Natalie gently turned Jill’s hand over, revealing a dark brown stain in the center of the gauze. “It started bleeding again?”
Jill nodded.
A fetid smell came from the wound, which was more alarming than the bleeding. “Come into the kitchen.”
With her daughter’s hand hovering over the sink basin, Natalie sliced through the gauze. It was obviously stuck to the dried blood, so she turned on the faucet and told Jill to hold her hand under the stream of warm water.
After waiting a minute, Natalie removed the gauze. She tried to be careful but the scab over the wound came off anyway.
Bright red blood pooled in the center of Jill’s palm, mixing with bubbles of pus. The smell of rot intensified, stimulating Natalie’s gag reflex. She had to turn away and breathe through her mouth until the sensation passed.
Get a grip. Your daughter needs you.
Natalie looked at the wound again. It was still oozing, and the skin around the wound was inflamed. In some areas it was cherry red. In others, it was the color of a dried prune.
“Does it hurt all the time or only when you touch it?”
“Sometimes it’s sore. Other times it gets really hot. Like it’s burning.”
Goddamn it, Jimmy. You think you’re a hero for mowing the lawn and making a few sandwiches. You should’ve taken your daughter to the doctor, but the game was on, so you left it for me to deal with. Like always.
Later, when Jimmy strolled into the kitchen carrying two pizza boxes, Natalie shot him a poisonous glance.
“Jill’s hand is infected.” Her tone dripped with accusation. “I tried to drain it, but I think there’s something in the wound. She should’ve gone to the doctor today. Now she’ll have to wait until Monday.”
Unfazed by her anger, Jimmy’s eyes lit with interest. He dropped the pizza in the middle of the table, called the boys, and joined Jill and Natalie at the sink.
Before Jimmy took a job on Wall Street, he’d entertained the idea of going to medical school. He handled the kids’ injuries calmly and enjoyed bandaging wounds, removing splinters, and popping Justin’s shoulder back in the socket whenever it was dislocated, which seemed to happen on a regular basis.
After washing his hands, Jimmy began poking Jill’s palm. “Does this hurt? How about here? Sorry. And here?”
Natalie grabbed his arm. “Stop it, Jimmy! Can’t you see how tender it is?”
“It needs to be debrided. She might need antibiotics, too.”
Jill couldn’t take it anymore. She snatched her hand back and closed her fist.
“Sorry, Jilly Bean.” Jimmy hugged Jill to him. To Natalie, he said, “Saline soak tonight.”
“She’sbeensoaking it. I told you yesterday that I didn’t think it was healing properly.”
Releasing Jill, Jimmy grabbed a beer from the fridge. “Maybe it’ll clear up if she does a soak tonight and a bunch of times tomorrow.”
It didn’t clear up, and when Monday morning came, Natalie had to call the office to tell Sid that she had to miss the team meeting.
“Don’t you have a babysitter?” Sid demanded. “It’s a team meeting, Nat. Are you on the team?”
“Yes, but—”
“Do I need to remind you that your position with Gold Coast is not secure? You have ninety days to make a sale, little lady. It’s the middle of July. Summer’s half gone. If your job is interfering with your home life, maybe this isn’t the place for you.”
It’s a fucking team meeting, not the Geneva Conventions, she thought. Aloud, she said, “I’ll be on the board by the end of August. That’s a promise.”
“I really hope so, Nat. I’d hate to lose you, but if I’m going to have women on my team, they have to be go-getters. Look at Gina.She’son the board.She’son time for the morning meeting.Shewants this.”
Picturing Gina’s tight blouses and flirty smile sparked Natalie’s ire. Of course Gina was at the meeting. She didn’t have to take care of anyone but herself. She didn’t have kids. Or dogs. Or a husband that left her in the lurch. She could spend an hour in front of the mirror, curling her hair and putting on slut-red lipstick. She could swing by Dunkin’ Donuts and get a Boston cream for Sid. She was probably serving it to him right now while he stared at her tits.
Everyone knows I’m a go-getter, Natalie thought.
