Page 141 of Eternally Yours
She wraps her arms around her stomach tightly and curls herself inwards against my chest, head resting beneath my chin. She looks so small and frail in this moment, it makes my heart ache.
I carry her over to the bedroom and lay her down, bringing the comforter over her when I notice she’s shivering despite her burning sweaty flesh. Once she seems settled, I rush to the kitchen and grab a big mixing bowl. Then I head back into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water before returning by her side. I settle it over her forehead and place the bowl beside the bed.
She closes her eyes and seems to relax a bit.Good.I kiss her temple and pull out my phone, then step just outside of the room, to not cause Minnie a bigger headache, while I talk to Morgan over the phone.
Turns out, Morgan was home.Thank God, because I had no intentions of leaving my girl’s side. After telling Morgan about Minnie’s state, she ran to the store to get me everything I needed to help my wife get back to normal.
Twenty minutes later, there’s a soft knock at the door. I get up from my spot onthe armchair in Minnie’s room and head to the front door, where Morgan waits on the other side patiently.
“Thank you, you’re a godsend.” I grab the bag from her hands.
“It’s no problem, how is she?” We keep our voices hushed to not disturb Minnie.
“She doesn’t look too great, but she hasn’t been sick since I put her to bed. Although she’s still shivering. She just fell asleep, so I’m gonna wait a bit before waking her up to drink and take some medication.”
“Okay, good. If there’s anything you need, just call and I’ll rush over. I’m working from my home office, so I’ll be here all day.” She kisses my cheek and goes to turn when I think of something that I may need her help with.
“Wait, there’s actually something you could do for me, if you don’t mind.”
“Anything.”
“I left Milo at home. Do you think you could go pick him up and bring him back here? I don’t know how long Cecilia will be sick, and I don’t want to leave her side.”
“Of course, I’ll get him right away. We’ll keep him at the house so you don’t have to think about taking him out and can just focus on your girl.” She smiles and walks away.
“Thank you!” I whisper shout as she waves behind her head.
I head back in, depositing the bag on the kitchen counter and taking everything out. There are several types of cold medicine, some in liquid form, others in tablets. There are also bottles of acetaminophen and ibuprofen, heating pads, cold compresses, and a temporal thermometer. Morgan even bought chicken broth and a few sports drinks with electrolytes.She really thought of everything.
I grab the thermometer and return to Cecilia. She’s still asleep, so I remove the wet cloth and swipe the little hairs away from her forehead. I wait a minute or two for her forehead to return to its actual temperature since the wet cloth was cooling it down.
Once I think it’s safe to take an accurate reading, I position the thermometer over her forehead. It only takes about two seconds to show up. 103F.Shit, that’s pretty high. But not high enough to necessitate medical help. I’ll have to keep that under watch.
I bring the washcloth to the bathroom, rinsing it off with cold water and returning it to Cecilia. I give her another thirty minutes before waking her up to take some cold medicine and make her drink a bit of water. She groans and grumbles while I sit her up long enough to drink and take the medication.
“How are you feeling? How’s the headache?” I ask quietly.
The blinds are closed, stopping any sunlight from coming in. The light is also off,but she still keeps her eyes closed. “Like I’m dying,” she mutters, resting her head back on the pillow. “If I die, tell my husband I love him.” She brings an arm up over her eyes.
I chuckle at her dramatic words. Even sick, she still manages to find some sense of humor. Or maybe she’s too delusional to realize it’s me. “I’ll let him know. How about the headache?”
“Not as bad,” she answers with a groggy voice, telling me she’s about to pass out again.
“That’s good, the medication will help with that, too. Rest up, I’ll be back to check your temperature in half an hour.”
I lay her back down properly and lower the blanket slightly since she’s no longer shivering. I kiss her forehead over the cloth and wander back to the kitchen. I know I probably shouldn’t be kissing her in case I catch whatever she has, but I couldn’t care less in this moment.
I make myself two sandwiches since it’s past noon and I haven’t eaten. Then gobble both down in minutes and sit on the couch, watching a bit of sports news on the TV while checking the time on my phone.
At exactly thirty minutes, I check on Cecilia again. Her temperature hasn’t changed. But now her clothes are all damp, so I change her. She doesn’t even stir as I take her clothes off, trying to move her as little as possible. I grab a pair of loose, thin pajama pants and a t-shirt, slowly putting them on after sponging her skin dry.
The rest of the day goes on pretty much the same. No real improvement, except for the fact that she hasn’t been sick since I arrived, and she hasn’t had any chills in the last five hours. Her fever still hasn’t gone down, but it hasn’t risen, either.
It’s now close to midnight and I’m exhausted, but I don’t plan on sleeping much tonight. Someone has to watch over Minnie every few hours. Clay and Morgan stopped by around dinner time to bring me some food and check on my sick patient, while Emma and Aubrey have both been requesting updates by phone.
I settle in on the armchair, bringing it up close to the side of the bed to have a better view of Minnie. I’m still in my jeans, so it’s not the most comfortable thing to sleep in, but it will have to do. After giving Cecilia her medication and some more water one last time, I set a timer on my phone to check her temperature every two hours and fall asleep.
~ The Next Day ~
