Page 15 of No Greater Love
"Is there anyone there who can stay with her until I can get free? Maybe Coach Lynn?" Paige liked her gym teacher, one of the few adults at school she talked about.
"Coach Lynn is on a field trip with the fourth grade. Mr. Crawford, we're doing our best, but we can't leave her in there indefinitely, and if she won't come out?—"
"I understand." My mind raced, searching for a solution. Mrs. Swanson was visiting her daughter in Chicago. My list of emergency contacts was woefully short. "Let me see if I can find someone to come. Can you give me ten minutes?"
"Of course. We'll keep trying to talk to her."
I hung up, frustration and helplessness warring within me. Who could I call? The question pounded in my head as I quickly documented vitals. Paige's world was small—my parents had both passed away, and I didn't have any close family, both by emotion and geography, and that meant our support system was equally limited.
Then an unexpected face flashed in my mind: Tasha.
Tasha, who'd watched Paige during my babysitter crisis. Tasha, who'd bonded with her over books and tongue depressor butterflies. Tasha, who was off duty today.
Tasha, who had no real reason to help me again.
But I was out of options.
I grabbed our contact list of staff phone numbers, stepped into the medication room, pulled out my phone, and dialed.
The phone rang four times. I was about to hang up when her voice came through, immediately defensive.
"Look, Crawford, I'm already in overtime this week, so unless you're offering double call pay, there's no way I'm getting off this couch?—"
"No, no, it's not that. I—" I faltered. This was unprofessional, inappropriate, probably crossing a dozen boundaries. "I'm sorry to call on your day off."
"Yet here we are." Her tone was dry, but the defensiveness had vanished. "What can I do for you? Everything okay?"
"No." The single syllable felt like defeat. "I need a favor. A big one."
There was a pause, then a rustle of movement. "I'm listening."
"It's about Paige. She's having some kind of... issue at school. She's locked herself in the bathroom and won't come out. We're slammed, Sophia's on the other side of the world, there isn't another charge-trained nurse available. I can't leave."
"Is she hurt?"
"They don't think so. They don't know what's wrong. I just—" I inhaled sharply, hating the weakness in my voice. "I don't have anyone else to call."
Another pause. I could almost hear her weighing her options, calculating the imposition.
"What's the school?" Tasha asked finally.
Relief washed over me so intensely my knees almost buckled. "Riverdale Elementary. You'd need to talk to Ms. Wilson in the front office, I'll call and tell them you're coming, and that you're authorized to pick her up and take her to our house if necessary." I rattled off the address.
"I'll be there in twenty. And Crawford?"
"Yeah?"
"Breathe. Kids have emergencies. It happens."
"Thank you, Tasha. I—" What could I possibly say? "I owe you. Again."
"Start a tab," she replied, but there was a lightness in her voice that hadn't been there before. "I'll text you when I have her."
I hung up, immediately calling the school back. "Ms. Wilson? I'm sending Tasha Williams, she's a colleague and an emergency department nurse. Paige knows her. She has my permission to help however necessary and to take Paige home if needed."
The weight on my chest lightened incrementally. Tasha was capable, smart, and she'd been surprisingly good with Paige before. Whatever was happening, she could handle it.
I just hoped Paige would let her.
