by Joan Davis
With shaking hands, Honor tried Gabriel and still got no answer. Then she tried Risa and Sam and got the same result. Feeling helpless, Honor could only wish that she had gotten Conner and Mik’s numbers, but it had never seemed necessary.
Dalton Elementary was a small-town school. It didn’t have security locks on the doors or bullet resistant glass like they did at some of the schools in larger cities. Should she tell the people in the school about the SUV? How would they respond? What if she was wrong? What would happen if the people in the SUV came into the school? Nausea made her dizzy. With shaking fingers Honor rubbed her temple as she walked into the school office and up to the high counter. She tried to smile at the woman sitting behind the desk.
“Name?” the woman asked in a bored voice.
“Hi, I’m Honor Weston. I’m here for Lela Timmons. I was told she was not feeling well.”
“Driver’s License?” the woman asked, looking at Honor over her glasses as she held out a limp hand.
Honor clinched her jaw and got out her license and handed it over. The clerk glanced down and gasped, then shot her eyes back to Honor’s face. “Could you please remove your sunglasses?” she said and then quickly added, “It’s for verification purposes.”
I just bet it is, Honor thought, her frayed nerves not helping to keep her temper in check. She removed her sunglasses and as expected, the woman gave her license back, exited the room and practically ran to the back. Honor was just about to call out when the bored woman returned with an older and very distinguished looking woman. Honor eyed her name tag, Principal Roberta Myers.
After introducing herself, Principal Myers took in Honor’s face and disheveled appearance and took a deep breath. “Perhaps we made a mistake in calling you, Ms. Weston,” she said.
Oh my God, I don’t need this shit today, Honor thought. “Look, Principal Myers, I get the whole shock and worry thing. I get it all the time. It’s just a tattoo, not a virus. Get over it. I handed over my license to verify who I am. I have just come from a construction site where I work. From the tone of your voice on the phone I felt like time was of the essence, so here I am, dirt and all. Now, where is Lela?” Honor demanded.
“Look, Ms. Weston. We have to be very careful with whom we . . .,” Principal Myers started.
Frustration and fear had Honor on edge. She was about to tell the woman about the SUV out front, but then she spotted Lela.
“Honor, I don’t feel so good,” Lela said with a trembling voice as she walked out of one of the rooms behind the counter. Her skin was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She put her hands on her stomach and her lips trembled.
Concern for Lela washed everything else aside. Without a thought, Honor used her hands to leap over the high counter and grab a small trash can and put it in front of Lela, then pulled her hair back right before Lela threw up. “It’s okay, baby. Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Honor said soothingly, as she gently rubbed Lela’s back. “I need some water and moist paper towels, please,” Honor said loudly. A few seconds later, a bottle of water and a stack of paper towels appeared on the desk beside her.
“Honor . . .,” Lela cried when her stomach stopped heaving. Her little body shook from the effort.
“Here baby, rinse your mouth out and spit in the trash can. Don’t swallow it,” Honor said gently. She wiped Lela’s face and mouth with one of the cool, moistened paper towels. “There you go, feeling better?” Honor asked.
Lela shook her head and tucked herself up against Honor. “I wanna go home,” she cried softly.
Honor picked Lela up and faced the principal. “Look, I don’t have time for this. I know you have to be sure so why don’t you call or beep Ellie Lassiter, she’s Lela’s teacher. She has met me and I’ve even been to her house. Whatever you do, just do it quickly,” Honor said sternly as she rubbed Lela’s back. She’s burning up, Honor thought anxiously.
Principal Myers looked at the woman at the counter and said, “Zelda, go and sit with Ms. Lassiter’s class until she returns,” Principal Myers then stepped over to an intercom system and pressed a button and said, “Ms. Lassiter, please report to the office, Ms. Lassiter, please report to the office.”
A few minutes later Ellie Lassiter walked into the office. “Honor, oh I am so glad they were able to find someone. How’s she doing?” Ellie asked as she saw Lela’s draped body, limp in Honor’s arms.
