Page 31 of Unexpected Love
Charlie quiets and burrows into me. Her forehead is hot on my neck.
She’s burning up through the layers too.Fuck.
I’m not going to panic.
I search for the forehead thermometer and the brand-new bottle of children’s fever-reducing medicine that Liv made me get. I figure out how to work the thermometer and aim it at her temple. It reads 103.5.
“Okay, that’s not good,” I tell Charlie as I lay her on the couch. “We need to get these clothes off and get some medicine in you, sweetheart.”
I undress her limp little body and grab a fresh diaper while I’m at it, and that’s when I see it.
Full-blown panic runs down my spine.
I snag my phone and immediately dial Jules. I should put her on speed dial at this point.
She answers with a sleepy “Hello,” and I blurt, “Charlie’s got a fever and a rash. What do I do?” The words tumble from my lips as I quickly redress Charlie in her pajamas. Every ounce of medical training I’ve ever had seems impossible to recall.
“What’s her temp?” Jules yawns on the other end of the phone.
“103.5.”
“Did you give her Tylenol?”
“Not yet. But Jules, something’s wrong. She’s got spots all over her girl parts.”
Jules snickers. “It’s called a vagina. I swear, you’re supposed to be the professional.”
“This is not funny. Something is wrong.” My voice cracks with the adrenaline coursing through my veins and the fear that Charlie has a sudden fatal disease.
“Okay. I’ll be over in a minute,” Jules promises. It’s forty-two hours before she lets herself into my apartment with the key I had made for her. And in that time, I’ve undressed Charlie again, inspected her from head to toe, again, and rediapered her, again.
“Look,” I bark before Jules even clears the door. “Her hands and feet have spots. The same ones are on her girl bits. Why does she have spots on her girl bits?” My voice is the same octave as a prepubescent teenager, and I’m nearly yelling.
I’m also seeing spots all over everything because I can’t seem to find my breath.
“Calm down, let me have a look,” Jules says like she’s striving for patience.
She hums to Charlie and does the same inspection I did while I stand helplessly by with my hands on my hips.
I should be doing something.
If this were a heart attack or stroke scenario, I’d know exactly what to do. If she were choking, I’d know how to act.
But this unseen, unknown terror has me in a pitiful stranglehold, and I can’t function.
“Well?” I bark as Jules redresses Charlie and pulls her into her arms.
“I’ve seen this before. The older kids had it when I first moved in at Steve’s. I think she’s got hand, foot and mouth.”
“What the fuck is that?” It comes out as a shriek. I don’t even recognize my own voice at this point. And Jules laughs. Fuckinglaughs.
“Would you relax already?” she says, wiping her eyes.
“Jules, this is not funny. Should we take her to the hospital?”
She rolls her eyes. “No. She doesn’t need a hospital. It’s a viral thing. It makes little spots that can sometimes blister. It’s uncomfortable and looks gnarly. You really want to go sit in the ER waiting room at this time of night?”
I shudder at the thought. I’ve seen the ER waiting room in the middle of the night, and I do not want to subject Charlie to it. Still… “But her fever is so high.”
