Page 24 of Merry with a Brewmaster
NOVEMBER
“Miss Greene?”
“Yes?” I ask cautiously, totally unsure why I felt compelled to pick up the unknown number. It’s local—but I still can’t place it.
“My name is Kathy Fields and I’m the nurse over at Love Beach Elementary. Mr. Reiser listed you on Haven’s emergency contact list, and we need her to be picked up as soon as possible.”
“Is she okay? You couldn’t reach her father?” I ask as I grab my purse and keys and slide my feet into the flip-flops by the door.
Belatedly, I jog back into the bathroom and grab the thermometer and medicine before heading out the door. We’d made it through the first few months of school without Haven contracting the plague, but apparently, our luck had run out.
“We left him a message, but Haven is running a fever, the poor thing. She needs some rest and maybe a trip to the doctor if the fever doesn’t break.”
“Can you tell her I’m on my way? I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
Mrs. Fields tells me she will and then hangs up while I back out of the driveway and punch in Wells’s number. It rings before going to voicemail, so I leave a message and then try the bar.
No answer.
Pushing down the panic, I park my car in front of the school and type out a message as I walk up to the front doors.
VIENNA: Haven is sick. The school called, I’m getting her now, I’ll let you know what’s going on.
The womanbehind the glass smiles, and after signing me in, she directs me toward the nurse’s office where Haven’s little face lights up as soon as she sees me.
“Are you ready to go home, kiddo?” I ask with a smile after exchanging pleasantries with the woman I spoke to on the phone.
“My ear hurts,” Haven says as I press my palm to her forehead. She’s burning up, and I bend down to kiss the top of her head.
“We’ll get you feeling better soon,” I say, taking her hand. Mrs. Fields indicates she hasn’t taken any medicine, and I nod and thank her even though I want to scream.
Buckling her into her seat, I take her temperature and then calmly pour some medicine into the little plastic cup when it registers over one hundred and three degrees.
VIENNA: She’s at 103—what should I do?
VIENNA: I just gave her some over the counter medicine for the fever.
I tryWells’s number again but it just rings until his voicemail picks up, so I end the call and try the pediatrician’s office. By some miracle they had a cancellation and can see us in the next half hour.
VIENNA: Going to the pediatrician’s office. I’ll come by the bar when we’re done.
Closing my eyes,I take a deep breath and will myself to calm down. I know what to do, but right now, the stakes feel so much higher than when I was teaching.
“Do you think Daddy will let me have a popsicle before dinner?” Haven asks from the backseat, making a smile pull at my lips.
“I’ll make sure of it.”
WELLS
I’m halfwaythrough inventorying the cooler when the door chimes. It’s been happening all day, but when Isaac calls my name, dread immediately fills my stomach as I hustle out into the bar.
“There you are! Why isn’t your phone on?” Vienna says, holding Haven in her arms, my daughter’s head on her shoulder.
“What happened?” I ask at the same time I grab the damn thing from my pocket.
Silent.
It’s been on silent all day with missed calls and a dozen messages I didn’t hear.
