Page 10 of Goodbye Paradise
Slipping in and out of consciousness, I was sometimes aware of a clicking noise, which turned out to be the sound of my own teeth chattering.
As always, I endured.
The fever dreams finally went away, and I was deep under. That’s why I really didn’t appreciate the fact that someone was trying to hoist me up again. In fact, I curled an arm over my face to protect myself against the onslaught.
The bothersome person was talking at top speed, too. Talking and begging. “Josh, come on. Come on. Come back to me. You have to wake up, because I’m fucking scared now. Wakeup.”
I groaned to express my displeasure.
“Yes! Come on now. Sit up for me.”
That was asking too much. But I did open my eyes. And the sight of Caleb’s familiar face in the darkness lifted me like nothing else ever could.
He hooked a hand under my arm pit and yanked me into a sitting position. Then he pulled me right into his arms. “Shit. Shit,” he said, pressing his face into my cheek. “You are so fucking cold. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
That got my attention. “Why?” He’d come for me. It was all I ever wanted him to do.
He put two hands on my head and held me close, our faces still pressed together. His nose felt warm against my frigid cheek. “We have got to get you inside. I need you to stand up, Josh. There is a Motor Inn right over there.” He pointed across the lot.
I simply shivered. My teeth started their dance, again.
“You walk, or I’ll carry you,” he said firmly.
We couldn’t have that. So I pressed a hand down and tried to rise. I got vertical. But my knees weren’t having it, and I ended up right back in the dirt a second later.
“Shit!” Caleb swore. That was four or five curses in four or five minutes. So something must be very wrong. I didn’t care what it was, though, because I was just too sleepy.
“If I carry you into that lobby, they’ll never give us a room,” Caleb said. “Goddamnit.”
I drowsed, while he fumed beside me.
“Josh,” he patted my cheek. “Josh, listen.”
“Yeah,” I managed.
“I’m getting a room, and you’re going to wait here.”
“‘Kay.”
“I swear to the Lord in heaven that if you’re not here when I get back in ten minutes, I will have a coronary. Because I’m already fucking scared enough.”
I dozed.
* * *
The next timeI regained consciousness, I was on a warm, soft surface. And Caleb was removing my clothes.
That should have been exciting, but I was too tired to care.
“That’s it,” he said as gentle hands tugged my trousers off. It got cooler again when he removed my socks. And there was a tussle over my undershirt, because I did not want to give it up.
“You’ve sweated through everything,” he said quietly. “Damp clothes aren’t helping. Trust me, Joshy. You’ll be warm in a minute.”
But that was a lie.
Sure, he shifted me into a bed—a softer one than I’d ever had for my own. And sheets and blankets were laid upon me. But my teeth just wouldn’t quit chattering, and I was shaking so hard my muscles were sore. “S…so cold,” I complained.
“That’s your fever talking,” he said.
