Samantha burst through the front door. “No! I don’t want it!”
Marie followed, holding Kathy’s hand in hers. “Samantha, you don’t have a choice. The medicine will help you.”
Samantha was quiet, having found a hiding place somewhere in the house.
Marie let go of Kathy’s hand once the front door was closed and went in search of her older daughter. “Samantha, this isn’t funny. You have an ear infection. The only way that it’s going to get better is if you take your medicine.”
“I don’t want it!” The angry voice came from the sunroom.
Marie followed the sound and saw Samantha hiding between one of the wicker chairs and the wall of windows. Her back was to Marie and her shoulders shook with sobs. Her right hand absently played with her ear.
“It won’t hurt anymore after you take your medicine,” Marie said.
Samantha turned and saw her mother, then darted into the living room. “No!”
“Samantha! You get back here right now!” Marie barked. She didn’t like yelling at her kids very often, but it had been a rough couple of days and Samantha had been a nightmare at the doctor’s office. Whining and squirming in the waiting room, then screaming and crying with the doctor. She even managed to get a good kick into the old man’s gut when he tried to administer the first dosage of meds. That’s when he suggested that Marie try it at home where Samantha would feel more comfortable.
If only that were true.
“Samantha Walker, I’m not kidding around!” Marie hollered again.
At the tone of her mother’s voice, Kathy started crying from where she still sat in the foyer.
Marie sighed and went over to her younger daughter and scooped her up in her arms. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Did Mommy scare you?”
Kathy nodded, only a few tears on her face.
“How can I make it up to you?”
She shrugged.
“What if I tickle your belly?” Marie lifted Kathy to her mouth and started blowing on her stomach, to the delightful squeals of her daughter.
With Kathy satisfied, Marie set her back on her feet. “Why don’t you pull out some of your toys and play for a while? I need to find your sister and get her to take her medicine.”
Kathy nodded and then scampered off to the wooden toy box in the corner of the living room.
Marie grabbed the prescription from her purse that she had picked up from the pharmacy on the way home and went upstairs, where she knew Samantha would be hiding in her room. Very likely under her bed.
“Sam, honey,” Marie called. “Please come out. I just want to talk to you.”
The door to Samantha’s bedroom opened with a squeal of its hinges and the little girl poked her head through the crack.
Marie sat on the floor. “Come here.” She set the bottle behind her, out of sight of Samantha. “I just want to explain something to you.” If she could reason with her, then maybe Samantha would willingly take the medicine. At least the first dose. She’d have to find a different approach for the second, but by then Frankie would be home and he could help fight the battle alongside her.
Samantha slowly came out of her room and approached her mother in the upstairs landing.
“I just want to talk to you about why it’s important to take your medicine.”
Samantha stopped and took a half step backward.
“It’ll help you feel better,” Marie pushed. “You remember how you said it hurt when you laid down in bed? This will make it so your ear doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Again, the little girl looked cautiously at Marie.
“Come on.” Marie waved her over. “Come sit in my lap and you can ask me all of your questions and then you can decide if you should take it.”
Samantha thought about it and then stepped closer to her mother. When she stepped to the side to sit on Marie’s lap, however, she noticed the medicine bottle behind Marie’s back and screamed.
Marie grabbed at Samantha, but the little girl was able to wiggle out of her grasp and ran to her room, slamming her door behind her.
Frustrated, Marie scooped up the bottle and chased after Samantha.
“Noooo!” Samantha screamed from under her bed. She kicked her feet wildly, hitting the bottom of the bed frame with each kick.
“Samantha, that’s enough! Take the damn medicine or…or your ear’s going to fall off!”
Her daughter screamed louder, now afraid of something completely imaginary.
Great parenting, Marie, she thought to herself. But her annoyance outweighed reason. Samantha may have been stubborn, but Marie was going to be more stubborn.
Grabbing ahold of the girl’s legs, Marie pulled Samantha out from under the bed and turned her over. She straddled her and when Samantha began smacking at her, Marie pinned her arms down with her knees.
Sitting atop her daughter, Marie held the dropper near Samantha’s ear, trying to steady it so she could count the drops. Samantha wiggled her hand out from under her mother and clamped it over her ear, letting out a loud shriek. With each sway of her body, Marie’s control over the girl weakened.
Finally, Samantha freed her other hand from under Marie’s knee and swatted the medicine away.
Marie watched as it collided with the wall and splattered all over.
Samantha wiggled out from under her mother and ran down the stairs, wailing in hysteric cries.
Tired and frustrated, Marie buried her head in her hands.
Way to traumatize your child, Marie.
Mother of the year.
She hates you.
And with that thought process running through her head, Marie leaned against her daughter’s bed and began to cry.