I moved to Billie, Mitch shifted a bit out of the way still holding her hair while I leaned in and flushed the toilet. Then I folded the cloth and put it on her forehead as she coughed into the bowl.
Suddenly I heard Mitch saying, “Yeah, honey, sorry to call so late but Billie’s pukin’ and she’s burnin’ up. What do we do?”
My eyes went to him to see he was on the phone, his gaze on Billie’s back. I lifted a hand to stroke her there as more sick came out and I bit my lip as my heart clenched, feeling her little body working so hard to heave.
Clearly, this was why she was irritable and misbehaving.
Clearly, another woman with more experience with children would have read the signs.
Clearly, I should have been paying more attention to my charge and not freaking out about Mitch and then fooling around with him on his couch.
Clearly, I sucked as a guardian.
“No, I don’t think Mara’s got that but I’ll go to the drugstore. Yeah, thanks, later,” Mitch said, flipped his phone shut, his eyes coming to me. “My sister says children’s Tylenol and we should get a thermometer. If her fever is bad and stays bad, we need to take her to the ER.”
“Okay, are you doing the drugstore run or me?” I asked.
“I’ll go, you good here?”
I nodded and took her hair from his hand. He nodded back and leaned across her to kiss my forehead. Then he straightened and was at the door when I called his name.
He stopped and looked down at me. “Yeah?”
“She doesn’t have any insurance,” I whispered.
His jaw clenched, he nodded and said softly, “Don’t worry about that now, sweetheart. Let’s get some medicine in her and ride it out. Yeah?”
“Yeah, Mitch.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
Then he disappeared.
Billie had drained herself dry and I had her in bed with a new cool cloth on her head. I had also managed to clean up her sick in the living room without vomiting (though I did gag a lot) and had blown out all the candles and figured out his remotes to turn off the music by the time Mitch got back. He came in and I was curled around Billie in his bed. Billie was curled around me and she was whining, moaning and clearly in a state and therefore I was inwardly in a state because her noises and the way she was clutching me was scaring me to death.
Mitch hit the door and my eyes went right to him.
“Hurry,” I whispered.
“Right,” he whispered back.
He dosed her and took the cloth from her forehead because it was heated clean through while I coaxed her to hold the thermometer under her tongue. Mitch came back with a newly cooled cloth for her forehead and an extra one to put at the back of her neck. Then he took out the thermometer, read it and muttered, “Fuck.”
“How bad?” I asked.
“Not good,” he said, dropped the thermometer on his nightstand and pulled his phone out again. Billie pressed into me and started shivering so I moved us both so we were under the covers. I stretched out on my side, pulled her into me and returned the cold cloth to her head as Mitch talked. “Sorry, Penny, her fever’s one hundred and three, she’s shivering and she’s burrowing so hard into Mara, it looks like she wants Mara to absorb her.” He paused as I watched him and his eyes never left me. “Yeah, I gave it to her.” Pause. “Yeah.” Pause. “Right.” Pause. “Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know.” Pause. “Yeah, thanks, honey, later.” And he flipped his phone shut.
“Your sister?” I asked.
“Yeah. She says wait it out. Give her another dose when it’s safe which is four hours and check her temperature then if the fever doesn’t break. If it’s worse than now, take her in.”
“Mitch,” I whispered with fear in my tone because I didn’t know much about fevers but little Billie’s body being a hundred and three seemed bad to me.
Then I stared as he sat down on the bed, yanked off his boots, got up, lifted the covers and climbed into bed opposite Billie and then he slid into Billie and me.
“Mitch,” I repeated my whisper, this whisper had fear too but it was an altogether different kind.
“I’ll set the alarm to wake us in four hours and we’ll check her.”
“Um…maybe you shouldn’t be in this bed –” I started.
“Want Mitch,” Billie whined, somehow managing to burrow into both Mitch and me at the same time.
Shit!
His eyes locked on mine.
I tore mine away to look down at my cousin and say, “Billie, Mitch needs –”
She cut me off, “Want Mitch.”
Shit!
“Okay then I’ll go to the –”
“Want you. Want Mitch. Want Mitch!” Her voice was getting loud and I heard her fear so I lifted my hand, stroked her hair and cuddled her close.
“Okay, he’s here. I’m here. It’s okay,” I cooed.
“Cold,” she muttered.
“You’ll be okay,” I whispered and tipped my eyes to Mitch.
“Don’t go,” she whispered back.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I assured her softly.
“Make sure he doesn’t go,” she demanded, shifting awkwardly so she could move one of her little arms and grasp onto his shirt with her little fingers.
“I’m right here, gorgeous,” Mitch murmured and started stroking her back.
“Cold,” she muttered and burrowed again into both Mitch and me.
I took in a deep breath to calm my heart and my panic, panic for Billie and panic seeing as it appeared I’d be sleeping in Mitch’s bed with Mitch again. Finally I laid my head on the pillow. Mitch rested his head in his hand and his elbow in the pillow. Through this our eyes stayed connected.
“How many kids does your sister have?” I asked quietly.
“Three,” he answered.
I nodded. This was good. His sister was clearly an expert.
I pulled in a deep breath and pulled Billie closer. Billie pulled Mitch closer and then burrowed deeper into both of us. Mitch kept stroking her back and, luckily, it didn’t take long before she fell asleep.
When I knew she was asleep, quietly, I shared what I thought earlier, “She was acting funny. She’s rarely in a bad mood but I didn’t even –”
He knew where I was going and therefore cut me off with a whispered, “Mara, don’t.”
I shook my head. “She doesn’t have insurance, Mitch. If this is bad –”