Chapter 18 #2
“Hey, V said you didn’t stay in the Hamptons all week.” Julia blurted it out before she could lose her nerve.
Ted cleared his throat. “Yeah… uh, work emergency.”
Can’t wait to see you.
What would he say now if she confronted him about seeing those words on his BlackBerry screen just before she’d left for Coronado? She opened her mouth but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. “I figured,” she said instead. “Work never stops, does it?”
“Never stops,” Ted repeated. Then he added, “Hey, have a good day. I’ll try not to get home too late so I can talk to V about camp before bed.”
“Sounds good,” Julia said.
And when they hung up, and it was totally quiet and still inside her car, she thought about the way her life now had such an easy rhythm.
Where would Veronica go if she didn’t go to camp?
What would Ted say if she confronted him with something that might be difficult?
And maybe it was just better, easier, if she kept on. Steady, steady.
One warm night that fall, Emily’s iPhone rang in the middle of the night, waking her out of a deep sleep. She felt around blindly for it on her night table: 1:46 a.m., and her boss was calling.
There couldn’t possibly be a work emergency at this hour. The museum was long closed, and any security lapses or alarms went straight to the security team. She quickly swiped to answer.
“Em, I’m sorry if I woke you. I didn’t know… who else to call.” Cecile’s normally smooth voice sounded fractured. Was she crying?
Emily sat up and opened her eyes all the way. “What’s wrong?”
“Mikey’s fever won’t come down no matter what I do. I think it might be swine flu. It’s running through day care right now.”
Emily had seen headlines about the outbreak, how it was particularly bad, even deadly, for kids, and she swallowed hard.
“I… I don’t know what to do. Rick is still in Minneapolis. I’m here all alone with the boys.”
“How’s Jim?” Emily asked. “Is he sick too?”
“No, he’s fine. He’s asleep.” Emily heard a little cry, a whimper in the background and Cecile’s soft, Shhh, it’ll be all right, baby.
The twins were fraternal, but Emily had not yet met them enough times to tell them apart.
She knew their names, of course, but she was having trouble picturing exactly which one Cecile was jostling against her hip, comforting now.
“He’s really burning up!” Cecile exclaimed.
Emily hugged the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she got out of bed and quickly threw a pair of pants on. “Okay,” she said firmly. “I’m coming over and then I’ll stay there with Jim while you take Mikey to the ER.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” Cecile said.
“You didn’t,” Emily said, grabbing her keys off her dresser. “I’m offering.”
Emily had been to Cecile and Rick’s house a few times before. Once for the baby shower, another when she’d stopped over briefly with some papers to sign for work. It was a cute redbrick ranch, in a sprawling suburban neighborhood twenty minutes away from Emily’s condo near the beach.
But now it felt strange to be inside their house all alone after Cecile left in a rush for the ER.
Emily sat down on the couch in a small living room cluttered with objects foreign to her: toddler toys and babyish things, a pile of folded diapers and sippy cups.
A half-eaten bowl of Cheerios sat on the coffee table in front of her, the milk bubbling in a suspicious way, so she was almost certain it had gone rancid.
And Emily thought, again, God, I am never having kids. Never.
Worse, she read more about the swine flu on her phone while waiting.
Forty-three kids had already died in the last few months, a handful of them under five years old, and suddenly worry crept up inside of her, making her feel hot and a little nauseous.
She threw her phone down on the couch, picked up the bowl of soggy Cheerios from the coffee table, and started scrubbing in the kitchen.
By seven a.m., when Cecile walked back in the door, Mikey asleep on her shoulder, Emily had cleaned the entire living room and kitchen. She’d even found a mop and washed the floors.
“What are you doing?” Cecile let out a muted laugh. She looked tired, but her normally smooth voice, her composure, was back. “Did you… clean my damn house?”
“Is he okay?” Emily asked.
Cecile nodded. “They gave him some fluids and his fever broke. Thank God.”
“Thank God,” Emily repeated.
“Thank you so much for staying here. Really, you were a lifesaver. Was Jim okay?”
Emily nodded. “I think he’s still asleep. I haven’t heard a single sound.” Thankfully, because she had no idea what exactly she was supposed to do had Jim started crying or woken up.
Cecile sighed heavily. “Great. He’s probably getting sick too. The kid never sleeps this long.”
Suddenly, Emily understood the burden of motherhood, of twins in particular. Any relief, relaxation was fleeting, and worry was a constant undercurrent.
“I’m gonna go try and lay Mikey down. You should go home and get some sleep,” Cecile was saying now. “Don’t go into work today. I’ll call Maria and tell her we’re both out sick.”
Emily nodded and watched Cecile walk off down the hall. But then, instead of leaving, she brewed a pot of coffee.
When Cecile walked back into the kitchen thirty minutes later, Emily handed her a steaming mug.
“You’re still here.” Cecile sounded surprised, but did she also sound pleased? She took the coffee and offered Emily a weak smile. “You definitely deserve a raise.”
Emily laughed. “I do.” She knew the museum’s budget better than anyone, and so she also knew that there was no reasonable way she was getting a raise anytime soon. “Should I hold you to that at our budget meeting next week?”
Cecile smiled and took a sip of coffee. “Seriously, though, I really owe you, Em.”
Emily shook her head. “Don’t be silly. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Cecile put down her coffee, suddenly reached across the table, and grabbed Emily’s hand. She held on to it for a moment before offering a light squeeze and another smile. “Go home. Go get some sleep.”