Page 110 of The Charmer

The doctor arrived on time. Dr. Charles was an elderly man who appeared to be in his seventies. His beard and mustache were white as snow, but his hair was still gray. He even had strands of black in between.

"All right," he said gently. "Julian gave me the rundown of what happened last night. Tell me exactly how you feel."

He looked at my glass of water suspiciously. I tried to describe how I felt as best as possible.

"I’d like to get out of bed, though," I finished.

"I'm afraid I can't approve that today."

"At all?" I was shocked.

"You can move around the house." He looked at Julian. "But I would try and keep her well rested."

"Even though you don't remember last night, you were up a lot," Julian said.

"It's not just that," the doctor said. "You’re severely dehydrated. People think doctors joke when we say, 'You need to drink water,' but having an imbalance of electrolytes is extremely dangerous. Since you managed to drink that amount within half an hour and keep it down, I’m positively optimistic that you should be able to get the liquids you need on your own." He turned to Julian again. "You need to be very strict with her. She needs to drink eight ounces every hour. I usually recommend my patients consume a minimum of seventy ounces a day."

Even though his voice was very severe, his eyes were kind.

"I'll do that."

"Get one of those sport drinks for her, like Gatorade. That will help her hydrate even better.” The doctor then turned to me, saying, “See if you can stomach the taste. If you do, it's going to help. Don't overdo it, though. One bottle is enough."

"Gatorade it is," Julian said.

"That's all. Please keep me updated. If you start throwing up again or you can’t take in any more fluids, we'll need to give you an IV."

I groaned. "I hate hospitals."

"You don't need to go to a hospital for that. I’d arrange for you to have everything you need here."

I tried to contain my shock. I didn't even know that was possible.

"All right, then. I promised the missus I'd take her for brunch, and I don't want to be late. But I’m on call anytime you need," he told me and then looked at Julian.

I swear to God, I hoped we wouldn't have to call him. I was embarrassed enough that we had to drag this poor guy down here on a Sunday morning.

While Julian walked him downstairs, I eyed my glass again and then took another a few sips. I listened intently for Julian to come back up after I heard the front door close. To my intense surprise, it was completely silent. Maybe he'd decided to walk a few feet with the doctor. I was the only one who had to stay indoors and lie around doing nothing, after all. He was free to move around.

Julian returned a short while later, and he sprinted up the staircase.

"Hey, where have you been?" I asked.

He held up a bottle with a fluorescent blue liquid inside. "Got you Gatorade."

My heart gave a mighty squeeze. "That's why you went out?"

"Yes. The doctor said you need it. Far be it from me to disagree."

"I thought you always played things by ear," I teased as he came over to me.

"Not when it comes to a doctor's instructions." He began to uncap it, then looked at my glass and smiled. "You drank all of it."

My God, he sounded so proud, like I'd just finished a marathon or something. "Yes, I did."

"Okay." He put the cap back on. "Then you'll have this later. Don't think it's good to have too much at once."

"I don't think I could keep it down, honestly."

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