“She’s burning up. Could you okay me so I can get her out of here?” Honor said, eyeing Principal Myers with a frown.
“That’s fine Ms. Weston. Thank you for being patient. We just can’t be too careful. I hope Lela feels better. Ms. Lassiter, why don’t you escort Ms. Weston to her car in case she needs assistance,” Principal Myers said kindly and then turned and walked into the back without another word.
Honor’s teeth clinched in an effort to keep a few sarcastic comments from leaving her mouth. She grabbed the water and paper towels and walked around the high counter until she met Ellie on the other side. “Thanks,” Honor said, and then she frowned and stroked Lela’s head. “Lela, do you know your doctor’s name?” Honor asked, realizing she had no idea where to take Lela.
“Dr. Skye,” Lela said in a small voice.
“Is that her last name or first name?” Honor asked gently, hoping she’d know.
“It’s Dr. Skye Culbertson. She has an office on the corner of Dewhurst and Ninth Street,” Ellie said. “She also works at Trinity Memorial, but she has a private office there. A lot of parents take their kids to her. I hear she’s a great doctor. If they aren’t open, you may have to take her over to Trinity’s E.R.”
“Bless you,” Honor said in earnest, as she walked up to her truck. She glanced across the street and noted that the black Escalade was gone, but couldn’t shed the sense that someone was out there watching. She desperately wanted to say something to Ellie, but what if they figured out that Honor had warned her? Would they hurt Ellie, or worse, would they go after the other kids in the school? Swallowing down her fear, Honor set Lela inside the passenger side of the truck’s bench seat and buckled her in before shutting the door.
“Please call me and let me know how Lela is doing,” Ellie said quickly, writing down her number on a small pad she pulled from her sweater pocket.
“I will and thanks for your help,” Honor said and ran around to start the truck. She headed towards Dewhurst and Dr. Culbertson’s office.
A few minutes later she pulled into a small parking lot that was almost empty. Please be here, please be here, Honor prayed as she parked and went around to the passenger side to unbuckle Lela from her seat.
“My tummy is hurting again, Honor,” Lela said in a panicky voice.
Honor quickly set Lela on the ground and pulled her hair back just as her stomach began to heave again. Tears filled her eyes as she watched as Lela’s little body shook with spasms as she threw up. Honor reached in and got the remaining paper towels and water that she brought with her and had Lela rinse her mouth out. She wiped her face before picking her up and heading into the doctor’s office.
Cool refreshing air hit Honor as she walked through the door and up to the frosted glass partition. It slid open and a pleasant woman in a nurse’s uniform said, “What can I do for you, ma’am?”
“This is Lela Timmons, Gabriel Ryan’s niece; I think she is a regular patient of Dr. Culbertson. I just picked her up from school. She’s burning up and has thrown up a few times. I need to get her in to see the doctor,” Honor said, hoping this wasn’t going to turn into another battle.
“Of course! Lela is one of our best patients. Let me see what we can do, just one moment,” the nurse said and slid the frosted door shut. In just seconds the inner office door opened and the nurse waved her inside and led her to a small examination room. “The doctor will be right with you,” the nurse assured her before leaving them alone in the room.
Honor just stood with Lela in her arms, not sure what she should do. Her heart was pounding wit
h fear and she squeezed her eyes shut to combat the hysterical need to start screaming for help. She just wanted Lela to be okay. She wanted to keep them both safe. She wanted Gabriel.
The exam room door opened and a woman walked in wearing a doctor’s coat. To Honor’s worried mind she looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. “Hello, I’m Dr. Culbertson, but everybody just calls me Dr. Skye. I hear Lela isn’t feeling well,” she said and patted the exam table gently. She was about five and a half feet tall and had beautiful light blue eyes and silky black hair that was pulled back into a loose twist at the back of her head.
