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Hmmm, he feels warm.
“Hey Jace, you ready to go home?”
He groaned and sat up slowly, his eyes half-closed. “I don’t feel good.”
She frowned, worry knotting her stomach. “What’s wrong?”
“My throat. And I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
Merry grabbed the forehead thermometer from the cupboard and knelt down, running it over his forehead.
100.1. Crap.
She fought down the panic bubbling inside. She may not have ever taken care of a sick kid, but she knew the basics, starting with medication.
“I’m sorry you feel crappy, kiddo. Sit here and I’ll get you some medicine.” Merry checked his file for allergies and there were none, so she grabbed the liquid children’s Tylenol from the locked medicine cupboard. She knelt in front of him and poured some of the thick, pink liquid to the measurement line. “Drink this and we’ll get out of here.” Jace knocked it back and Merry took the cup, wiping it out with a sanitary wipe and replacing the medicine. “I’m sure you want to be all tucked in at home with your blanket and favorite movie.” When Merry returned to Jace, she picked up his backpack and put it over her shoulder. “That is what I like when I’m sick. You ready?”
Jace nodded and reached up with both arms. At first, Merry wasn’t sure what he wanted and then she realized he was silently asking her to carry him.
“Poor guy.” Merry bent over and wrapped her arms around him. “Up you go,” she grunted, lifting him. She’d expected him to be heavier, but she was able to keep him on one hip with just an arm around him. Merry slipped her purse over her free shoulder and called a good night to the janitor, Mr. Johnson. The teachers and principal were in an after-school meeting down the hall and she didn’t want to disturb them.
“I want my daddy,” Jace moaned.
Merry rubbed his back soothingly, her purse and his bag slipping down her arm. “I know, honey. I’m going to see if I can get ahold of your dad.”
By the time she got to her car, her arms were burning in protest at the extra weight. “All right, Jace, I need to set you down while I unlock the door. Can you stand?”
He nodded against the side of her neck before she slowly dropped him to his feet. Once she had the door open, she set his bag on the floorboard and helped him climb in. She buckled the seatbelt over his lap in the middle seat, she smiled, fighting back the worry at his peaked appearance. “All right, you ready?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled weakly.
Merry shut the door and got into the driver’s seat, her heart hammering as she turned the ignition. She’d never taken care of a sick kid before, never even babysat a healthy one. She assumed everything that was happening was normal, but she’d rather be sure. As she backed out of the parking space, she pressed the phonebook button on her steering wheel, trying Clark. It didn’t even ring, just went straight to voicemail. At the beep, she glanced in the mirror at Jace, who stared out the window blankly.
“Hey Clark, it’s Merry. I have Jace and he’s not feeling so great. He says his throat hurts and he feels nauseated, so I’m taking him home to your place and going to stay with him. I’ll see you soon.”
She ended the call and tried her mom, but after three rings, it went to voicemail. She could be going through the mountains and out of service range or on another call, but Merry didn’t bother leaving her a message.
In a last ditch effort for some reassurance, she dialed Noel.
“Hey, Mer.”
“Hi, what do you do if a kid has a 100 degree fever once you’ve given him Tylenol?”
“Huh? Whose kid?”
“Clark’s. Mom isn’t answering her phone and Clark is at work. I called you because you’re a nurse and I’m a bit out of my element.”
“Don’t panic, first of all.”
“I’m not panicking.”
“There is a high-pitched note at the end of your sentences, so yeah, you are, but you don’t need to. His fever isn’t too high. How long has he had it?”
“I don’t know. He seemed a little lethargic and flushed when he came into my office fifty minutes ago, but then he fell asleep and when he woke up, he was hot. He says it’s his throat and stomach.”
“Could be any kind of virus. Schools are a petri dish of germs. He was probably feeling punky before his little nap.”
“He did mention his throat was hurting then, but I thought he was thirsty.”
