Page 136 of The Story of You

He didn’t believe that, but okay or not, we had to risk it.

Everyone loaded into the Monte Carlo. “I’ll take trunk,” Asher said.

There were only enough seatbelts for five. Shane and I were too big for the trunk, so it had to be Simon, Asher, or Darius.

The Advil helped enough that Oliver wasn’t screaming, but he was coughing, his nose was running, and he would have puked some more from the coughing, but he had nothing left to puke, gaging instead. It was three hours of hell in the waiting area until we got called in. Darius and I went in to see the doctor.

Oliver was good about letting the doctor check him over so long as I remained in sight. He was a nice man, Dr. Price, and he’d clearly worked with kids before.

“I have lollipops in my drawer for good little boys,” he said. I think they give stickers out now, but in those days, they gave lollipops.

“Can I have a lollipop, Baba?” he asked me.

“Of course. You can have anything you want once you’re checked over.”

“Baba. That’s an unusual name for your daddy,” the doctor said.

“He’s not my daddy. He’s my big brother,” Oliver said. They were friends now as far as Oliver was concerned. He was the guy with the candy. I was going to have to have the conversation with him about strangers and candy.

Meanwhile, Darius and I exchanged “oh fuck” expressions. I’d told the triage nurse I was his father when we checked him in. It was probably in the notes. “I can explain, Dr. Price.”

He shook his head. “No need. Happens all the time around here. Parents working and that sort of thing. Both parents have to work now just to make a living—sad state of affairs in our country. We’re gonna take good care of you, Oliver.”

Darius and I sighed relief. We’d dodged a bullet.

“This is beginning to sound like pneumonia,” he said. “I’d like him to stay the night. We’ll get him on a nebulizer and see how he does. Then, I’ve got a list of supplements for you to get.”

“Give ‘em to me, Doc,” Darius said. “We’ll get it taken care of.”

I was shocked. “Pneumonia? Already? Doesn’t that take days to develop?” He was fine that morning … just off.

“It can. It can also develop over twenty-four to forty-eight hours. It’s largely dependent on the immune system. Don’t worry, we caught it early. There’s a nasal wash you can do as well, it will lessen the chances of it developing further.”

I nodded, willing to do whatever he said.

We were taken from the emergency to a room and I got on the bed to lay with him while they attached the nebulizer and instructed him on how to breathe with it. “There you go, atta boy,” Dr. Price said when he came around to check. He held a red lollipop. “This is for later. You did great.”

When Darius returned an hour later, Oliver had finally conked out.

“You okay, Sye?” Darius asked.

“I’m fine.” I wasn’t, but what was the point of worrying about me? “Go home. Get some sleep. Come get me in the morning.”

“Not a fucking chance, Silas. We do this together. I’ll tell the others to go.”

He did and then he got in on the other side of Oliver. “Fuck. I’m so relieved, Silas. But I can’t help the gnawing panic. I want to get him out of here.”

I nodded. “Me too.”

The morning brought a brighter sunrise. Oliver was improving. The aching was under control with the Advil. His breathing was a world better. The washes and nebulizer seemed to be doing their job. A new doctor checked him over. A lady doctor this time. Her face twisted. “I don’t like that wheeze I hear at the end. Let’s keep nebulizing. It’s working, but it takes time. He may need to stay a few more nights.”

After she left, Darius paced. “I’ve got Asher on watch outside the hospital. Shane had to work, but Simon’s inside the hospital.”

I nodded. I may have been hesitant to bring Darius’s friends on board, but once I got to know them, I was grateful they joined us, even if we all had issues that caused giant fights that made me want to drop them out of a window on occasion.

Oliver worsened late in the evening. They took him for a chest x-ray. He was showing symptoms of mild viral pneumonia. All we could do was what we were doing. The crew took turns sleeping and standing watch in shifts. I stayed with Oliver.

On Sunday, he improved. Dr. Price was back on shift that morning. Oliver was happy to see him. “Let’s have him stay the afternoon. Then I think he’ll be well enough to recover at home.”