Sick Day; Aunt Grace

Little Grey opened the door before Grace had the opportunity to knock.  He didn’t greet her with a smile, but rather a grim sort of expression that sat unnaturally on his seven year old face.  This was the boy with the winning smile, with the mischievous gleam in his eye.  The prankster, the hellion, the charmer.  Seeing him so serious and somber made Grace more alarmed than Jonah’s phone call had—which she hadn’t thought possible.

She didn’t even bother scolding him for opening the door without making sure it was someone safe—he must have been watching for her car and seen her pull up.  “Hi honey.  Where’s Mum and Dad?”

He stood aside to let her enter and gestured to his right, toward the living room.  She stepped into the normally impeccable Delaney Foyer and tried to reconcile what she was seeing with what she’d expected to see.  It was as if a toy shop had exploded; there were toys everywhere, thrown about with abandon.   It was how her playroom looked after one of Ben’s sleepover parties—but it looked so bizarre out here in Velvet’s stately foyer.  Barbies strewn across Italian Marble tile.  G.I. Joes clustered atop the teak entryway table.  Plastic farm animals inhabiting the base of the potted palm.  Sparkly pink feather boas decorating the handsome Parisian umbrella stand.  Puzzles, games, musical instruments, blocks, skates, a matching pair of baby doll strollers—it was overwhelming.

She picked her way carefully but quickly over the detritus and stopped at the livingroom archway.  This room was a small disaster as well.  Potted plants overturned, furniture re-arranged and denuded of cushions, articles of clothing sprinkled helter skelter.  Grace swallowed her rising panic.  A house only got into this state if children had been left unsupervised for a long stretch of time.  She stepped into the room Velvet liked to call ‘the parlor’, and took stock.

The larger couch had been pulled all the way over to the archway of the den and was serving, Grace guessed, as a security gate for a doorway that was far too wide for the standard plastic safety devices.  She could hear cartoons and singing toys and the babble of two-year-olds.   Jonah walling off his children with a sofa meant Jonah needed to be by his wife’s side without distraction.  “Where?”   She demanded in her most teacher-like voice.

Grey pointed toward the study.

Grace charged to the handsome paneled darkwood door to the rear of the livingroom and knocked smartly.  “Jonah.”  She said, announcing her presence.

“Thank God.”  She heard him say a second before the door swung inward. 

“What’s happened?”

“Grey, run and get Mummy’s coat now please, will you?”

Grace didn’t bother to watch the boy go—her eyes were on the petite figure curled on the deco era fainting couch by the window.  She didn’t look good, so still and collapsed like that.  Grace thought she might have been comforted to see the woman moving in pain, rather than this deathly stillness.

“I think she’s having a miscarriage.”  Jonah told her in a very close whisper against her ear.  He kissed her then, on the cheek, and pressed her into a hasty squeeze.  “Thank you for getting here so quickly.”  And he was across the room before she’d even raised her arms to hug him back, he was frantic, but doing his level best to remain steady and strong.

Grace peered at Velvet.  It didn’t look like a miscarriage—at least not a normal, ‘nature’s way’ type of miscarriage.  Grace had had two now.  This looked more dangerous, less the way nature intended.  Velvet was ashen—she must have lost a lot of blood.  And she was weak as a newborn kitten, her eyes were slow to open when Jonah went to her and told her she needed to sit up.  She looked faraway and fragile.

“Sorry about the house—“  Jonah was saying to Grace distractedly as he helped his wife into a sitting position.  “Thank God they’re all ok—I can’t even think about how many ways they could have been hurt today.”  She heard the terror ripple through his voice.  He was shaken down to his marrow.  “Grey fed them lunch, and I’m pretty sure Ava found snacks, but could you make sure they eat?  The twins haven’t napped, I’m betting, and they’re going to need diapers.  Oh the toilet down here isn’t working right now so use one of the ones upstairs, or maybe the half-bath off the kitchen?  God I haven’t even been in there; Jesus, I don’t know what shape that one’s in.”

She crossed to him and put her hand on his shoulder where he knelt before Velvet.  “Jones.  It’s ok. Shhhh.”

He stuttered to a stop and she watched the back of his head as he nodded. 

“I’ll take care of everything here—you just worry about your wife and don’t waste a minute stressing about all this, got it?”

“Got it.”   He croaked.  “Thank you Gracie.”  His free hand drifted up and covered hers where it rested on his shoulder.  “Thank you.”  He repeated.

“Now get going.”  She commanded.  “Keep me updated when you can.”

Grey returned with his mother’s coat, and a scarf too, and Grace raised her eyebrows to see that the boy had donned his own coat as well.

“Thank you—good work.”  His father said, hurrying to take the coat and wrap it around Velvet.   He didn’t even bother with the sleeves, he just wrapped it around and sort-of tucked it tight, then wrapped the scarf around her gently and pulled her into his arms. 

“Grace—“  Velvet murmured.

“Hey sweetie.”  Grace smiled at her.  “Don’t you worry about a thing, ok?”

“Take carevthem ferme?”

“Of course, sweetie, not a problem.”

Jonah hadn’t paused for this little dialogue and Grace had to hurry to keep up with his progress toward the front door.  Grey ran ahead and pulled open the massive door like a pro and looked about ready to bolt toward the car when Grace called to him.

“Where’re you going baby?  You’ve gotta stay here.”

He fixed her with the darkest glower she’d ever seen on a child, before looking up at his father imploringly.  Jonah paused, the cold air flooding into the foyer, and he stared at his son for a few moments, indecisive.  Then, “He can come.”

“Jones, the hospital is no place—“

“He’s been with her all day, he knows better than I do—C’mon buddy, let’s get going.”  He turned over his shoulder one last time.  “Call me, well, call the hospital if you need to--for anything.”  He said in a rush.  “And try to get in touch with Nolan for me?  He can help you, too, if you need to get home—“

“The kids are with my mother, I’m here as long as you need, Ok? Ok, I got it, now go.”

He nodded and obeyed the command most willingly.  Grace watched until all three were safely loaded into Jonah’s car and he began to back down the driveway.  “Drive careful.”  She said quietly, and sent a fervid prayer up to heaven for someone to watch over this little family tonight.

Then she closed and locked the front door, shed her own winter coat, took a deep breath, put on a cheerful smile and headed for the den.  She had a hell of a lot to do around here before her friends got back, but first priority was making sure those kids in there were healthy, clean, fed, and happy. 

She refused to think about how wan and weak her friend had looked as she was carried from the house.  Refused to dwell on ‘what ifs’.  Everything was going to be just fine.  It just had to be.