A man wearing a mask approaches me. “What’s your name?”
I look down at the name-tag I grabbed off the welcome table. “Volunteer 8.”
“Take your shirt off,” he says.
I hesitate. I wore my ugly bra today. This isn’t fair.
“It’s to give the babies more warmth,” he says. In his outstretched hand is a crepe gown. Yellow, the saddest color if you ask me.
– Allison Kubu, “Bottomless Sounds”
When Ruthie’s roommate cajoles her into volunteering to hold babies born with opioid addictions, the last thing she expects is to become deeply attached to a baby girl named Splenda. Ruthie has a blunt and straightforward presence, but can be “sentimental,” she tells us. From a family with significant challenges herself, Ruthie is constantly struggling with the notion of being part of a family, even as she has aspirations to create her own.
Read “Bottomless Sounds,” from Longleaf Review here.
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