by Robin Roseau
“Sweaty? Feel her forehead?”
“It’s damp.”
“How long has she been like this?”
“I don’t know. We were on the phone, maybe forty minutes ago, then suddenly she said she had to go and hung up. She said she was sick, so I took an Uber.”
“Does it look like she fell?”
“What would that look like?”
“Is there any sign she hit her head? Feel for a lump. Look for blood. But Astrid, don’t move her! Not one inch!”
“Oh god. She might have a broken neck.”
“Actually, I doubt it, but yes.”
I did a visual inspection first. I didn’t see anything like that. And she wasn’t at an awkward angle or anything. I gently felt her head.
“I don’t find any signs.”
“All right. How about signs she’s been sick?”
“She’s unconscious on the bathroom floor.”
“I mean throwing up.”
“Oh. Yeah. Definitely.”
“All right. You need to try to wake her, but don’t shake her. If you can’t wake her, you’re going to call 9-1-1.”
“I’ve been trying.”
“Try a little more, Honey,” Cherlyn said. “Put me on speaker and set the phone aside. Try to wake her.”
I did, first gently, then I squeezed her shoulder while saying firmly, “Cassidy! Cassidy! Wake up!”
She stirred, and I began crying.
“Astrid, what’s happening?”
“Astrid, what are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t wake you,” I said to Cassidy. “Did you fall?”
She didn’t answer immediately, but then she lurched to her knees and moved to the toilet. I scrambled after her to try to help as she dry heaved for a while.
“What’s happening, Astrid?”
“She’s being sick.”
“If she passes out again, hang up and call 9-1-1, then call me back.”
“Who…” heave. “Is that?”
“Mom,” I said.
Cassidy prayed to the toilet for a while. I did what I could to comfort her, and then she sat back and looked at me.
“She’s not dying, Mom,” I said. “But she looks like shit.”
“That’s one,” Cassidy muttered. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You were passed out on the bathroom floor.”
“Napping.”
“Right. Napping. That’s what I call it.”
“Astrid,” Cherlyn said. “Pick up the phone.”
I found it and switched off speaker. “I’m here.”
“I don’t care if she fights you or not. She needs liquid. A lot of liquid. If she can’t keep it down, she goes to the hospital. If she passes out like that again, she goes to the hospital. When is your next class?”
“Friday.”
“All right. I’ll send Maggie with your books. I presume you’ll be staying there.”
“You better believe I’m staying here.”
“Clear broth,” she said. “Very, very simple foods.”
“Crackers?”
“Right. No dairy products. They won’t sit well on her stomach.”
“Got it.”
“Do you need me to come over?”
“Now that we know she doesn’t have a broken neck, no.”
“If she gets any worse, she goes to the hospital. If there’s blood coming from either end, the hospital. Check, because she’s the sort to lie.”
“Eww. Got it.” I hadn’t noticed any blood, but she’d flushed a few times, and I hadn’t been checking. I’d make sure to check. “It’s just the flu, right?”
“It sounds like some sort of stomach bug, but dehydration is one problem.”
“Should I get her anything?”
“Ibuprofen.”
“Not cold medicine?”
“If she asks for it.”
“All right.”
“You might have to help her, but if you can’t get her into bed-”
“Hospital.”
“That’s right.”
“All right. Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome. Does Maggie know what books you’ll need?”
“She can stuff everything into my backpack, plus my laptop, and I’ll be good.”
“All right. Is the front door unlocked?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Call me later.”
“I will.” We hung up, and I studied a very unhappy Cassidy. “Are you done?”
“For now.”
“You heard all that?”
“Yeah. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“Then don’t pass out again,” I said. “Did you want me to make a bed for you in here, or am I helping you to your own bed?”
“My bed is kind of a mess.”
I stood up and went to look. She was right. I stripped everything, threw it in a pile, and then found fresh sheets. I made up the bed and then hauled the sheets out into the hallway. When I returned to Cassidy, she was curled up on her side, but she was watching me.
“I’m not passed out,” she said.
“If I help, can you stand?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you want to find out?”
“Are you calling 9-1-1 if I say ‘no’?”
“It’s not time for games, Cassidy.”
She closed her eyes for a minute, then she levered herself up. I hurried to her, and working together, I got her onto her feet. She clung to me, but she did most of the work of making it to her bed. I set her down on the edge, then helped her climb in fully. I covered her lightly then adjusted the lights. “Cherlyn said you need liquids.”
“I don’t think I can hold them down.”
“You know my answer to that.”
“Maybe a little water,” she said.
“How long has this been going on?”
“A few hours.”
“It’s going to be a rough night, then,” I said. “Ibuprofen?”
“No. They’ll upset my stomach.”
“All right. We don’t need to add to that problem.”
Then she did something she’d never done in front of me before. She began to cry. “Astrid, could you just hold me for a few minutes.”
“Of course.” I climbed in behind her and wrapped around her. She cried for a few minutes, but then she grew still. When I looked, she was asleep. Somehow that didn’t bother me as much as when I found her on the bathroom floor.
