by Kelly, G. E.
Jonathan dialed his father’s number with a heavy heart. “Hello, Father,” Jonathan said in a formal tone, as was expected of him.
“Son. What are you calling about?” Ronald Kavanagh asked in a gruff tone.
“I’m afraid something has come up. We’ll need to reschedule your visit,” Jonathan said.
“No. You made an appointment with us, now you’ll be an adult and follow through,” Ronald lectured.
“Father, while I understand your reasoning, there’s a matter of greater importance. Most of our household is unwell.” Sighing internally, Jonathan hoped he’d taken the right approach. His father was so prickly at times.
“You should have said so upfront. Your mother and I have no intention of catching your illness. We’ll send you a note when we can reschedule,” Ronald said.
“Okay, Father. Sean and I will look forward to hearing from you again,” he said.
“Rightly so, good-bye, Son.” Ronald hung up the phone before Jonathan had finished saying good-bye.
Okay, maybe Jonathan’s parents were a tad rude. He supposed they got it honestly. His grandparents were even worse. They had all came from money, and it showed. The world was their playground and sometimes ants got burned.
During his childhood, he’d done his best to make sure he didn’t behave like his parents. It helped that he’d had rather kind teachers and caregivers. By the time Sean arrived, Jonathan’s personality had developed into that of a considerate person. One of the reasons he wound up in medicine was because of his parents. He decided to devote his life to helping others, instead of devoting his life to helping himself. Sean was broken and lonely when he’d been adopted, and while he’d hoped to have the love of two doting parents, what he’d gotten had been better. The utter devotion of a big brother and a friend who would do anything for him.
Having checked calling their parents off his list, Jonathan felt one piece of his burden lift. Now he could at least breathe easy for a while longer. It would probably be months before he heard from them again. In the meantime, Jonathan could focus on Jaycee and the guys. He did eventually plan on letting Jaycee meet his parents, but he felt it was better to get to know her himself first. That way he would know how to prepare her for the inescapable misery. Still, he couldn’t complain about his parents too much. Many people had it far worse. He was very lucky to always have had a roof over his head, and food in his belly. Never had he been forced to go without and he had the best tutors money could buy. While money couldn’t buy love, it did place him in the right school to meet the best friends that would shape his future.
Jaycee was an unexpected gift. Sure, Marc had told them about her since they were little, but they never could have anticipated their actual reaction to her. So much of it was pure chemistry. Watching Jaycee sleep, Jonathan thought about how much he’d come to care about her in such a short time. He hurt when she hurt and he felt sad when she was down and her laugh…well, even a smile from her lit up his world. Pleasing her had been the first time in his life that Jonathan really felt like he needed to exert himself. Academics and medicine came easy to him, but relationships took work, no matter how smart you were. It was a constant give and take. He would give anything to make her happy. He was falling for her fast. His brothers were too, even if they hadn’t all realized it fully yet. For now, they just all knew they needed her in their lives. That was a good start.
Tossing and turning, Jaycee was caught in a nightmare. Because of her proximity to the other guys, who were still sharing air mattresses with her, no one else was getting any sleep. Most students were reading syllabuses, and getting their first assignments right now. Jonathan wished Jaycee was with them. He pictured her sitting in class next to other students her age without fear in her heart. Imagining her after several weeks of classes, he saw her making friends with the guys and girls in her classes. Well…maybe not the guys, he didn’t really care to picture that, even if it was innocent. It really wasn’t just jealousy; he was too worried about her. Her self-esteem was at such a low level, and having a guy grow close to her only to hurt her could destroy all the progress she’d made. Already, after only a few days with them Jaycee was coming out of her shell. Instead of keeping quiet, and staying out of the way, she teased and talked with them.
Sean joined Jonathan on the sofa. “Did you call our parents?”
“Yes. Father wasn’t happy, but he’ll be in touch later with a new visit date. We didn’t manage to get out of it, if that’s what you were hoping…it merely got delayed,” Jonathan said.
“I wasn’t really expecting a different outcome, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t hoping,” Sean said with a grin.
