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“Damn! You’re hot!” he said with a concerned frown.
I grinned at his words and replied, “Thank you. I was expecting you to say that last Saturday.”
“This is no time for jokes, sweet girl. You’re burning up.”
“Ugh, it’s not that bad.”
He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. My fevered mind wandered to the dance with me swinging in his strong arms. I hummed a tune from that night.
“I want to dance with you again,” I said.
“Later,” he said as if I was a child making unreasonable demands. “Do you have a thermometer?”
“No,” I replied matter-of-factly. “I didn’t predict I was going to be sick.”
He pulled out his phone from his pocket, placed a call, and put it on speaker while it trilled.
“Where’s your linen closet? I need to change your sheets. They are damp.”
I pointed to the closet door just outside my bedroom.
The phone continued ringing while he stepped outside and pulled out fresh sheets.
“Yes, Bhai,” a sweet female voice answered the call.
Sujit came rushing back in. “Afra, I’m sorry to bother you at work, but I need your help.”
“No problem, I’m on my break.”
Sujit pulled me up and helped me into the armchair in the room while he continued talking to the woman on the phone.
“My friend is sick. High fever. My concierge doctor is out, and I don’t trust anyone else right now. Do you think you can help? Tell me if I need to get her to a hospital.”
I rolled my eyes at his question while he put a comforter on my shuddering body. He pulled the sheets off my bed and tossed them to a corner of the room without missing a beat in the conversation.
“Does she have any other symptoms? Headache, nausea, runny nose, rashes, diarrhea? Anything?” Afra inquired.
Sujit raised his brows at me. I shook my head.
“No, nothing else. Just very high fever and intense shivers.”
“How high?”
“Not sure. She doesn’t have a thermometer.”
“Is Imran with you?”
“Yes, he’s downstairs with the car.”
“All right, let me call him and give him a list of things. I don’t think we need to rush to the hospital. Give her plenty of fluids,and if she’s not throwing up, have her eat a little. I’ll ask Imran to get the rest from the pharmacy.”
“Thank you, Afra. I owe you.”
She laughed. “Arey Bhai, you can’t keep owing me for such small things. You are family. Let me call Imran right away before my break ends.”
She disengaged the call, and Sujit finished tucking in the final edge of the fitted sheet.
“Change of clothes?” he asked, and I pointed to a drawer in my wardrobe. He walked into the large closet and returned with a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.