Casey Jones
Little toes attached to small feet dug into my side, waking me up from a deep sleep. Yawning, I stretched my arms out and felt the empty space where Jane should have been. For a brief second, I wondered where my love had gone but then I remembered that Jane had kissed me goodbye before lugging a suitcase out the door earlier that morning on her way to the airport. As I stock of the empty space, something struck me as odd. The little body that was curled up against me radiated an unfamiliar heat and the sudden realization that I wasn't alone caused me to push up onto my elbows. But something was different. This time something didn't feel quite right.
Since I had come to live with them, there had been many mornings when I had woken up with the same pressure of a little body pressed against me, but something was off this time. My eyes surveyed the flushed face and sweaty curls that stuck to Isa's forehead and my heart began to race.
"Dada..." Isa sighed as she looked up at me with glassy eyes.
"Izzy, what's wrong?" I asked as I pushed her sweaty hair away from Isa's unfocused eyes. Isa shook her head and reached up to touch my hand. Her cheeks were rosy with a fever and sweat continued to bead along her forehead. "Tell me where it hurts." I continued to stroke the sticky hair, pushing it away so I could see Isa's eyes better.
Isa touched her head and then her stomach. "Here..." she whimpered and then squirmed slightly.
In an instant, the almost tranquil moment between us turned into something that I hadn't expected as vomit hit me in the middle of the chest and Isa began to cry.
"Shit..." I looked at the mess dripping down the front of my shirt.
"Sorry...dada..." Isa said between whimpers as tears started to roll down her pink cheeks.
"It's okay." I said as I scooped Isa up in my arms and rushed towards the bathroom. "Dada's got you. Shit..." I cursed under my breath again when I almost slipped on the tile's in the bathroom as vomit continued to drip off my shirt onto the floor. "Let's wash up." I tried to soothe as I carried Isa to the shower with me.
Turning on the shower, I waited until the water was lukewarm to step in, pajama's and all. I let the water wash over my head as I held Isa close. But even though the water was warm, Isa started to shiver in my arms, so I tried to wash off what was left of the sickness that coated the front of my shirt and covered Isa's small body. As quickly as I could, I peeled off the wet pajamas with the white bunny rabbits before stepping out of the shower to grab a warm fluffy towel to wrap the shivering girl in.
Isa snuggled into the soft wrap, her eye's half open and slightly dazed. "Don't feel good..." she whispered as I carried her back to the bedroom, trying my best to dodge the droplets of vomit that still covered the floor.
"It's okay Izzy." I sighed as I laid Isa down at the end of the bed, away from the mess that still coated the sheets and pillows. As quickly as I could, I stripped out of my wet clothes and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a clean t-shirt over my wet hair. After running my fingers through my hair, I frowned at the realization I would need to take another shower when I had a chance. When I was done, I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and scooped Isa up again, leaving the mess behind to take care of later.
With Isa tucked against my chest, I went into the little girl's room to grab some clean pajamas, so she could put them on to stem the shivering that continued to come from the small body in my arms.
"Dino it is." I said as I grabbed the first pair of pajamas I could find from the miniature white dresser with pink glass knobs. With Isa and the pajama's in hand, I turned to leave.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I let out a heavy sigh. "I'm gonna need help." I said aloud to myself as I carried the clean pajama's and Isa towards the couch and gently set them both down. I found Frankie's phone number and called him, moving to sit next to Isa on the couch.
"This better be an emergency." Frankie groaned when he answered on the third ring.
"Isa's sick and Jane's away on business. I need help." I glanced at the clock and grimaced when I realized it was only seven o'clock in the morning. "Sorry I woke you up, but I don't know what to do."
"No, it's okay." Frankie's voice softened with concern. "What about Ma or Maura?"
I could hear the rustling of the covers as Frankie sat up in bed to talk to me. "Maura went with Jane and Angela's out of town for the weekend on some spa weekend retreat."
"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can...give me about thirty minutes."
"Thanks." I sighed into the phone. "Hurry..."
"Jane has an emergency kit for times like these. Just take Isa's temperature and give her what she needs if she has a fever, which I'm pretty sure she does. Text me if you find out you need something. I'll be there as soon as I can." He said before hanging up the phone.
I hung up and then stared at my phone trying to decide if I should call Jane or not but then I remembered that Jane was probably somewhere over Colorado about now on her way to LA. Shaking my head, I pushed the urge away to call her mom, feeling determined that I could handle things, even if I did need Frankie's help.
Isa stretched and pushed the towel off, exposing her overheated skin to the cool air in the living room and whimpered. "Hot, dada..." she wiped at her sweaty forehead.
"It's okay baby." I ran my finger's through Isa's damp hair. "I'll get you some medicine to make you feel better. Will you be okay if I leave for a minute to get you something?" I was hesitant even though Isa nodded.