“Ha! If you say so.” Jonathan said, laughing.
“Did they say anything else?” asked Sean.
“Not really. You know Father. It was rather brisk and to the point.” Sighing, Jonathan tried not to be disappointed.
“You didn’t mention Jaycee, did you?” Sean asked the question, but even the guys lying on the air mattresses were curious as to his response.
“No. I really don’t want to subject her to them yet. I feel like we need to build her up first, make her stronger—more confident—before she faces them,” he said.
“You make them sound like a firing squad,” Lee croaked from the spot closest to Jaycee.
“They aren’t the easiest people,” Garrett said with a cough.
“No, but they are family,” Marc said sadly.
“Exactly, and we only get one shot at introductions. Why risk it, by forcing it too soon. Forget them, this isn’t a good time for Jaycee either. She’s got enough on her plate,” Jonathan argued.
“He’s right,” Alec whispered, burying his head in Jaycee’s neck.
“Let’s just hope they don’t decide to make a surprise visit…they’ve done it before,” Sean added.
“Amen.” Alec’s word was muffled by Jaycee’s body.
“You shouldn’t talk with your arms full,” Sean teased.
“Good one, but I’m not letting go. It’s part of my treatment,” Alec mumbled.
“I don’t remember prescribing Jaycee as a medicine,” grumbled Jonathan.
“No, but it couldn’t hurt,” Alec said, chuckling.
Garrett wanted to throw a pillow at him, but he didn’t want to risk hitting Jaycee. Not that it would wake her up, but he didn’t like the idea of it anyway. They really shouldn’t even be talking, but they couldn’t help themselves. There wasn’t much you could do when you were sick, besides watching television. Which they were already doing. Since Jaycee had fallen asleep, they’d taken to switching off who picked the show. Garrett was currently in control of the remote again, and he’d chosen an old Western. Marc hadn’t wanted to watch anything, so he took the spot closest to the television. His back was turned to the screen, leaving him facing Jaycee. Now there was a sight he could watch for hours on end.
It wasn’t until lunchtime that Jaycee finally woke. When her eyes popped open, she noticed she’d spread herself out across the guys during her sleep. Her limbs were stretched as far as they could go in any direction. Twinkling eyes full of mirth met hers, they didn’t care that she’d taken possession of the space. Jonathan brought them a big tray of chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Jell-O was the optional dessert. Jonathan had mixed up some hot tea for everyone to drink. Jaycee sipped it slowly, savoring the warmth on her throat.
“Thank you.” Jaycee whispered, her dry-erase board forgotten beside her.
“Save your voice. In a day or two, when you’re all better, then you can thank me,” Jonathan said.
“I’ll hold you to that,” she squeaked out.
As the day wound down, Jaycee started to feel the effects of the amoxicillin. Her throat was becoming less sore, and her fever was going down. The guys weren’t faring quite so well. Their symptoms were only just peaking. Jaycee decided to get up, and help Jonathan care for the others. She carried trays of food, and bought the guys their
medicine. Even Alec behaved better under Jaycee’s constant care. It wasn’t until late Monday evening that something felt wrong to Jaycee. She was beginning to feel warm again, and her skin was itchy all over.
“Jonathan, I don’t feel so good,” Jaycee said, scratching her right arm.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I feel hot and my skin feels like I’ve been bitten by a million mosquitos,” she replied.
“Let me see,” Jonathan said, reaching for her arm. “Oh Jaycee, I’m sorry. These are hives. You must be allergic to the antibiotics. We’ll need to switch you to a new one, something not penicillin based,” he said.
“Okay. How long will it take for the itching to stop?” Scratching vigorously, Jaycee tried to focus on Jonathan.
“It will take much longer if you keep scratching,” Jonathan warned her.
Jaycee grimaced. “I’m trying to stop, but it’s so hard.”
Jonathan grabbed a handful of Band-Aids from his first-aid kit. “Here, I’ll cover your hives with Band-Aids. It’s much harder to spread when you can’t get to them to scratch.” He placed the tiny rectangles over her worst bumps. “There, that should do for now. Make sure to take them off tonight. Hives have a tendency to move anyway. Where they are today, might not be where they are tomorrow.”
