Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“She’s been really fussy all day long. She hasn’t really eaten much,” the woman shares with me, and I look over to see Cici pick up the pacifier that is hanging on her pj’s and put it in her mouth.
“It’s going to be okay, baby girl.” I kiss her head. “Do you need anything from me?” I ask the lady whose name I don’t remember as she smiles at me.
“I’ll get her diaper bag,” she says, walking over to the corner where there is a changing station. She grabs the bag, bringing it to me.
“Thank you.” I put the bag over my shoulder before walking out of the room with her. I nod to Melanie as I walk out of the daycare and toward my car. “It’s a good thing I got that car seat,” I tell her as she looks at me, one of her hands on my shoulder, holding on for dear life. “And Eva said it was silly.” I shake my head as I open the back door and place her in the seat. She starts to cry as I buckle her in. “I know you don’t want this, but in order to get home we are going to have to do it this way,” I explain to her and she whines. “You know, in the fifties or maybe even the sixties I could have driven home with you in my arms.” I laugh as she watches me. “I’m sure you understand everything I’m saying.”
I get into the driver’s seat and look back at her as she lays her head on the side of the car seat. I dial Eva again and it goes straight to voicemail. I don’t bother leaving her a message, instead I hang up the phone. When we get home, I dump her bag at the door before kicking off my shoes. “Here we go,” I say, putting her down on her mat in the living room. She lets me know as soon as I step away from her that she does not want to be in the middle of the floor. Her wail fills the room as I shrug my jacket off before walking over to her and picking her up.
I put my head on hers and feel that she’s really hot. “We should take your temperature,” I tell her, walking upstairs to her bedroom. “I know it’s in here somewhere.” I pull out baskets and find the little handle thing that I’ve been using daily to make sure her temperature is normal. “Shall we?” I ask, turning it on with a button and pointing it at her forehead. I wait for the beep before looking down and seeing the color red with the temperature. “One hundred and one. Shit,” I curse, putting it down. “Okay, time to call Eva.” This time I don’t dial her phone, I call her work line.
Someone answers the phone right away. “Hey, it’s Levi, is Eva working today?”
“She is,” she confirms, “she’s with a client.”
I think about what to do next but I have no idea what to do next. “It’s sort of an emergency. Do you think I can speak with her right away?” I declare at the same time that Cici whines in my arms. “Could you just tell her I’m on the phone?”
She takes a long time contemplating and I’m about to snap at her when she says, “Please hold.”
“She told me to hold,” I fill Cici in and I swear it feels like a million years before I hear Eva pick up the phone.
“Hello,” she says breathlessly.
“Where are you?” I ask, irritated, even though I know she’s at work because I just called there. “I’ve been calling you for the past hour. The daycare called me.”
“What?” she shrieks. “Why?”
“Cici has a fever,” I tell her. “They said they tried to call you.”
“Fuck,” she hisses. “My phone was on do not disturb from last night. I must have forgotten to switch it off this morning. I’m coming.”
“No,” I say, “it’s fine. I have her and I’m home.”
“What?” Again the shriek comes out of her.
“I said I’m fine, I have her. Her fever is at a hundred and one.” I look back at Cici who puts her head on my shoulder. “I’m going to give her Tylenol, I guess, but you have to call her doctor.”
“On it,” she replies. “Do you know where the Tylenol is?”
“It’s in her bathroom, no?” I ask for confirmation, walking toward her bathroom and pulling open the mirrored medicine cabinet. “It’s in a white bottle.”
“Yes, you have to give her two point five milliliters.” I’m about to ask her how the fuck am I supposed to know what two point five is when she continues, “Shake the bottle. Squeeze the top of the bottle and when you pull it out there is a syringe attached to it. Just squeeze it into her mouth slowly.”