As quickly as I could, I ran up stairs to the bathroom where Jane might've put the emergency box with the thermometer and Tylenol among other things. And as quickly as I had gone up the stairs, I somehow managed to get down them quicker. I slid across the hardwood floor, coming to a stop next to the couch where Isa lay.
"Mommy said not to do that." Isa turned her head to watch me as I skidded to a stop. She tried to smile, but fatigue took over as she closed her eyes.
Setting the box down on the coffee table, I riffled through it to find the electronic thermometer. When I did, I pulled the cap off and pressed it against Isa's forehead. I held down the red button and waited for it beep. When it did, I frowned at the reading and immediately looked for the Tylenol. As I was searching through the box, I found a note written in Jane's neat script and looked it over. I was happy to see that it was instructions for what to do if Isa had a temperature over 100. It stated that I was to give Tylenol first and then give Motrin after three hours and then alternate every three hours. There was a small notebook and pen tucked in the box next to the Tylenol and I let out a sigh of relief. Jane really had thought of everything, as usual.
Carefully, I took out each bottle of Tylenol and Motrin and set them on the coffee table along with the small notebook. Noting the time, I wrote it out with a T next to it before taking the little spoon like cup and filling it with the amount that Jane had written down.
"Hey Izzy, Dada's got some medicine to help you feel better." I said quietly as I helped to lift Isa's head so I could give her the Tylenol.
"Okay..." Isa opened her eyes and allowed me to help her sit up. After taking the Tylenol, she glanced down and noticed she wasn't wearing her pajamas. "Where my bunnies?" She asked.
"We had to take them off 'cause they got dirty. I brought down your Dino pajama's." I set the little spoon down next to the notebook before turning my attention to the wadded-up pile of pajamas on the couch.
"But I want bunnies..." Isa's eyes grew wide as tears pooled in them.
"I know, but they got dirty and wet, so we had to take them off." I tried to reason.
"I want bunnies..." the tears flowed freely as Isa started to cry. "I want Mommy." Her tears came stronger now, accompanied by the hiccups.
"I know, me too but Mommy is on a trip. How about if Uncle Frankie comes over to help?"
Isa took a deep breath and even though the tears continued to roll down her flushed cheeks, she nodded her head. "Okay, but I don't want Dino jammies."
"How about the princess ones then?" I laid Isa back down on the couch, but this time I placed a few pillows behind her so she could sit up slightly. "And I'll get your blankie and we can make a bed here on the couch like we're camping."
"Okay." Isa snuggled back against the couch with the towel wrapped around her.
I reached over and touched the tip of Isa's nose with my finger causing the toddler to giggle slightly.
"I'm thirsty." Isa smacked her lips together to illustrate her thirst.
"You want some juice or chocolate milk?"
Dark brown eye's lit up at the mention of chocolate milk. "Chocolate milk!" Isa nodded emphatically. "Please..."
"Okay, you gonna be alright while I go get your pajamas and then some milk?"
Isa nodded again. "I'm okay."
"Then I'll be right back." I bent down and kissed Isa's forehead still radiating heat that burned my lips.
With a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure Isa was okay, I moved quickly towards the stairs and to Isa's room. When I grabbed what I needed, I headed to the kitchen to get some milk. Opening the frig, I smiled at the carton of chocolate milk. A row of cups lay in the drying rack next to the sink and I grabbed one.
"You okay, baby girl?" I called out as I put the carton back in the frig.
"Yes, Dada." Isa called back.
"Here ya go." I appeared in the living room with the cup in my hand.
"Thank you." Isa reached out to take the cup before taking a big drink and smacking her lips. She nodded at the cup in her hand before taking another long drink.
Sitting on the coffee table across from the couch, I let out a sigh of relief as I watched Isa finish her drink. I knew how important it was to stay hydrated, so I was happy to see the empty cup when it was handed back to me. "You want more?" I asked.
Isa nodded, but then she frowned and shook her head. "I not feel good..." she continued to shake her head.
I reached out to touch Isa's forehead but a light knock on the door caused me to look away. In that split second before I turned back, an eruption of hot liquid hit me in the chest. The smell of sour milk almost caused me to get sick myself but I somehow managed to stay calm as Isa began to cry again. "It's okay." I tried to reassure the crying girl who just cried harder at the mess all over the place. "Uncle Frankie's here. He'll help."
As the tears continued to fall, Isa did her best to nod her understanding. The sound of the front door creaking open drew her attention away from the mess covering my shirt. "I'm sick, Unca Frankie..." she sniffed back the tears and wiped at her eyes. Pointing at my shirt, she hiccupped a few times as Frankie approached us. "Look at Dada..."