Her breath was short. She wanted to stop. She clipped a short stack of pages between her fingers and flipped them. More writing in the margins. Le’al realized she was looking at Pearl’s low, overflowing once empty spaces.

Le’al pulled the purple cloth, centering the material in a knot on top of the bible. She lifted it. Wedged it between her pants and belly. Grabbed her shirt and pulled it out before down. Le’al reached for her jacket on the bottom of her cart. She put it on. Zipped it to her neck.

Exhaling slow, she said, "I can’t breathe."Le’al zipped her jacket down, a little. She exhaled heavy and looked at the clock. A half hour to go. "Ok, put the cart away," she said. "Go home."

She mopped the floor in front of the dresser. Leaned over to put up a wet floor sign. She saw a pill. It was on the floor. Just beneath the edge of Pearl’s bed. Le’al scooped it up with tissue. Balled the tissue around the pill. Slid it in her pocket.

Le’al took the damp cloth from her back pocket. She wiped the mattress. Then the frame. Clean of any powder. She wiped the floor. Tucked the cloth back in her pocket. Fixed the sheet, felt her pocket and pulled the pill out.

"What am I doing," Le’al said.