“He’ll be annoyed, but he’ll put up with it for me.” The Queen Mother sent a text then set her phone down. “They’ll let me know when he leaves to come here, but they usually move me to the front of the line. I don’t ask for it, and I’ve told them not to, but they do it anyway. If they’ve been told my son is on the island, they’ll likely move that much faster.”
One thing Elise had avoided most of the time was overly special treatment because of her status as an actress. She hadn’t contemplated how that would likely change now that she’d become a member of the royal family.
They made small talk as they waited. The Queen Mother asked about their stops the day before.
Elise broached the topic of the combination residential facilities.
The Queen Mother listened intently, nodding along as she did. “That sounds like a fascinating idea. How would you match up a university student with a retiree?”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet,” Elise admitted. “Probably some kind of questionnaire, just like you might do for any kind of matchmaking service. Find out what people like and dislike. If someone’s allergic to cats, you don’t match them with someone who loves cats. You don’t match someone with a dog phobia with someone who has three Havanese. You match people who love classical music or game shows or baking.”
“That’s good in theory, but it won’t always work in practice.”
Elise had thought of that. When trying to fall asleep in one of the other suites so she wouldn’t bother Frederick, she’d turned it all over in her head. “You could have a probationary type period. Or a meet and greet. Some sort of social gathering. Maybe like a speed dating thing.”
The Queen Mother took another sip of her tea then glanced at her phone. “That’s an interesting way to match. You’d also have to account for opposites attract somehow. One person who loves to cook but hates cleaning up with one who hates to cook or can’t but doesn’t mind cleaning up.”
“There has to be someone who can help with that sort of thing.” Being a part of the royal family had to have some perks. Maybe getting in contact with someone who could help with that sort of thing was one of them.
The Queen Mother glanced at her phone again. “The doctor is here.”
Someone else opened the front door and let three people in. Elise suspected it was the former queen’s security who had done so.
“Good morning, Your Majesties.” A gray-haired gentleman entered the room first, followed by two other medical professionals. He introduced himself, his nurse, and his assistant to Elise.
Frederick hadn’t woken up.
The nurse took what vitals she could without his cooperation. His temperature, taken on his forehead, was a little high, but not concerningly so. His O2 was fine, but his heart rate was also higher than normal.
As she removed the sensor from his finger, he stirred.
Elise and her mother-in-law watched and listened as the nurse took the rest of his vitals and the doctor asked a few questions.
Frederick grumped at them, insisting he felt much better and didn’t need their assistance.
The doctor didn’t listen and continued to ask questions.
“I’m fine,” he told them once more, trying to return the recliner to it’s resting position.
“You’ve had a big month, with the wedding and everything else.” The doctor went on as though he hadn’t heard Frederick’s words. “You’ve been at sea. Have you had anything unusual to eat? Any activities out of the norm?”
Elise looked at the doctor, but in her peripheral vision, she’d seen Frederick glance her way.
“Not really. I don’t often eat some of the dishes we’ve had the last few days, but I’ve never had any issues with them before, either. Besides, Elise is fine. We’ve had the same meals, so if it was the food, both of us should be affected, not just me.” He hadn’t managed to get the chair back to its normal position and he finally gave up.
After a few more questions, and listening to Frederick’s heart and lungs, the doctor asked him to recline the seat all the way back.
He palpated different areas of Frederick’s abdomen, watching for a reaction, but there was none.
“I’m fine,” Frederick insisted again. “There’s nothing wrong with me, except for possibly a slight bug of some kind.”
The doctor stood back and crossed his arms over his chest and watched Frederick for a moment. “I would like for you to go in for some tests or let us send some out, but I suspect you won’t agree to that.”
“You suspect correctly.”
“Then I will leave you with some fairly simple instructions - for now. Stay hydrated. Rest. Call me if anything changes. If you experience any pain or discomfort at all, and send for me. I’d much rather you call me for nothing than not call me and have itturn out to be something.” The doctor gave him that glare many authority figures had mastered.
“I will.”