“That’s right. I’m Honor Weston by the way, a friend of Gabriel and Lela’s. I just picked Lela up from school. She has thrown up twice that I know of and she feels really hot,” Honor said and reluctantly released Lela. She sat her on the edge of the table, but stood right by her side as the doctor started examining her.
Dr. Skye took Lela’s blood pressure and patting her hand, said, “Her heart rate is a little high, but that’s to be expected. Does your tummy hurt honey?” Dr Skye asked as she looked into Lela’s throat and felt under her neck. At Lela’s nod the doctor smiled in empathy and then said, “I’m going check your temperature real quick.” She gently inserted the thermometer into Lela ear canal. “Yep, you’re a little warm- a hundred and one. We need to get that down, don’t we?” Skye asked Lela with a nod. She listened to Lela’s heart and breathing with her stethoscope and after a few more questions the doctor sat back and looked at Honor.
“There’s a flu bug going around the schools right now. I’ve had about a dozen patients come in here in the last two days with the exact same symptoms that Lela is exhibiting. Trinity Memorial’s ER is swamped with even more cases. I’m going to call in a prescription for antibiotics and something to get her fever down and help settle her stomach. I’m also going to call in some cough suppressant. I heard some wheezing when I listened to Lela’s lungs so I’m going to prescribe an inhaler to help her breath a little better. The chest congestion is settling in now so I want to catch it early to keep it from becoming worse. If she isn’t any better in a few days have Gabriel bring her back in to see me, but I think she’ll be fine,” Dr. Skye said, smiling down at Lela. “I think I remember that grape is your favorite flavor, right?”
“Yes ma’am,” Lela said sniffling. She clasped her hand in Honors and looked up. “Can we go home now?”
“Almost baby, almost,” Honor said, squeezing Lela’s hand reassuringly. She turned to the doctor and said. “I know this is not going to sound good, but do you know which pharmacy Gabriel uses? I have no idea where it is or how to get there,” Honor said helplessly.
“No problem. We have all that on file. I will have the nurse give you the address and directions. They should have everything ready for you by the time you get there. Don’t worry,” Dr. Skye said reassuringly.
Honor smiled her thanks, picked up Lela and followed the doctor out of the room and to the reception area. The doctor spoke quietly to the nurse and then she came back over to Honor.
“Nurse Banner is going to get that information for you. I will settle up with Gabriel later, so don’t worry about anything. Call me if you have any questions,” Dr. Skye said kindly and then looked at Lela. “Feel better Lela, and I’ll see you again soon.”
The nurse gave Honor the pharmacy information and an office card with a private number written on the back. Honor thanked them both and hurried out to her truck and quickly buckled Lela inside. Swallowing hard, Honor glanced around quickly, but didn’t see or feel anything was out of place. She didn’t waste any more time and hopped in truck and followed the nurse’s directions to the pharmacy. By the time they reached the pharmacy Lela had fallen asleep with her head in Honor’s lap. Luckily the pharmacy had a drive through. Honor pulled up to the window and let the cashier know that she was picking up prescriptions for Lela Timmons.
“Date of birth?” the cashier asked expectantly.
Honor gave him a blank stare before reluctantly shaking Lela awake. “Baby when were you born? When is your birthday?” Honor asked, feeling like slime for waking the little girl up.
“December 23,” Lela said sleepily.
“What year, Lela?” Honor coaxed gently, ready to cry.
“2004,” Lela mumbled.
Honor relayed the information to the cashier and prayed that it was correct.
The cashier smiled and had Honor sign for the prescriptions and said, “No charge,” as he put the bags in the drawer, then sent them over to Honor.
Honor looked into her rearview mirror as she started to pull away from the pharmacy and froze. A grey Ford F-150 was coasting by with two men inside, and though the driver didn’t turn his head, she knew it was Fergus Sinclair. There was no way he should have be anywhere near this area. The construction site wouldn’t shut down for another hour. Nausea and cold sweat poured over Honor. Oh God, why hadn’t she said anything to Gabriel about Fergus?
