Tragedy

Just a few months after arriving in New Orleans, following a Fourth of July celebration that Vi wouldn't forget, she became ill, and the local doctor told her parents that the Charity Hospital would be the best place for her. A few weeks later, her mother came down with the same disease, and it would be her that was taken, rather than Vi. After accompanying her body to Baltimore, Dad would return to visit his daughter in the hospital before continuing to Shreveport, where more work waited for him. Vi spent lonely days in the hospital, but the Sisters of Charity that worked there were kind to her. Once she had recovered, one of the nuns made the long trip with Vi to Baltimore, around Christmastime. She was met at the train station by Aunt Annie, who brought an especially delicious milk drink for Vi, to welcome her home. It was called eggnog.