When Maggie walked into her apartment later that night, the scene was chaotic. Juju was crouched over Seth, who was hugging the toilet and barfing violently.
Maggie rushed into the small bathroom. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. When I got home, he was complaining that he felt sick to his stomach and was cold and achy. Then, all of a sudden, he got out of bed and ran in here,” Juju explained.
Maggie took over and knelt beside Seth as he continued to throw up. She stayed with him until he felt well enough to get back into bed.
“I’m freezin’ Aggie,” Seth told her through chattering teeth.
Maggie knew he had a fever. She could tell by how hot he was when she helped him back to the mattress. “Does anything else bother you?” she asked as she layered shabby blankets and towels over him.
“My whole body hurts,” he cried, “and my throat feels puffed up inside.”
“Juju, can you get the aspirin out of the drawer?” Maggie asked.
It wasn’t until two hours later that Seth finally settled down and went to sleep.
“What do you think is wrong with him?” Juju finally asked.
“He’s got the flu. I sure as hell hope the two of us don’t get it. That jerk-off, Rock, would probably make us work even if we were on our deathbeds,” Maggie remarked.
Juju giggled. “Yeah, he’s such a dick. Hell, he made me work right after he cut off my fingers. I quickly became known as the eight-fingered dealer.”
At that statement, Maggie stopped what she was doing and looked at Juju.
“You’re so freakin’ sick,” Maggie bantered.
The two girls fell into laughter, and eventually Maggie told Juju about her dinner with Colby.
“So you really like him, don’t you?” Juju asked.
“Yeah, I do. But there’s no way I can get with somebody now. Colby admitted he wouldn’t be able to handle knowing the stuff I have to do for a living. I can’t blame him,” Maggie said a bit defensively.
“Hey,” Juju said, holding up her hands, “I’m not judging anyone. I’m a gay, eight-fingered, drug dealer. Need I say more? Judging ain’t my thing,” she teased.
“Yeah, speaking of gay, how’s that girl you met? Are you still into her?”
Juju’s face brightened. “Oh, I’m into her, all right. I think I’m falling in love, actually. She’s smokin’ hot. She’s knows I ain’t ever gotten with anyone yet, and she’s not pressuring me or nothing. We hook up, but I’m proud to say we haven’t done it yet,” Juju offered.
“So, when do I get to meet her?” Maggie asked.
“Not until I know it’s serious. Plus, it feels kind of weird, like I’m bringin’ her home to meet ‘mom’ or something,” Juju joked.
“Whatever, you smelly brat. You’re so nasty. I would love to meet her when you’re ready. I’m not trying to rush you, and it doesn’t bother me a bit that you have another life that Seth and I know nothing about. Or that you’re out with some strange woman who could be a rapist or a serial killer. Nope, doesn’t bother me one little bit,” Maggie sang.
“Ugh. OK, well, I’ll see how it goes,” Juju said.
Maggie turned serious. “Did she say anything about your hands?”
“Oh, you mean the fact that one day I showed up and only had eight fingers left? She sorta freaked the fuck out the first time she saw it. But she knows I deal, and she knows all about Rock. So, I think she’s cool with it now; probably cooler with it than I am,” she said regretfully.
That night, as Maggie lay on the mattress next to Seth, she thought about Colby. She hoped to be in love someday and even have a family. Then her thoughts floated to Rock, and the peaceful feeling washed away in a wave of anger. She had a chance at love with Colby, and in her mind, Rock was forcing her to pass it up. She boiled over with hatred toward Rock for the things he’d done to all of them. Then her eagerness to help Colby shut Rock down swelled inside of her, and it made her feel powerful. Maggie was getting her first little taste of sweet revenge.
To Maggie’s disappointment, Seth was still burning up with fever the next morning. He was no longer vomiting, mainly because there was nothing left in him to vomit. He continued to complain about nausea, though. Over the years, Maggie had read several medical books. She knew that if Seth had the flu, his body would eventually heal itself. However, his suffering was unbearable for her, and she decided to make him as comfortable as possible.
“Juju?” Maggie said loudly to wake her up.
“Wha…what? What time is it?” Juju grumbled.
“It doesn’t matter what time it is. Seth feels like crap, and I need you to run down to the store and buy a couple of things. Come on, hurry and get dressed,” Maggie said.
By the time Juju left the apartment, Maggie was holding Seth up in a hot shower. He was complaining of body pain and a terrible headache. “I feel like there’s a rat in my head sticking his teeth into my brain,” Seth said.
“I know baby. We’re gonna make you feel better,” Maggie consoled him.
Just then, Juju walked through the apartment door, “I got all the shit on your list. Now can I go back to sleep?”
“No, I need your help.”
Juju warmed a cup of water and mixed in the salt and baking soda, just as Maggie had instructed. When Maggie filled the bulb syringe with the liquid, Juju’s eyes grew wide. “Ew, what are you going to do with that?”
“We’re going to irrigate his nose,” Maggie said nonchalantly.
“I’m not doing squat with that thing,” Juju said, taking a step away from the syringe as if it had cooties.
Maggie gave her a scolding look. “I need you to help him sit up and hold him still for me. Jesus, Juju, don’t be such a freak,” she added.
Seth cried and struggled as Maggie shot the lukewarm solution up his nose, but he was too weak to fight both girls, and he finally gave in. When they were finished, Maggie applied a warm, damp towel to his head and continued to do so throughout the day. She had hoped that he would improve by the next morning and was surprised when he said that he felt the same as he had the night before.
Each morning during Seth’s illness, Maggie left Juju at the apartment and she walked to his school. First, she’d meet Joey for a few minutes and then she’d let the school administrator know that Seth was ill. She was trying to prevent the school from calling Rock to report Seth’s absence. To her disappointment, the administrator showed no sign of caring that Seth wasn’t well and that he would miss school.
Six long days later, Seth still couldn’t get out of bed. That’s when Maggie lost her cool. Her stomach was in knots, and she couldn’t get Seth out of her mind for a minute. She felt utterly helpless, just as she had so many years ago whenever John William would take Seth away from her for several hours. Quickly, her concern turned to unchecked worrying, which was driving Juju and her crazy.
“I don’t understand it, Juju,” Maggie whispered in the bathroom behind the closed door. “He should be getting better. He still has a fever. I think he needs to see a doctor, but the only one we know who can see him without asking a bunch of questions is Dr. Purse. But you know what that means, right?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah, we have to ask that dipshit, Rock, to help us out. I think we should wait a little. I mean, at least Seth can eat a tiny bit of food now. He stopped throwing up, and his nausea is a lot less. I think we should give it a couple more days. If he still has a fever, then maybe we can talk to Rock about taking Seth to Dr. Purse,” Juju said.
Maggie gave it careful thought before she responded. “OK, we’ll give it two more days. If his fever doesn’t start to go down, I’m going to talk to Rock.”
“He’s such a dick,” Juju commented.
“I know he is, but we have to do whatever it takes to make sure Seth gets better,” Maggie mumbled, more to herself than to Juju.
Maggie worried about the price they’d have to pay for asking Rock for another favor. Then she lay on the mattress next to Seth and stroked his hair while she hummed “Rock-a-Bye Baby” softly in his ear as he drifted deeper into sleep.