Oh my god, I’m the worst mother in the world.
I tried to explain. “She was irritable last night and wouldn’t nurse or sleep. My husband is out of town, so I thought maybe she was upset about that. I didn’t notice she felt warm when I was trying to nurse her. When she finally fell asleep, I laid back down, too. I woke up around ten-thirty and found her covered in sweat and burning up.”
“What time did she fall asleep?”
“About six this morning.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Okay.” He held out his hands. “Do you mind if I examine her?”
“Not at all.”
Dr. Weaver offered Ruthie comforting words as he moved her arms and legs around and ran his fingers under her chubby chin and around her neck.
“We’re gonna get you all fixed up, sweet girl. You are probably pretty dehydrated.”
He glanced over at me where I sat wringing my hands together.
“Do you mind if I take her? I’d like to get an IV started so we can get some fluids in her system and draw blood to run a few tests. I promise I’ll bring her right back.”
“Do whatever you need to do to make her feel better.”
He left the room with Ruthie, and I pulled out my phone to try Alan again.
And just like before, it went straight to voicemail.
~~~~
As I sat in the ER room with the curtain drawn, I heard Lainey’s voice asking what room I was in, followed by Jade telling her, “They were in that room, but Ruthie’s getting an IV and her blood drawn.”
“Is the baby okay?”
“She will be. We just need to bring her fever down.”
“How’s Jess? Is she pretty upset?”
“I mean, sure. She’s a new mom with a sick kid, and she can’t get a hold of her husband.”
“Yeah, I know. I think he’s overseas.”
“Overseas? She said he’s in Vermont!”
“Adam said he’s on a mission, but he didn’t want to tell Jess.”
“Well, somebody needs to tell her.”
I drew back the curtain and demanded, “Tell me what, exactly?”
Lainey went pale—it was obvious they hadn’t realized I was still in the room.
“Oh, honey.”
She tried to hug me, but I shrugged her off.
“No. You need to start talking. Now.”
Just then, Adam came running down the hall, and Lainey murmured, “I think Adam can explain it better than I can.”
Chapter Seventy-Four
