“Okay.” Decision made, she nodded sharply and grabbed her car keys. She’d drive herself because she wasn’t sure how long it took to retrieve a child from a school building. And she wasn’t sure just how sick Julia was. “Let me know how it went. If everything’s quiet, maybe we can do a video chat. And good luck.”
Kelsey laughed. “I think you’ll need the luck more than I do.”
“I don’t actually believe in luck,” Olivia said, picking up her bag. “It’s just an expression.”
But when she was standing in a school office, signing her name and waiting for Julia, she almost wished shedidbelieve in luck because she could use a little right now. Maybe Julia just had a headache. Or she could even be faking to get out of a test she hadn’t studied for. Olivia had tried that a few times before her parents decided she needed a better plan and taught her how to structure her study time.
But then a very pale, slightly sweaty Julia was walking down the hall toward her, a woman at her side, and Olivia’s stomach sank. She wasn’t faking.
“She was just sick again, so you have a short window to get her home,” the woman said. She handed over Julia’s backpack and an empty plastic shopping bag. “You’re all signed out?”
“Yes, we are.” She held the bag up. “What’s this?”
“In case the window until she gets sick again is shorter than the drive home.”
“Oh. Thank you.” At least she had a leather interior. “You ready to go, Julia?”
The little girl nodded and they walked out to the Audi in silence. Olivia opened the door, but Julia just looked at her blankly for a few seconds.
“I’m not tall enough to sit in the front yet,” she finally said. “The airbags.”
“Sorry.” Great. They weren’t even in the car yet and she was failing at this.
Once Julia was buckled in, with the empty bag in her lap just in case, and her backpack next to her, Olivia punched Derek’s address into the GPS. Luckily, it was a short drive and she caught mostly green lights, so she was able to get Julia out of her car and up the stairs to Derek’s apartment without using the shopping bag.
The little girl was making a whimpering sound as she dug the key out of her backpack, though, and as soon as they were inside, Julia bolted for the bathroom. Olivia kicked the door closed and dumped everything on the kitchen table, anxiety clouding her brain.
She could list the pros and cons of every work and productivity program on the market for every business model, personality type and neurodiversity, but she knew absolutely nothing about taking care of small children.
Then she heard Julia retching and stilled for a moment. She’d never been responsible for a sick child before, but she’d been sick herself. All she had to do was offer what comfort she could until she could be with her mom.
The bathroom door was open and Julia was bent over, her little hands braced on the toilet seat. Olivia grabbed a clean washcloth from the shelf and wet it with cool water. After wringing it out, she put one hand on Julia’s back and used the cloth to wipe her forehead. Then she unrolled some toilet paper and had the girl blow her nose.
“All done for now?” Julia nodded, so Olivia wiped her face again and then walked her to the couch. “I’ll be right back.”
She grabbed the pillows from Julia’s bed, along with a small throw blanket that looked very well loved. On her way back, she opened cabinets until she found a large plastic bowl.
“When will Mommy be here?” Julia asked as Olivia set the bowl on the floor in front of the couch and then helped her sit up so she could put the pillows against the arm of the couch.
“I’m not sure, but I know she’ll come as fast as she can.”
Once Julia was snuggled against the pillows with her blanket, Olivia turned on the television and handed her the remote control. Then she went back into the girl’s bedroom and looked around. There were a ton of ponytail elastics on her dresser, but she finally found a soft band that would hold all that dark, curly hair back without pulling on her scalp.
Derek didn’t have any ginger ale in the fridge, but he did have some crackers, so she grabbed those, too. She took two out of the package and put a little bit of water in a cup. After setting them on the coffee table, she pulled it closer to the couch.
“If you want those, just little nibbles and sips, okay?”
“Okay.” Julia kept her gaze on the TV screen, but her eyelids were heavy and it looked as if she might even sleep a little.
Olivia had no sooner unzipped her laptop bag than Julia jumped up and ran for the bathroom.
She almost made it.
About fifteen minutes after Olivia tucked a cleaned-up Julia back into her nest on the couch, her phone vibrated.
How’s Julia? They’re trying to find somebody to cover for me, but a lot of people took vacations this week, I guess. Amber might get there before I do.
There was nothing to be gained by frustration at the situation. She knew if Derek could be there, he would be.She’s been sick several times, but she’s resting right now.
