Page 58 of Almost True
Doc Lindsay scribbled something on a sheet, tore it off, and handed it to me. “I’ll call this in when I get the results, but in case they need a hard copy…”
“Thank you. And you’ll have the results when?” I didn’t mean to sound impatient, but I wanted to get medicine in her and get her well. Seeing someone as indomitable as Maddie laid up in bed and delirious with a fever was disturbing on a cellular level.
Or maybe that was just the part of me that found her being sick and in pain intolerable. It was akin to when Luca was sick and all I wanted, all Ineeded, was for him to get better. This felt different than that, but also just the same.
“Three to five minutes,” he said, checking his watch.
“Oh, I thought you had to take them to the lab or something.”
The doctor smiled and shook his head. “Fortunately, no. These rapid tests are very accurate, and I also happen to know it’s going around. We see things like this roll through the clinic fairly predictably.”
I nodded, familiar with how different illnesses swept through the small town in waves. In fact, Luca had had strep about a month ago, so it’d been making the rounds for a while. “And the meds will take how long to kick in? Help her feel better?”
“This time tomorrow, she should feel significantly better. Two days, all the more. My guess is the next twelve hours will be very uncomfortable and waking up first thing tomorrow might be rough, but keep treating symptoms along with the antibiotics. Keep the fever down—the medicines, a tepid shower if it spikes. She’ll hate you for it, but she may need it as the afternoon sets in. Fevers always seem to climb.”
I stared at Maddie, who’d fallen asleep, completely dead to the world, about three minutes after the doctor had swabbed her throat. My heart literally throbbed at the sight of her passed out and so miserable. “It’s weird how that happens.”
“It is. I—” His phone alarm chirped. “Ah, let’s see.” He moved to the side table where he’d set up his bag and the test equipment. “Yep. Positive for strep A. Give me a few minutes to get this called in and then you can go pick it up. They’ll have it on hand for sure.”
A few minutes later, I’d roused Maddie enough to tell her I’d be back with medicine. Her eyes were glassy and she seemed disoriented, but she said a soft, “Okay, thank you” and then slumped back over on the couch.
By the time I got back a half hour later, she hadn’t moved. Nice as her couch was, I wanted her in bed and resting more comfortably as soon as I could get the medicine in her.
“Maddie, I’m back. Let’s get these antibiotics going so you can feel better.” I set a hand on her shoulder and tried to wake her, but she stayed asleep. “Maddie, wake up. Let’s take your medicine.”
The increased volume roused her just slightly, but it took another minute or two to get her eyes open. She looked miserable and when all she could do was let out a pathetic little groan, I brushed her hair away from her face.Crap.She was absolutely burning up.
“I’m going to sit you up,” I said, sliding a hand behind her back and slowly tilting her to the upright position.
She made another sound of protest.
“I’m sorry. Have to get these meds in you. Do you think you can eat something?” I patted her hand, and she blinked up at me.
“Guess I should, but everything sounds awful.”
After a little more coaxing, I got her to eat a slice of very lightly toasted bread and drink some orange juice. Not exactly the ideal diet for cushioning her stomach against the medicine, but when I suggested yogurt, her glare answered for her. At least she ate something.
I’d also hoped sitting at the bar, where I made her sit while I got her food, would help her cool down. She’d been buried under a blanket and I’d hoped that was the reason she’d been so warm. But when we took her temperature, it blinked an angry 104.
“Ohhh, that’s bad,” she said, looking at the thermometer’s bright red read-out screen with one eye.
Anxiety spiked in my chest, but I smiled at her, all my dad expertise at staying calm coming into play. “It’ll be okay. We know why it’s high, and you just took some medicine to help. But we do need to get you cooled down.”
“I’ll change clothes,” she said, moving from the barstool with a lurch toward the stairs.
“That’s a good start. You may need to take a tepid shower or bath. It’s the worst, but it usually does the trick.” I steadied her at the elbow and walked alongside her as she gripped the railing and took the steps one at a time. She was moving like every inch hurt her, so I took over.
“Wait, wait. Wait, Aidan.”
Her words were full of anxious surprise when I lifted her into my arms. I’d already carried her down part of the hike, and I wasn’t about to have her fall down the stairs and break her neck on my watch.
“You’re all right. We need to get you cooled down, so I’m going to help.”
She rested her head against my chest and shoulder but spoke softly. “You don’t need to do this. I can do it myself.”
I suspected that if she felt normal, she wouldn’t be so relaxed while protesting, but right now, she was practically dead weight. My heart squeezed at the reality that she felt so horrible, but at least we’d gotten meds. We’d addressed the larger issue, and it was a matter of waiting out the antibiotics and letting them do their thing.
“Which one’s your room?” I asked at the top of the stairs.
