the maternity ward of the public hospital and passed her hand lovingly over the tiny, shapeless mass of red flesh. There had never been any question in her mind regarding the name she should give him … Jean, of course. For his sake she had cheerfully lied in answering the usual form questions. … She had hoped to take at least a private room. But she had spent her money faster than she had realized and the private room would have made the weeks in the country impossible. …
She was glad afterwards she had put up with the lack of privacy and the other inconveniences of the public ward. Mr. Manning had arranged for her to stay with a friend of theirs in New Jersey and there Mimi was so contented, so happy, in the little cottage near Camden, she wished she could have remained there always. She loved to give Jean his bath, to feed him, to shower on him little attentions and superfluous affections. His clutching hands dug into her flesh as he nursed and the exquisite pain of it sent deliriously exhilarating tingles throughout her body. And she talked to him as though he were old enough to understand, whenever she was certain no one could overhear her.
“You’re mine, baby Jean, all mine. … No other person owns any part of you. … I’ll work for you, sacrifice everything for you … and we’ll be happy, so happy, together. … You’ll never know the agony your mother went through. … I’ll give everything gladly to save you and keep you free. …”
All too soon she was forced to return to Philadelphia. Up to this time Mimi had refused to permit herself to worry over the problem of earning a living for herself and little Jean. She told the Mannings frankly of her financial condition. They so readily showed their willingness to help her, it brought tears of gratitude that could not be checked. Her regular hours during the long months when she was awaiting Jean’s arrival, the willingness she had always shown to help with any task around the house, her regular church attendance, had all combined to endear her to the elderly couple who had no children of their own.