“I’m going to bring supplies in here and take care of the bedding,” I said. She didn’t respond, so I carefully slipped from the bed again.
* * * *
It was, as I said, a rough night. There were a few more trips to the bathroom, and I was terribly afraid to leave her, even for a minute. She wasn’t steady, and I was really worried she’d have that fall.
Maggie arrived with my book bag. I texted her to come upstairs, but when she got to the door, I told her, “No closer. It might be catchy.”
“Mom wants a status update.”
“Keep your voice down. She’s sleeping. She’s really, really sick, Maggie.”
“What can I do?”
“Can you check the kitchen? See if there is soup. Call Mom and ask her what kind. There’s a credit card in my purse.”
“Want me to make something?”
“No. Just get supplies. Stock us up. Check the TP and paper towel supply. And I’ll need more than that for myself.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“The washer should be done.”
“I’ll toss it in the dryer.”
“No. Add more detergent and run it a second time, just to be sure, then toss it in the dryer when you get back.”
“Ah. Right. Got it.”
“Thanks, Maggie. Don’t touch anything you don’t have to.”
“Right. I hope you don’t get it.”
“So do I, but right now, I’m worried about her.”
“I’ll try to hurry.”
Maggie ran the errands and gave Mom an update. She made some warm soup. We got it into Cassidy. It came back up five minutes later.
I was so scared.
“Give her a little at a time,” Mom said. “Even if it comes back up. But if she’s still like this in the morning, she’s going to the hospital.”
“Right. Thanks.”
And so, it was a rough night. I sent Maggie home. Cassidy woke up and was sick twice more, the second a little after one, but then she seemed to settle. I held her for a while.
She was sick once more, around four, but she let me feed her more soup after that.
Then she slept, and she slept hard. She still looked like hell when she woke up at ten, but she was done throwing up. She ate more soup and asked for ibuprofen. I checked the bedding and thought it was clammy, so I changed it again then put her back to bed.
It took her several days before she was back to something resembling normal, but the scare was over. She ordered me to attend class Friday morning, but otherwise I didn’t leave her.
But she was better, and we put it behind us.
Flu season in Minnesota.
Spring Break
“Hello, Lover,” I said to Cassidy. It was the second day of spring break, and we were back at her cousin’s place in Florida. Apparently, the people who had been renting it had to vacate early, so it was free on short notice. They probably could have found someone, but the cousin didn’t like to rent to spring breakers, and so she’d offered it to Cassidy.
Cassidy smiled. “Good morning, Sweetness.”
“Sweetness, is it?” I asked. “I can handle that. What’s our plan?”
“I thought we could go visit the wharf for a while, then lunch and a walk on the beach.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“Dinner here or out?”
“Here.”
“Excellent.” She moved closer and lifted her hand to begin tracing patterns in my skin. I closed my eyes; it felt good, after all.
“That’s nice,” I whispered.
“Do you golf?” she asked.
“I’ve been twice. I’m pretty bad.”
“We can go to the Par 3 then, unless you hated it.”
“No, I didn’t hate it. I’m just not very good.”
“We’ll have fun.”
“Sure.”
* * * *
And so we went to the wharf, and we walked on the beach and played in the water. We went golfing once, and I was hopeless, but we laughed our way through it, anyway, waving people through every time they caught up to us.
A couple of guys tried to golf with us and wanted to coach me. Cassidy was no help but just stood back and laughed.
I was hopeless, but getting them to play through proved impossible, so we were a foursome for the last four holes. Then they tried to invite us to dinner. I told them we had plans. They were polite but seemed frustrated I wouldn’t let them have my number. When finally we were safely in our rental car, Cassidy started laughing again.
“You weren’t any help at all.”
“I know,” she admitted. “But I had fun.”
“Yeah, yeah.” But I smiled. “Feed me?”
“Sure.”
Later, we went for another stroll on the beach. When we got back, I stepped ahead of Cassidy and then crooked a finger at her. Walking backwards, I led her to the bedroom. We wore each other out.
* * * *
And that was probably why we didn’t hear when the door downstairs opened. We did hear when a loud voice said, “Wake up, sleepyhead!” The bedroom door burst open, and a woman stood in the entrance, looking pleased with herself.
For about three seconds.
“Who in the fuck is that?” she asked, pointing at me.
My heart was still pounding a little from the rude awakening, and I blinked at the intruder once or twice.
“What are you doing here, Lynette?” Cassidy asked.
“God, Cass. Is she even 18? Did you pick her up in a bar somewhere? I hope you checked ID and practiced safe sex. Do lesbians even do that?”
“I’m Astrid,” I said. “Would you get out so we can get dressed?”
“I’m not talking to you, whoever you are. Astrid? Seriously? Who names their kid Astrid?”
“Lynette, what are you doing here?”
“Nan said you were here alone.”
“Clearly, she was slightly mistaken,” Cassidy said. “And that doesn’t explain your presence now.”
“I thought we could have a little bonding time.”
“Yes, well. I believe Astrid’s request was reasonable. Could you get out so we could get dressed?”