“Will anything minimize the discomfort?” she asked.
“Well, you can take an antihistamine, but it will only make you more tired. If the hives don’t go away after several days, then I’ll prescribe you a steroid too,” Jonathan told her.
“Oh. Um I think I’ll be fine with the antihistamine,” mumbled Jaycee, looking off and downward, hiding her face.
“It’s not that type of steroid, and with a low dose you shouldn’t have any side effects,” Jonathan said, chuckling at Jaycee’s response.
“What about us?” Alec wrote on his dry-erase board. “I think I’m dying over here.”
“You’ll be fine. I know you don’t have any allergies to penicillin. If the pain gets too bad, then you can take some Tylenol,” Jonathan replied.
“Tylenol 2?” Alec wrote furiously, erasing his previous question with his sleeve, causing Jonathan and Mark to grimace. His eyes betrayed that he was teasing. Even sick, Alec couldn’t help himself, he had to try to pull someone’s leg.
“Just for that, I’ll give you children’s liquid,” Jonathan said, fighting a smile, as Alec grimaced dramatically. They did put better flavorings in liquid medications these days, but if you were used to pills, the liquid could be hard to stomach.
Knabble (to nibble; take small bites)
January 12, 2016
When Tuesday morning rolled around, some of the patients were starting to recover. While they wouldn’t be going back to school yet, they were able to start caring for themselves. The guys even decided to abandon the air mattresses, and go back to their bedrooms. They weren’t contagious anymore. Jonathan was thrilled to be rid of so many whiney patients. Lee had behaved the best out of all the guys, but Jaycee was still his favorite patient. Since Jaycee was still suffering the effects of her allergic reaction, Jonathan suggested Jaycee sleep with him tonight and Sean tomorrow. Sean was a bit disappointed with the schedule change, but he was also worried about Jaycee. Her hives didn’t seem life threatening, but allergic reactions could be very serious.
Breakfast was a livelier affair, than the previous morning, as Jonathan fixed them all eggs and toast. No greasy food until they were fully healed, but they were happy not to be eating more oatmeal. Lee had suggested Jaycee wear winter mittens around the house to help keep herself from scratching. Even during her sleep, she’d been caught spreading the hives. She felt silly, but it was much harder to scratch through the thick material. When Jonathan saw the mittens, he laughed and got her an ice pack.
“Put this on the hives. The cold will numb them and they won’t itch so much.” He smiled at her mitten wrapped hands and shook his head. “Who told you to wear gloves?”
“Lee suggested it. I can’t stop myself from scratching, it’s just second nature. I think I did it in my sleep too…,” Jaycee lifted the hem of her shirt to show where her ribs were covered in bumps.
“Oh, sweetie. Let’s get you that steroid. I know you don’t want to, but you’ll heal so much faster,” Jonathan said.
“Okay…,” Jaycee said sadly.
Considering the group had all either given sick notice or—in Jonathan’s case—requested time off, everyone needed to be entertained today. Something to get their minds off their woes. Marc had the perfect solution. Racing to his room, he pulled a large photo box out from under his bed and took it downstairs to the living room.
“Jaycee, I had meant to show you these earlier, but things have been so crazy, there wasn’t a good time.” Marc opened the box, pulling out the first photo he could see and handed it to Jaycee.
“This is…wow! My family!” Tears pooled in Jaycee’s eyes. They were happy tears. She never thought she’d see a picture of her mother again. It had been so many years that she was afraid she wouldn’t recognize her anymore. Jaycee sat in the middle of the couch cradling the box of photos. The guys filled in around her trying to catch a glimpse of young Jaycee. Marc had showed them all a photo or two of her that he’d kept, but he left the rest for Jaycee. It had seemed too invasive to share all her memories. Especially when she’d been denied them for so long.
“I d-don’t know how t-to t-thank you.” Jaycee’s voice was garbled as she tried to push back sobs.
