Besides, since her mother was probably using all through her pregnancy there’s no telling the type of health problems she could develop later in life, although she’s fine now and seems very healthy. It’s just a sad situation. She’s a beautiful baby. I can’t imagine throwing such a great gift away for drugs, it must be such an awful thing.”

I agreed that it was very sad, but I told Helena to go home and relax. She was obviously sad about things, and exhausting herself wouldn’t make it any better. The baby was in the hospital and she was being well taken care of, so she could spend the day resting without feeling guilty for it. Helena agreed, and we left not long after we’d finished eating. I went on my walk and was nearly home when Alice called, saying she was done at the station and ready to come home. I went to get her, and told her about my conversation with Helena at lunch.

I could see the wheels turning in her head, but I honestly thought that she just had an idea for an episode of the Chart, something about kids being torn away from their parents by forces beyond their control or something. I could see that being Chart-like. Or I thought maybe she’d use it as inspiration for something in her book. I never dreamed that she was plotting to adopt the baby. The thought didn’t even cross my mind, but looking back on it, I realize it should have been obvious.

The next day, Alice called Helena and asked if she might be able to come to the hospital to see the baby. Helena agreed, because really, what was the harm in it? Al insisted that I go with her, so I did, mostly because I really didn’t have anything else to do and I was curious as to what she was up to.