He jumped up and ran to the kitchen, grabbed the first thing he came across that would work, and hustled back to her. Just in time. As he handed her the saucepan, she sat up and heaved.
“I’ll get the ice,” he said, giving her some privacy. He knew he wouldn’t want some stranger watching him puke his guts up.
Calvin hadn’t touched the sandwiches but looked to have eaten more than a couple of cookies. “Eat that sandwich. Now,” Alex said, putting the cookies on a top shelf and going to his trauma bag for another ice pack.
“Okay,” Calvin said without argument. That surprised Alex. Amber’s kid had always put up a fight when you took something away or made her eat something she didn’t want to.
“Cool,” Alex said. He waited outside Julia’s bedroom door until the heaving stopped and then entered with a wet paper towel for her mouth and a new icepack.
“Sorry,” she said, her voice cracking as if on the verge of tears.
“Hey, no big deal,” he said. After emptying the pan into the toilet and rinsing it, he set it next to the bed. “You need anything else?”
“No. Thank you.” She put her hand on her head and winced.
“I called my mom. She said you probably just want to be left alone?”
She held a thumb up, and he chuckled.
“I’ll take care of the kid and the dog. I have no experience with either, but it can’t be too hard.” It was an attempt to make her laugh, but she remained silent, probably wishing he’d go. “I’m kidding. Don’t worry. We’re good. Feel better soon.”
He closed the door softly and returned to the kitchen to find Calvin picking at the sandwich. Wide, watery eyes met his. “Is my mom okay?”
“She will be. We gotta be real quiet though, so she can sleep, okay?”
“I’ll try,” he said earnestly.
After scarfing down two sandwiches, he sipped the coffee and looked around, unsure what to do next. “Um, so, what do you normally do all day?”
“Sometimes I go to preschool. I go to my grandma’s house on Saturday and sleep over. I like to watch cartoons and play outside.”
“I’ve never been to the roof. How ’bout we go up there, and you show me around?”
“I’ll get my coat,” Calvin said, jumping off the stool and running toward the door.
Alex tried to leash up the dog again, but he was having none of it.
“He sleeps a lot,” Calvin said. “He’s real old and maybe sick.”
“Hm.” Great. A sick dog and a rambunctious five-year-old. What could go wrong?
CHAPTER SEVEN
By lunchtime, Julia still hadn’t emerged. While on the roof, Alex called Johnny for advice, but he’d said if Julia couldn’t or wouldn’t come to the emergency room, there wasn’t much he could do. He suggested filling her prescription but warned those meds were usually most effective when taken at the start of the migraine.
After Calvin wore himself out playing on a jungle gym and half-climbing the rock wall, they returned to the condo. Alex poked around Julia’s desk, looking for her prescription.
On the desk, she had two calendars, two notepads, an inbox full of papers, and a neat stack of 3x5 note cards held together with a rubber band. Everything was placed with precision around a keyboard, mouse, and a cup of colored pens.
He snuck a peek in the top drawer but only saw bills. Some with bright red “past due” stamps on them. Nothing to do about that.
The next time he checked on her, he asked which pharmacy she used and if he could fill her prescription. She mumbled something about the medicine being too expensive.
The nearest drugstore seemed like the best bet, so he picked up his phone and called. Unsure whether they’d tell a random stranger anything, Alex moved away from Calvin so he wouldn’t hear him lie.
“This is Alex Knight. I’m calling about my wife’s migraine prescription. Her name’s Julia. Can I come pick it up for her?”
He spelled the last name and heard some typing on a keyboard. “Ah, yes. We filled it months ago, but she never picked it up. We’ll have to refill it, which will take a few hours. Also, just to warn you, the total is over three hundred dollars.”
