In the months since she’d been born, not once had she been unwell when I’d had her. In fact, I couldn’t even recall a time when my uncle said she’d been properly sick.
Running his hand over the top of her head, he asked, “Do you have one of those kid thermometers?”
I did a mental run through of the contents of my first aid kit and then realized I did in fact have one. Holding my finger up to him, I sprinted through to the bathroom that was attached to my bedroom, opened the drawer that I’d dedicated to all things medicine, and looked at the second drawer in the organizer box that had bigger items in it like bandages and a bottle of that shit that burns when you pour it on a cut. Sure enough, beside it was the thermometer I’d bought the first time I’d taken care of her.
Pulling it out, I made sure the battery wasn’t dead and took it through to where she was now lying on her bed with Jarrod standing watching her.
“It’s a forehead one. You just press the button and it reads it,” I whispered, holding it up for him to see.
When I didn’t move to use it, he gestured at her with his head. “You gonna use it, babe?”
That was a good point.
Leaning over her, I pressed it gently on her forehead and put my thumb on the button. In a matter of seconds it beeped, and I lifted it to look at the screen. “Ok, if your temperature is meant to be around ninety-eight, that means that literally just under one hundred is high, right?”
Frowning at this, Jarrod walked around and gently pulled me out of her room and into my room.
Now was the time for me to embrace my inner Maude. Sweet Jesus, I had Jarrod Kline in my bedroom. Jesus needed to take that wheel and drive!
“Ma,” he said into his phone, something I hadn’t seen him using until he spoke. “'Lodie’s got a fever. Yeah, almost one hundred. No, just chewing and rubbing her face on me. Her cheeks are pink and warm, but she wasn’t sweaty. Hang on, I’ll ask her.” Raising his head to look at me, he asked, “How’s she been with eating and drinking, honey? Any issues?”
Thinking back, I did a quick analysis of how she’d been eating. “No, she was fine. Fed Duke like normal, was chewing ok, but she was thirsty this morning.”
Focus back on his phone, he asked, “Did you hear that? Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking, too. Ok, we’ll do that. Thanks, Ma. Yeah, later.”
“What did she say?”
Putting his phone back in his back pocket, he blew out a breath. “She says it’s probably teething, but if anything changes to call the doctor. She also said she used to check our temperatures every hour when we were sick, just so she was aware if anything changed.”
That was a good idea. “I’ll do that for sure.”
“How do you feel about giving her some Tylenol right now, just to see if that helps?” he asked, his head tilting to the side as he watched me.
That question made me freak out. I’d never given her any medication before and, honestly, after her mom being addicted, the thought of doing it was terrifying.
I don’t know what he saw on my face, but he definitely would have been able to read my fear. “What’s going through your mind, Katy?”
Wringing my hands in front of me, I laid it out. “Her mom’s an addict, but I don’t know enough about addiction to see if kids can inherit it. I know that they learn by viewing, but addiction is addiction, it’s a disease that a lot of people can’t help, Jarrod. Giving Elodie a medication, even if it’s only baby Tylenol, when Effie has that…”
Closing the distance between us, he lifted his hand and cupped the side of my neck. “Baby, she’ll be ok with Tylenol, especially the baby stuff you’ve got for her. After that, you need to speak to a doctor and do some research so that you understand it better, and so that in the future you can help Elodie understand what her mom’s going through.”
“Ok,” I breathed, my freak out slightly calming.
“Now, get the stuff and look at how much she needs to have. Do you want to hold her, or do you want me to do it while you give her the Tylenol?”
How did he know so much? I hadn’t even gotten to that stage of the process in my mind. I was still stuck on the part where I went to get it.
Knowing she’d wake up when she was picked up, even if it was only for a second, I made my choice. “I’ll hold her, you give it to her.”
Smiling at my choice, he gave me a gently nudge. “Ok, baby, go get it then.”