Page 46 of As Long As You'll Have Me
“Hey, Miles, what’s up? You okay? You hardly ever call me.”
I hardly ever call her because just like everyone else in our family, she’s also always working and I don’t want to bother her. Willow has wanted to be a nurse for as long as I’ve known her. She’s a natural born leader, charming, and funny as hell. She could get along with a telephone pole if she needed to which is why she’s so good at what she does. Not even the most closed off person could be unkind to her.
“Are you busy? I don’t want to interrupt anything. I assume you’re at the hospital,” I say, keeping my voice low. I don’t want to wake Hanna up or let her hear my conversation.
“I’m on my morning break. What’s up?” I hear her take a crunch of something and assume she’s eating. The girl usually works twelve hour shifts and eats when she can because most times she’s too busy to even do that.
“What’s the best way to take care of someone who has the flu? I’m assuming liquids and food when they can handle it, but do I need to do anything else? What if they’ve been throwing up, do I need to do anything for that?”
The questions come rushing out of me. Sure, I understand first aid and critical care in case of an emergency, but the way Hanna is looking has me worried there’s something more going on with her than she thinks.
“Who has the flu? Someone atthe firehouse?”
“It doesn’t matter who, just tell me some nursey thing I can do to make them feel better.”
“Not until you tell mewhoyou’re trying to make feel better,” she challenges, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
“I’m going to hang up if you don’t tell me,” I threaten.
“Why won’t you tell me who it is?” The pitch of her voice continues to rise. “Oh my god, are you with agirl? Is that why you’re being so squirrely? Who is it?”
She’s nearly shouting over the phone now. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I huff out a sigh. “Goodbye, Willow.”
“Wait, wait, wait—” she urges over the line, catching me before I end the call. “Fine. Don’t tell me who it is. If it really is the flu, you’re going to want to make sure they stay hydrated. You’re also going to want to get some over the counter meds to help with the symptoms.”
“Liquids, over the counter meds. Okay, I can do that,” I repeat.
“It is flu season, so that might be it, but it might also be a bug. We’ve had a couple cases of dehydration come in from people who showed signs of the flu, but they recovered after two or three days.” I nod to myself as she explains.
“Noted. Okay, cool, thanks Willow, I appreciate it.”
“Of course, if you need anything else just text me. Oh”—she cuts away as if someone is talking to her—“I gotta go. Emergency just rolled in. Kid shoved a marble up his nose and now it’s stuck. I love my job,” she chirps and then she’s gone.
I set my phone on the counter and look around her place. She lives in an apartment that’s slightly bigger than mine. It’s around the corner from her office which made getting here a breeze. It’s obvious she lives alone since one room is her bedroom and the other looks like it’s a mix of an office and a space for her to workout. Walkingaround, I look at the framed images of her and who I assume is her family. There’s one with her and the woman I saw her with at the coffee shop the night after her drunken serenade. Rae, I think is what I remember her saying her name is.
I smile at the memory of the night when it comes back to me. How carefree she was. The way she smiled when she looked at me. Even if it was a ‘drunken mistake’ like she claims it was, I still love the way she called me cute as she looked at me through the car window before her ride took her home.
Knowing she’ll probably be asleep for a while, I try to come up with something to do. I have no intentions of leaving her here alone while she’s as sick as she is. The last thing I want to have happen is for her to get worse and try to tough it out on her own. Looking around, I spot the kitchen and an idea comes to my head. Grabbing my phone, I send off a text and quickly get a reply.
Hey, mama. Can you send me your chicken noodle soup recipe? The one you used to make for Carter and I when we were sick?
Of course I can. Are you okay? Are you sick?
No, not me. Just a friend I’m taking care of.
A friend from the firehouse? I thought you were off today.
I am, and no it’s not someone from the firehouse. She’s a different friend.
Ohh, it's a *she*. I understand now.
Here’s the recipe but just so you know, I add a little heavy cream into it to make it thicker. Tastes better that way if you ask me.
Thank you mama.
I love you.
Of course, my son. I love you too.
