All of a sudden, Brady’s face turned the funky shade of green it always turned right before…
“No, no, no,” Rachel said under her breath.
She reached for the trash basket kept under the sink. Then she lunged toward Brady.
No one else moved, but Dave asked, “Is he going to—”
That’s when it happened. Brady followed in Kellan’s footsteps and, because he was Brady, his lack of aim was impressive when it came to all bodily fluids.
He did not hit the trash can. He did hit the floor. Also, Gavin’s shoes.
Mostly, Rachel caught the mess in her hand.
She gritted her teeth.
But she did not break.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Motherhood should come with a warning that you’ll be forced to take a crash course in Bodily Fluids 101 from the School of Life.” — Angela, Saskatchewan, Canada
Rachel
Rachel’s life was the perfect symphony of defective and she was the conductor. Yes, someone had seriously tossed handfuls of dysfunction glitter all over her, and that shit got in everything. It was, apparently, also impossible to get out.
All the Franks—including Evelyn and Bob—had come down with whatever virus had joined them on their vacation. Rachel had been up all night taking care of them, because of her titanium stomach and an immune system not fueled by toaster tarts.
After Brady’s impressive demonstration in the kitchen, they’d all fallen like dominoes. Click. Click. Click. One Frank after another.
Rachel had started a log for each of them to document their medication usage, temperature, and any other pertinent information. Given that she hadn’t slept all night, she’d seriously started to worry she’d forget who was who. Writing everything down became extra important.
She sent the dogs to stay in her bedroom so they wouldn’t get in the way. Because when it all went down, theyseriouslygot in the way.
Like, a lot.
“Rach?” Gavin rolled over on the leather sofa where she’d set up his triage station. That’s what she called it in her mind, anyway. It sounded more impressive than “his spot on the sofa.”
She’d just checked his temperature—it was finally under a hundred. She was pretty sure he’d be holding down some fluids soon.
It’d hit him last, but it’d hit him hard when he finally went under.
“What’s up?” She set a cup of ice chips beside him on the coffee table.
Gavin started to sit.“I can take over.”
Rachel pushed him back down. “I’m good for a while longer. Rest. Then I’ll catch a nap. The worst seems to be over.”
Well, for most everyone.
Travis’s triage station was still in the bathroom. She’d set him up with a pillow on the floor and a couple of blankets.
Mostly, he wanted to be left alone. She knew this because he requested that exact thing. She still required temperature checks so she could be sure he wasn’t going in the wrong direction.
Evelyn and Bob had eventually moved back to their bedroom, but Evelyn had a bell to ring for Rachel. The bell thing was super lovely. Insert all the sarcasm.
“Ask Mom,” Kellan said with a huff to something Rachel hadn’t caught and probably didn’t want to know. “I gave back the gummy bears. You can go get them out of the trash whenever you want.”
“No, you may not,” Rachel said, tucking their blankets back around them. She positioned the two of them on the sofa across from Gavin. Brady at one end, Kellan at the other.