“Who is she? You didn’t find her at that skanky place under the wharf, did you?”
“Lynette, out.”
“Whatever,” said the woman. She turned tail and walked away, not even closing the door. I scrambled from the bed and closed it. By the time I turned, Cassidy was digging for a robe.
“I take it you know that woman?”
“That,” she said. “Is my sister.”
“She sure does make great first impressions.”
“Second impressions aren’t much better,” she said. “She is the number one reason you haven’t met my family. She’s also the number one reason I don’t like it when you swear. She swears like a sailor, and I don’t care for the reminder.”
I sighed. “We better get dressed. She’s not staying here, is she?”
“I don’t know,” Cassidy said. “It’s not like she’d find a hotel, and it’s not my house.”
I didn’t say anything. This was Cassidy’s problem to deal with, not mine. I grabbed my robe and hurried to the bathroom, seeing to things quickly. I passed Cassidy in the hall. She smiled tightly but didn’t say anything. I dressed quickly then hid in the bedroom until Cassidy came back.
I certainly had no intention of facing Sister Dearest on my own.
Cassidy stepped back into the room. She didn’t say much while she got dressed, but her entire body language told me she was suddenly feeling a lot more stress than she had been last night.
Finally she turned to me. “I’m sorry. I had a nice day planned.”
“Not your fault,” I said. “But I don’t think I want to be left alone with her.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” she agreed. “Care for a real introduction?”
“Sure. She seems very sweet.”
Cassidy snorted. “That’s the exact word I was thinking. Do you think you can avoid giving her reasons to be a bitch?”
“She doesn’t seem to need my help,” I said. “Are you telling me you want me to let her walk all over me?”
“No. But sometimes you’re a little sarcastic.”
“Have I ever been sarcastic when the situation didn’t call for it?”
She sighed. “No.”
“I’ll cut her some slack, but it would have taken advance preparation to be more insulting than she’s already been.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“We don’t pick our family, but when we have kids, I put my foot down if you want to make her their godmother.”
Cassidy laughed then lifted her arm. I stepped over into place beside her.
I thought she’d actually hold me like that, but she dropped her arm as we stepped into the living room. Lynette was standing by the window with a cup of coffee.
“Does Nan know you’re here?”
“Of course,” Lynette replied. “She said she was sure it was fine.”
“And neither of you thought to ask me how I felt about it?”
“I wanted to surprise you. Surprise.”
“Uh huh,” Cassidy said. “Lynette, if I knew you intended to come, I wouldn’t have.”
“You mean you would have brought your doxy somewhere else? Smile, girl. Let me see your braces.”
“Wow,” I said. “Is that supposed to drive me off or something? Could you be a bigger bitch, you judgmental piece of-” I broke off.
“You know what? I’m not going to let a bitter hag like you ruin my day.” I turned to Cassidy. “I’m going to go for a little walk to the coffee shop. I presume that will be enough time to catch up with your lovely, lovely sister, and then she can make plans somewhere else.” I stepped up and kissed Cassidy then grabbed my things and headed for the door.
* * * *
I was gone about an hour. I got a nice cup of coffee and drank it while sitting on the beach, watching the seagulls and pelicans.
Finally I decided it was time to reclaim my space beside Cassidy, as it were, so I climbed to my feet, brushed off the sand, and turned towards the house.
When first we came, I was surprised by this, but the buildings on the island were all built on stilts. Coming from Minnesota, where nearly every home has a basement, I was surprised. Cassidy had to explain it was to make sure the home was well above storm surge in a hurricane. Cassidy’s cousin’s house was no different. And so I climbed the exterior stairs, which finished on the front deck.
That was where I found the two sisters. Lynette wasn’t gone yet, much to my chagrin. I heard Cassidy say something, and then I heard Lynette say, quite clearly, “God, Cass. Can’t you see? She’s after you for your money!”
Right. Well then.
I made a point of stepping far more firmly, then called out, “Honey, I’m home.” I stepped around the corner and stopped. “Ah, you’re still here. Judging by the raised tone, I imagine you were still talking about me.” I advanced on the sister. The body language of both of them was clearly antagonistic, but I’d had it with this woman.
“I heard that last comment,” I said. “What I wonder is if I was supposed to. No matter. You truly have a low opinion of your sister.”
“It’s not my sister whom I hold in low regard.”
“No?” I stepped closer and looked down at her. “Clearly, her money is her only worthwhile asset. It couldn’t possibly be that anyone like me could find her intelligent and witty. It couldn’t be that someone like me might enjoy talking to her for hours at a time. From what you said earlier, it’s clear you’re not a lesbian, so perhaps you can’t appreciate how damned hot Cassidy is. I’m sure you also can’t understand how just thinking about her touching me makes my body tremble.”
I paused, but not long enough for Lynette to fire back. “To add to that, you have such low respect for Cassidy that you can’t imagine she’s able to make an intelligent decision without you telling her what an idiot she is. So no, it's not me you’ve been insulting for the last hour; it’s her. And frankly, I’m not going to put up with it.”