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“Kenna?” he calls, but it sounds like his voice is coming from far away. I try to stand up and hand Eli back to him, but my knees buckle, and all I can hope is that Derek is able to grab Eli as my knees buckle and I black out.
29
DEREK
Eli screams as Kenna falls to the floor and I catch him, and I quickly put him down next to his sister, calling for a nurse, a doctor, anyone.
Kenna’s crumpled on the floor and I crouch down on the ground, scooping her up into my lap and touching her face. My heart is in my throat and I can’t think; I can only react.
“Kenna?” I ask, shocked. “Kenna, don’t do this."
My voice breaks when I call out for a doctor again, and Eli and Maggie are both crying.
When finally a male nurse comes with a stretcher to take her back, I stand up, all nervous energy.
“What’s wrong with her?” I ask. “She fainted, she just won’t wake up.”
The nurse looks at me. “Is this your wife?” he asks.
“She's our nanny," Maggie sobs, and I curse under my breath. I would have lied, honestly, would have said she’s my wife to get some information, to get back there with her, but now they whisk her away and I crouch with Maggie and Eli, trying to comfort them.
Eli’s crying out “mama, mama, mama” over and over and I don’t know how to make him feel better. I don’t know how to makemyselffeel better. It occurs to me suddenly that Kenna has spent just as much time with Eli as I have, and my blood goes cold.
What if she’s caught his meningitis?
It’s very survivable if it's viral, so she'll be okay, surely, but I can’t stop thinking the worst. There are cases when people die from meningitis, right? Or have something like brain damage? Hell, that’s what I’ve been worried about with Eli, so it’s certainly possible that she could have it, too. What am I going to do?
I’m not related to her and I have no idea how to contact her parents. I try three different times to get information from a nurse or a doctor, but I’m shot down each time.
I feel shell-shocked, barely able to think, but then I see Kenna’s bag in the chair she’s vacated and I dig through it, finding her cell phone.
Calling her mother is a strange thing for me to do, especially since my children are still quietly sobbing after watching her pass out.
“Ms. Lodge?” I ask, and she makes a noise in the back of her throat.
“Yes?”
“Ah, I’m Derek Ledderman, we’ve met?”
“Oh! Derek, yes, of course!”
“Kenna and I are at the hospital. She fainted. I don’t know what’s wrong and they won’t tell me anything...”
“Oh, god,” she gasps. “Which hospital? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Vincent Presbyterian,” I say, relieved.
I’m oddly nervous to meet Kenna’s parents, and they end up bringing the whole family, including her brother and sister. Maggie immediately takes a shine to the sister, Kimberly, even though she’s twice her age.
“What happened?” Frank, Kenna’s father asks me, and I’ve met him a few times before because of course, he’s Suzanna’s brother.
“She just fainted out of nowhere,” I say, but then pause. ”That's not true. She hasn’t been sleeping, or eating really, because Eli’s been sick with meningitis...”
“Meningitis,” Frank gasps, and I bite my lip.
I’ve handled this poorly. I should have paid more attention to what Kenna was eating, how she was sleeping. I was just so worried about Eli that I couldn’t see anything else.
When Kenna’s mother returns from the back, her face is pale. ”They won’t tell me much, either, but they say they’re testing her for meningitis.”
