He nods in agreement. “You did tell me as much on the ride home. But I’d like you to make sure JD knows it, too.”
“This is exactly why I don’t drink,” I mumble under my breath.
“No kidding. If that’s the stuff you say after a few glasses of champagne, I’d love to see you high.”
I glare at Ethan. “It was more than a few glasses. And while I appreciate your candidness, I think it’s time for you to go, kid.”
“I really do have a weird mole on my back, though,” he says with a grin.
I let out a loud exhale. “Fine, turn around.”
I examine Ethan and reassure him that the birthmark on his lower back is in fact normal before walking him back to the front desk.
“Good talk, Doc. Glad we got all that settled. I was really worried about that back freckle.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“It’s a good thing I came to you, since you’re somewhat of a back freckle expert, right?”
I grunt, and he continues.
“And you won’t mind relaying the good news to both of my uncles?”
“Sure,” I force out, holding back a smirk. The little shit is clever, I’ll give him that.
“All done?” Tenley asks when she emerges from the bathroom with her baby in a sling.
“For now, at least,” Ethan mumbles, pulling out his phone again.
She shakes her head, looking exasperated with him, then she turns to me. “Thanks, Dr. Reed.”
“Why does that keep sounding so weird when you say it?” I say without thinking, but I quickly follow up with a friendly smile.
She huffs, but her expression softens. “You’re right. This business of growing up and getting old is all really strange, isn’t it?”
“It really is,” I confirm, earning a side-eyed glare from Ethan. Then something else odd catches my attention, and I lean in to study the baby’s ruddy cheeks. “Tenley, didn’t you say Jake had been running a fever and acting fussier than usual?”
“Yes, why?” She glares at me warily.
“Mind if I take a look?”
She nods and lifts him out of the sling for me, and I click my tongue to get his attention while I run through a quick exam. I unzip the top half of his onesie, and his bottom lip trembles until I pretend to tickle his chubby shoulders while I check for more evidence of the same rash I found on his cheeks.
“Hmm,” I hum. “I think I know why he’s been so grumpy. Well, besides the obvious case of being a coach’s son.”
“What is it?” Tenley asks hesitantly.
“Roseola,” I tell her, though I keep my eyes trained on Jake’s as I run my finger along the sides of his face and point out the red splotches, hoping to distract him from the fact that he’s not staring back at his mama.
“Isn’t he young for that?”
“Yes, but it’s viral, so it’ll pass quickly. They normally run a high temp for a few days, maybe get some swollen lymph nodes here,” I add, tickling under his chin and making him squirm. “Then the rash comes out, and they start to feel better.”
“Oh,” she says, surprised. “That actually makes a lot of sense. I was worried he was going through another growth spurt already, but I bet he’s just been comfort nursing.”
I nod. “His throat could have been sore, too. An oatmeal bath and a little hydrocortisone cream will keep him from getting too itchy. Otherwise, the worst should already be behind him.”
I tug on his zipper again, and he blinks up at me as he lets out a loud burp.
