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J.T. drove to Joey’s house, then knocked on the door. She opened it right away and gave him a hug. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course I came. Where is he?”
“On the couch. He fell asleep there, and I didn’t want to try to move him.”
J.T. went into the living room and knelt next to Finn, who was awake, but not completely coherent.
“Hey, buddy. We’re going to get you feeling better.”
Finn started crying and J.T. picked him up, then stood. Joey wrapped a blanket around Finn and got Henry from the floor where he’d fallen. She followed J.T. through the door, grabbing her purse on the way out. She got into the truck and J.T. handed Finn to her, then he went around the back of the vehicle and got in behind the wheel.
He glanced at Joey. “Man. How do you do this?”
“Do what?”
“Not fall apart when your kid isn’t well?”
She gave him a small smile and touched his arm. “You get through the situation and you fall apart later.”
“Gotcha.”
He started the truck and backed out of the driveway onto the street. At this time of night, they were the only vehicle on the road. He drove to town, which was dark and quiet, except for a few cars parked in front of The Corner Bar and the White Buffalo. The clinic was a block over from Main Street and J.T. made the turn on Second, then parked in front of the clinic. Dr. Curtis’ car was out front and the lights were on inside.
J.T. took Finn in his arms and he and Joey went inside.
Dr. Curtis came from an examination room and gave them a smile. “Let’s take a look at this child.”
J.T. laid Finn on the exam table, and Joey sat next to him. J.T. perched on the edge of a plastic chair.
Dr. Curtis took Finn’s vitals and confirmed his fever was too high. He listened to his lungs and asked Joey a few questionsabout how the day had gone. Then he took a step back and folded his arms across his chest.
“I’ve seen quite a few kids over the last week or so with these same symptoms. Has Finn been attending the horse camp?”
Joey shook her head. “No. But we did go to the camp out over the weekend.”
“That’s probably where he picked it up. Antibiotics have been knocking it down pretty fast. We’ll get him started on that, and he should be feeling better in a few days.”
“What about his fever?”
“I want you to alternate between Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Give him a dose of one or the other every two hours. That should help. If it’s still high in the morning, bring him back in.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
He left to get the antibiotics and Joey looked at J.T. “He’s going to be fine.”
“Dammit. This is all my fault.”
“No it’s not.”
“I took you guys to the damn camp out.”
Joey went to him and took his hands. “He could’ve picked it up anywhere. This isn’t your fault. Kids get sick. Once school starts, he’ll come home with all kinds of stuff, from a runny nose to an upset stomach. It’s just the way it is. And it helps build their immune system.”
J.T. took a breath. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure. I’m also sure he would’ve wanted to go, even if he knew he was going to get sick. He had a blast. And he can’t wait for the next one.”
“Okay.” He shook his head. “This parenthood thing is crazy.”
