章 11: Chapter 11

ON MARCH 14, 1994, Seventy-four V1 was born. He was a sweet-tempered baby boy with a head of fuzzy brown hair, eyes that were hazel once the vague blue of newborns faded, and ears that were startlingly prominent. He also had syndactyly—cute little webbed toes—and Babe wondered if he got that from his mother or his father.

Although she knew better—this wasn’t her baby—Babe fell in love with him. As with Cilla and Marianne, she named him, and when no one was around, she called him Davy.

Babe held her breath as each month passed, expecting one of Davy’s organs to fail. That was what had happened to the other babies she’d cared for, but he was healthier than any of them, and she began to relax.

She talked to Gunther—and only Gunther—about him. “He’s brilliant, Gunther.”

“Are you sure you’re not biased?”

“Well, maybe just a little.” But she didn’t believe that.