Page 22 of A Future in the Bay

Pearl bit her lip and shrugged, staring at the floor. “My tummy feels sloshy,” she said. “I feel like I might throw up. And Mom says I have a fever.”

“I took her temperature last night,” Caitlin said, “as soon as she told me she didn’t feel well. It was 99.8, which is a higher fever than she’s had in a long time. I’m mostly worried because she’s not talking as much as she usually does.” Pearl’s motherlaughed breathlessly, but she looked nervous. “It really isn’t like her, and I’m concerned. She wanted to come see you today and I was more than happy to bring her here.”

Gwen nodded, and Heidi typed down notes rapidly on the computer.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here, Pearl,” she said, smiling reassuringly at the little girl. “Let’s go ahead and take your temperature again.”

Pearl’s temperature had gone down a little since Caitlin had taken it the night before. Gwen continued to examine the little girl, speaking to her gently and letting her know why she was checking everything that she was. When asked questions, Pearl replied in a muffled voice, staring at the carpet.

“You just have a case of the flu, nothing too bad,” Gwen reassured her, once she was certain—although she’d been fairly confident of that diagnosis ever since the little girl had walked into her clinic. “You should be better pretty soon.”

“How soon is that?” Pearl asked, biting her lip. Her voice was almost a whisper.

“I can’t say for sure, but it won’t be too long—” Gwen stopped speaking as she saw the little girl’s bottom lip began to quiver. Children were more likely to be emotional when they were worn out from being sick, but it was clear that something was seriously upsetting Pearl.

“What if I miss it?” Pearl said, beginning to cry.

“Miss what?” Gwen asked, glancing at Caitlin in confusion. The little girl’s mother was frowning, and then all at once Caitlin’s eyebrows lifted in realization.

“Pearl, honey, are you worried you’re going to miss the wedding?” Caitlin asked, taking a step toward her daughter.

“Yes,” Pearl sobbed, and Caitlin folded her into her arms.

“That’s so sweet. But you don’t need to worry one bit. You’ll be better by then,” Caitlin assured her daughter, stroking her hair.

“When is the wedding?” Gwen mouthed at Pearl’s mother.

“The wedding is weeks away,” Caitlin said to both Gwen and Pearl. “You’re definitely going to be all better by then, honey.”

“Oh, definitely,” Gwen added, smiling. “Don’t worry about that.”

Pearl took a deep breath, sniffling back her tears. “Okay,” she said, offering everyone a watery smile. “Then I won’t worry.”

“Good,” Caitlin said, stroking her head. “You just relax so you can feel better soon.”

“You’ll definitely be all better by the time the wedding arrives,” Gwen said, feeling touched by the sight of Pearl cuddling up to her mother in relief. “Who’s getting married?”

Pearl snuffled and pointed a finger at Caitlin.

“Oh! Congratulations,” Gwen said, smiling.

“Thank you.” Caitlin nodded. “Pearl is from my first marriage, which didn’t work out. I’m about to marry Michael O’Neil, the man who owns Tidal Wave Coffee. It’s the most popular coffee shop in town. Have you been there?”

Gwen’s eyebrows lifted as she made the connection. “I have been there,” she said. “I met him. He was telling me about your cruise ship—a dining experience of some kind?”

“Yes!” Caitlin laughed. “He told me once he was going to tell everyone new in town about my dinner cruise and I guess he meant it. That’s Blueberry Bay, though, not just Michael—everyone here looks out for each other and helps each other out. That’s part of why I love this town so much—the support network is really something. Even our wedding has become a community effort. We’ve got people offering to help us with things all the time. It’s really touching.”

Gwen felt her heart soften a little as she heard Caitlin’s words. She thought the concept of a community banding together like that was sweet—it wasn’t something she was used to. The idea of the people in a town caring for one another like that was a bit of a strange concept to her, since she was used to living in communities where everyone took care of themselves rather than look out for others. She had to admit that the idea of being looked out for by others was nice—it was heartwarming.

“Here’s the handout we give to parents when kids have the flu,” she said, going over to one of the cupboards in the examination room and taking out a printed information sheet. “She should get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids. There’s other information here too, about medication and diet.”

Gwen handed the sheet to Caitlin, who took it and glanced over it with interest.

“What kinds of foods do you recommend I give her?” Caitlin asked.

“Whatever she can stomach at first, and then try to make what you give her as nutritional as you can. I’d recommend letting her sleep and watch some of her favorite movies today.”

“Yay!” Pearl said, suddenly looking excited.

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