Page 17 of Baby Daddy

CHAPTER 9

Drake

Imentally hit my reset button. So, my new temp had a kid. A little girl named Tyson who was in kindergarten. I sure wasn’t prepared for the K-bomb. Or the explosion of questions that accompanied it. Was Dee married? Divorced? Separated? As much as I yearned to know, this wasn’t the time to probe. This was an emergency.

For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, my assistant was sitting next to me in my car. Taking the I-5, my Maserati wove through the five-lane freeway en route to Children’s Hospital where her daughter had been taken. I kept my eyes glued to the road but occasionally shot a look her way. The wild tipsy look from last night was gone, replaced by a somberness that bordered on fear. After thanking me for the ride, a tense silence prevailed over the whoosh of the wind and traffic. Speeding down Los Feliz Boulevard where I exited, I glanced into the rearview mirror.

“Shit!”

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s a cop behind me. He wants me to pull over.”

“Oh my God! NO!”

There was no way I could pull over on the busy thoroughfare so I activated my right turn signal to let the cop know I was turning onto the next residential street. He got the message and followed me.

Pulling up behind me, the cop got out of his car and approached me. “Sir, do you know you were going way over the speed limit?”

Before I could get out a word, Dee broke down in tears. “Oh, Officer, we’re so sorry. My daughter was rushed to Children’s Hospital, unconscious from a bee sting.”

A look of compassion washed over the officer’s ruddy face. “Ma’am, I totally understand. That happened to one of my kids from a peanut allergy. C’mon, just follow me and I’ll get you there in no time.”

With tears still dripping down her face, Dee clasped both hands to her heart. “Oh, thank you, Officer.” And I thanked him too.

Thanks to Officer O’Riley, we got to the hospital in five quick minutes. I clutched Dee’s icy hand as we raced to the information center. I didn’t think about it much; it just felt right. And she didn’t resist. Breathlessly, I introduced myself, and in no time, thanks to my VIP status, we were in the critical care unit where Dee’s daughter, Tyson, had been transported. A silver-haired nurse named Mary immediately met us.

“My daughter…can I see her? Is she all right?” Dee blurted out in a panic.

“She went into anaphylactic shock.”

“Anaphylactic shock?”

“A rare, life-threatening allergic reaction to a bee sting,” I offered solemnly, flashing back to my own childhood experience with a bee sting. While I didn’t quite go into shock, I broke out in hives, my tongue swelled, and I couldn’t breathe. Bees still freaked me out.

“Exactly,” replied Nurse Mary.

Dee’s eyes widened. “I had no idea she was allergic to bees. She’s never been stung before.”

“According to her teacher, she initially broke out in hives, but when her face began to swell and she complained she couldn’t breathe, she immediately called 9-1-1. The paramedics got there just as she lost consciousness and injected her with adrenaline to counter the severe reaction.”

“Oh my God! Is she still unconscious?”

“She returned to consciousness, but she’s sound asleep now.” The nurse smiled. “She’s a very lucky little girl. Everything seems stable.”

Dee let out a loud sigh of relief. The hold on my hand loosened, but she still clung to it like a lifeline. “Can I see her?”

“Of course, follow me.”

“I’ll wait here,” I murmured.

“No, please come with me. I’d love for you to meet her.”

“No, really, I’d rather not. I’m not good with kids. And maybe I’ll scare her.”

Dee relaxed for the first time and let out a small laugh. “Trust me, nothing scares her. Well, except maybe bees do now.”

I don’t know what made me do it, but I stayed with Dee and followed Nurse Mary down the hall to Tyson’s room. I kept my eyes straight ahead of me, not wanting to glimpse the critically sick kids in this ward. My philanthropic mother, God bless her, did a lot to cheer these children up, from putting on magic shows to sponsoring therapy dogs who put big smiles on their faces.

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