She gripped the steering wheel with shaking hands, pulled out of the pharmacy and headed in the opposite direction of the truck. She turned down several side streets until she felt sure she wasn’t being followed, and then made a beeline for her house.
Another twenty minutes passed before Honor pulled onto her drive way. She stuffed the prescriptions into her backpack and gently opened her door. “Lela, come on baby. Let’s get you into bed,” Honor said. She lifted Lela into her arms on the driver’s side and shut and locked the truck door before heading up to the house.
Once inside, Honor locked the door. Then made sure the back door was still secure. Next, she went straight to her bedroom and turned on the overhead light and sat Lela on the edge of the bed. She began removing Lela’s tennis shoes, socks and her little jeans. Walking over to her dresser, she pulled out an old comfortable T-shirt. “Let’s get your shirt off and then we’ll put on this comfy shirt for you to sleep in, okay?” Honor asked, pulling off Lela’s school shirt and replacing it with the T-shirt that draped Lela warmly.
“Where’s Uncle Gabriel? Aren’t we going to my house?” Lela said a bit tearfully.
Honor’s stomach twisted into a giant knot. She looked at her watch and saw that it was already 4:30 p.m. Where the hell are you, Gabriel? Honor thought, and then that knot grew tighter as a new fear took hold. Where was he? He would never stay out of touch this long. What if . . .? No, Honor stopped the thought before it became fixed in her mind. “Uncle Gabriel’s coming baby, he will be just a little while. In the meantime, I thought we’d hang out here on my big bed and I’ll even rent a movie on my iPad if you want. How’s that sound?” Honor asked, praying that it was enough of a distraction for a sick little girl.
Nodding sleepily Lela said, “Can I pick the movie?”
“You pick any movie you want, baby,” Honor said with relief. “I’m going to get you some water so you can take your medicine. I’ll be right back,” Honor ran out of the room and got a bottle of cold water from the refrigerator and a teaspoon from the silverware drawer, then ran back to the bedroom. She took out the bags from the pharmacy and read the directions. She gave the grape flavored liquid medicines to Lela and then pulled back the covers for Lela to crawl under.
“Okay, little one, here is the iPad. Just play around with it for a few minutes. I’m going right in there to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I’ll leave the door open so you can see me. Just call out if you need me. Then we’ll get all snuggly in bed and relax a little. How’s that sound?” Honor asked, and at Lela’s smile she gathered some comfortable sweats and went into the bathroom and quickly got into the shower.
*****
Cursing his new phone, Gabriel realized should have stuck with model he had before. It was going to take him a month to figure out how to use the new phone. He finally found his phone list and tried calling Honor, but got no answer. He didn’t bother leaving a message, since he was so close to her house. Trying Conner from his Bluetooth, he finally got an answer.
“Where are you? I see you must have gotten the phone replaced,” Conner said.
“Look, I’m on my way to Honor’s house. Lela is sick, and Honor picked her up when they couldn’t reach me.”
“She okay?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to reach Honor. I’ll be there in a few minutes and hopefully everything will be fine,” Gabriel said. Turning on to the last stretch of road before he hit Honor’s neighborhood, Gabriel made himself a promise to memorize his entire phone book.
“Damn, I hate to see the little one sick. It rips my heart out,” Conner said.
“You and me both, brother. . . SONOFABITCH!” Gabriel yelled as his truck violently lurched forward and skidded to the left as something rammed into its back end. His head hit the windshield, but his seat belt’s biting grip stopped him from any true injury. As Gabriel fought to control his truck, he glanced into his review mirror for a split second and saw a large black SUV racing towards him.
“Gabriel? What the hell . . .?” Conner shouted.
“Black SUV just rammed me and is coming up fast again. I can’t see the driver and no front plate,” Gabriel said quickly before bracing himself for another hit. This time he was ready and was able to keep the truck from going out of control. Looking ahead, Gabriel knew they were coming upon a small bridge that spanned a local waterway.