20. Chapter Nineteen
The appointment the other day went surprisingly well. She was worried that Eleanor might cry when she had to leave Mac’s arms, but she was great. It went perfectly.
Until the next night. Eleanor started to cry and wouldn’t stop, no matter what. Janie was at a loss. She wasn’t teething and she felt perfectly fine. Maybe she got something from the waiting room. There were a couple kids in there that looked like they were sick.
It was always a gamble going there any time of the year. Someone was always sick. She had just hoped that Eleanor wouldn’t get anything. They weren’t even there for a long time.
Janie’s phone went off again and she closed her eyes as they filled with tears. Donald had been texting her every day, multiple times a day, since the first one before Mac took them to the doctors. It was wearing down on her.
Donald was begging her to talk to her about something. But she didn’t want to. At first, Janie would reply and say she didn’t want to talk to him but now she wasn’t even replying or reading them. She didn’t have the energy to do that when Eleanor was sick and she had to work.
Janie had messaged her authors saying the edits may be a little delayed since her daughter was possibly sick. She was exhausted and wanted to break down and cry. There was so much to do. Take care of her daughter, work, and make food for both of them.
Eleanor started to scream again and a couple tears streamed down Janie’s face.
“Shhh,” Janie softly said as she walked towards Eleanor. “Everything is going to be okay.”
She picked up Eleanor and she quieted down for a couple of seconds. Janie let out a sigh and started to rock her back and forth.
“Do you want some cold water?” Janie asked.
Eleanor started to scream again and Janie slowly made her way towards the kitchen. She had placed several little sippy cups of water in the fridge earlier today and she was so thankful.
“Drink, baby,” Janie said.
Eleanor shook her head and started to cry and scream.
“No!” she yelled.
“Please, baby. It’ll make you feel better,” Janie said. “It’s delicious.”
Truth be told, Janie didn’t really like water, so she didn’t think it was delicious. But she needed Eleanor to start drinking so she didn’t get dehydrated, and it got worse.
She must have gotten some little bug from the doctors office. Hopefully, it didn’t take long for it to pass. The first thing she needed to do was get her temperature and see what it was at. She didn’t want it to get too high.
Eleanor had started to calm down and Janie could see her eyes closed.
“Such a good girl,” Janie whispered.
She walked over towards the floor where she kept several blankets laid out. Janie knelt down on the ground and slowly started to put Eleanor down. Maybe she was actually asleep and Janie could get a little work done.
Eleanor started to wail again and big crocodile tears streamed down her face. Janie picked her back up and held her close. Tears appeared in Janie’s eyes as she took several deep breaths.
She was exhausted and wanted to sleep, but she knew that while Eleanor was awake and sick, she wasn’t going to be getting much sleep. Maybe she should take her to the doctors to see what was wrong.
A knock sounded on the door and Eleanor started to scream. A sob broke through Janie. Maybe whoever was there would go away once they heard her daughter scream. She wasn’t expecting anyone today. She had told Mac that she was staying home today to get some work done.
Janie started to rock Eleanor, trying to get her to calm down.
“Everything is going to be okay,” her voice was strained as she tried to stop herself from crying even more.
Eleanor was still crying and screaming in her arms. Janie ran her hand up and down her back, trying to calm her down but nothing was working.
Another knock sounded at the door. Janie wiped her face and slowly made her way towards the door. She took a second and looked through the peephole.
Mac.
A gasp fell from her mouth and she opened the door without thinking. Mac was holding a covered dish of food.
“What’s wrong?” Mac asked.