Page 12 of Vawn
“Yeah, but at least you saw your guy again.” Utahn rested his head on my shoulder. “The one I was with last night said I was a good lay but just a number on his tally of how many tourists he could fuck while he was here.”
“Was he a racer?” I ran my fingers through his hair, trying to give him some comfort. “If so, I’ll have my brothers kill him.”
“No.” Utahn sobbed again, though his tears had stopped. “An accountant.”
Of course, he’d be all about numbers. Though I didn’t think my friend would find the humor in that thought right now. I stood and offered a hand to help him to his feet. “Come. Let’s go sit on something more comfortable than the floor.”
He got up but headed for his bedroom instead. “I think I’m going to lie down. I’m not upset over this guy anymore. Heck, I can’t even remember his name. I just need to sleep the night off.”
“Okay, sleep well.” I closed the door behind him, knowing he wouldn’t get over what happened so quickly. But if he wanted to be alone, I would grant him that.
I made a quick trip to the bathroom then headed to my own room for a little more sleep. That’s when I saw a little shadow move in front of me. “Enif, is that you?”
“Daddy.” She glanced up at me, her face pale in the faint light. “I don’t feel good.”
She had just gotten those words out when she leaned forward and vomited in front of me.
I closed my eyes and covered my mouth with my arm, trying to take a calming breath before dealing with this issue.
Stepping around the mess on the floor—I’d deal with that after—I took Enif to her room, cleaned her off, and found a small bin for her to use if she needed to be sick again. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
“My stomach,” she groaned. “An’ berry sweaty.”
When I touched her forehead with my palm, she felt extra warm and clammy, so I went to my room for the first aid kit I’d, thankfully, packed.
I took her temperature: 109.9°F. Too high. I rooted through the kit to find her medicine. When I found the right one, I stuck the patch to her arm, hoping her stomach and fever would be eased quickly. No parent liked to see their child sick.
She whimpered before vomiting again. Fortunately, in the bin this time. “So tired, Daddy.”
I moved the bin aside and had her lie down. After I stroked the side of her face for a while, she fell asleep. I used the time I had to clean up and wash some laundry. My day hadn’t started out well, and I had a sinking feeling it wouldn’t end nicely, either.
After a quick bite to eat, and a cup of koobee to wake me up, I heard Enif calling me again. I rushed to her room to find an even bigger mess. She needed to be washed this time, as did her bed sheets. Yeah, I wasn’t going out tonight.
Once I’d finished the second round of cleanup, I gave Enif a drink full of electrolytes to prevent dehydration. I didn’t need her to end up in a medical facility this far from home. I had no idea what had caused her to be sick, but as her father, I was responsible for taking care of her.
When the afternoon rolled around, I called Ojokun, with a heavy heart, to cancel our date. Though he’d probably easily find someone else to spend the night with.
“Hi, Vawn,” he answered, sounding chipper. “I’m glad you called. I have something special planned for this evening.”
Special?Shit, why did my luck suck so much today? “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to cancel.”
“What? Why?”
I didn’t know how to feel by the fact that he sounded as disappointed as I felt.
“You remember that little girl yesterday? Well, she’s my daughter.”
I heard a muffled choke on the other end.
“Um, okay. That’s fine. I’m okay with that.”
I didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. I still had to cancel. “The thing is, she’s really sick right now, and I can’t expect my friend to take care of my daughter at this time.” Especially when he was already upset.
“Oh, um, okay, I guess.”
“Maybe we can do something later in the week, if you’re still willing.” This was exactly why I didn’t actually date and kept quiet about my daughter in many aspects of my life. People treated me differently when they learned I was a father, that I’d given birth to a beautiful little girl. In the end, though, I wouldn’t trade her for the universe. She was everything to me.
“Yeah. Yeah, sure. I’ll call you then. Bye.”