“Your happiness is enough, sweetie. That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Marc said softly.
“You were so cute!” Sean said taking one of the photos of Jaycee after she’d lost a tooth. They began passing around the photos Jaycee had already gone through.
“My eyes were too big for my face,” Jaycee said, laughing.
“No, you were perfect,” Garrett said with conviction, causing Jaycee’s cheeks to turn pink.
“I still wish I could have seen all of you as children too. I bet you were all so adorable!” Jaycee wiped tears from her eyes as she stared at a family photo from before her mother had passed.
“Well, actually, you can.” Lee went upstairs by himself. He dug around in a closet for several minutes before returning with his arms full of photo albums.
“What are these??” Jaycee asked.
“When each of the guys moved in here, I requested some photos from their families. I wanted everyone to truly feel like this was their home, and memories are a big part of that. We all had photos of each other from our school days, but most of these are photos of us before we all met. There’s an album at the bottom of photos we took of each other.” Lee dropped the albums onto the coffee table in front of the sofa. The guys started pulling albums off, paging through, and pointing out specific photos to each other. Jaycee carefully set her photo box on the floor, having returned all the photos to their proper place.
Leaning on Garrett, Jaycee saw a photo of him riding a hobby horse when he was a toddler. His face was clearly recognizable. The guys hadn’t changed that much in the face. Jaycee enjoyed seeing pictures of Lee in formal Korean clothing with his family. Alec had pictures of himself playing sports in the street with the neighborhood kids. Sean had caught the largest bass Jaycee had ever seen, on one of the few trips they’d taken with his adopted parents. Sean’s book even had photos from before he was adopted. Unlike Jaycee, no one had denied him his roots. His father was a hero, and his mother a kind woman. Their exits from his life had been excusable. Jaycee didn’t resent him for the difference. She was happy he’d been allowed to look back, and smile at the wonderful people that were his parents.
After they’d passed around the photo albums several times, Lee picked them all up, and stored them away again. Alec suggested they watch a movie, but Jaycee was about done with sitting around watching movies. She’d rather read, but she also wanted to be social with the guys. Sean suggested hooking up a gaming system, and having a tournament. Since no o
ne protested, Sean gathered up his gaming system and games, setting them up on the big screen. Lee set up a bracket with the challengers, and they decided to play Mario Kart.
Lee went up against Alec in the first round, with Lee coming out the winner. Sean and Garrett duked it out next with Sean winning by a landslide. Jonathan and Marc played each other, and Jonathan beat Marc thoroughly. Since they were an uneven number, it was decided Jaycee would play the biggest loser, since she wasn’t experienced with video games. Whoever won, would have another shot at the running. Marc wound up losing with the greatest place difference, so he went up against Jaycee. By this point, the crew had taken to cheating good naturedly. Distractions were created, often using Jaycee. They’d call her over to walk in front of part of the screen, or have her sit right in front of the other player on the floor. She was too distracting for them, but when it was her turn to play, she’d started to get the hang of it herself. Using her elbow, she gently nudged Marc’s arm when he went around the big curves, causing him to fly off the track.
“You may be cute, but I’ll still not lose to you.” Marc challenged her after she’d sent his cart reeling a second time. Jaycee giggled, pushing her cart faster. Jaycee had been lining the track behind her with bananas, and when Marc started to catch up, Jaycee managed to acquire some turtle shells, thanks to their audience’s help. Chucking them at Marc, Jaycee laughed maniacally. “Stop helping her!” Marc yelled at the guys, laughing.
Alec had been calling out whenever he saw something on the track Jaycee could use. Sean sat beside Jaycee coaching her on how to drive without crashing. In the end, Jaycee wound up winning by just a hair. “Yes!” She cheered as the scoreboard filled the screen.
“Dirty play, sweetie, and you guys…” Marc threw pillows at his brothers. “A bunch of traitors, huh?”
“Well, it’s not entirely a fair fight to begin with. Jaycee’s only played once before. You’ve played countless hours with us, even if you are the worst player,” Sean pointed out with glee.