Mike Myers

_

pushes up the anger in me. It must cause the same reaction
in Joseph because] feel the same coldness coming from him.

“My mother says she believes this pill has caused
problems in two of my brothers and one sister. None of
them have been able to have children.”

A bitterness is beginning to form in Helen’s voice.
It's a bitterness that begins when one’s trust has been
betrayed. These people have trusted these hospitals and the
peoplewhowork there. Yes, they have had their suspicions,
but the bottom line is that they trusted them.

“Helen, has your mother ever talked about this
before?” I ask.

“No, this is the first she has said of this to me. We
have never talked about these things before.” The tears
have gone from her eyes, she has managed to pull themback
into her body.

The room is quiet for a few moments. Helen is the
first to react. She almost snatches acigarette out of the pack.
Her mouth is firm as she lights it, deeply inhales and says,
“Can you see what they have donetomy family? They have
stopped us from having children, they have stopped us
from having a full future.”

She takes a deep swallow from her tea. “I'm so mad,
I don’t know what to do.”

Josephisleaning forward on one elbow, the other on
his knee. He says, “When I was at St. Anne’s the priests did
alot of things to me and the others. I used to lie inmy bed
thinking about home. I had all these wonderful pictures in
mind how nice it would be to get back home.”

You can almost hear the wistful little boy in his voice
as he speaks. His eyes are flashing back and forth between
two deep feelings. In one second the eyes search for that
time of peace and safety in his grandmother’s lap. In the
nextsecond his eyes are telling me that he would like to find

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