Seth’s blood test results came back a week later. Colby scheduled an appointment with Maggie at Rock’s apartment.
“There was no sign of mono,” Colby explained. “Some of his counts, or whatever they are, were off, but nothing that showed he has a problem.”
Maggie let out a long breath. “Thank God! I just want him to be well. He’s such a good kid, and he’s already had too much shit in his life. He deserves to feel good and be happy.”
When Maggie looked up, Colby was smiling at her. His facial expression made her feel special and valued. It felt like that moment when the sun peeks up over the horizon to begin a new day.
“What are you looking at?” Maggie said, her pouty pink lips looking irresistibly tasty.
“Oh, just admiring the scenery. You’re very special, Maggie. I’ve met a lot of people in my short career—people who have been forced to do what you’re doing now—and they’ve all had good things about them. Most of them worked with me to get out of their own shitty circumstances. But you seem to care more about everyone else around you than you do about yourself. I think it’s brave and selfless. But sometimes you need to consider your own happiness before others’.”
“I do think about my happiness, Colby. It makes me happy when Seth or Juju or Joey has joy, and it gives me comfort to know that Rock will leave my family alone as long as I stay put. It’s as simple as that. I’m not any kind of saint; I just know what it’s like to feel raw fear—the overwhelming fear that eats away the lining of your stomach and makes you feel as though death would be a great relief. I’ve watched friends die. I know how it feels to lose someone that you love…someone who you could count on and who counted on you…I was just a baby,” Maggie finished, her eyes glistening with tears at the memories.
Colby grabbed Maggie and held her tightly. While he couldn’t imagine the fear Maggie described, he was able to empathize with her.
“You’re a good egg, Maggie. Someday you’ll bring remarkable changes to the world,” Colby assured her.
Maggie laughed. “Yeah, sure I will,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm.
“I know these things,” he joked, rubbing an imaginary crystal ball. “I have the ability to see into the future.”
Maggie wished that Colby was serious. She hoped with all her being that he was right, and someday she would find meaning in her life and the reason why God was punishing her.
During the next five months, everything went back to normal for Maggie, Seth, and Juju. All of Seth’s symptoms had disappeared, and he was feeling better than ever. He had just come out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was chattering about a project his social studies class was working on. In the small apartment, where privacy was nonexistent, Seth dropped his towel to the floor and started to get dressed.
Maggie had been reaching for a box of cereal from the counter and turned around just as the towel hit the floor. Seth was facing her as he continued to describe his role in the project. Maggie’s eyes shifted down to his torso.
“Um, are you sure you actually washed yourself in the shower?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah, why?” Seth responded.
Maggie walked over to him to get a closer look. Seth’s torso was covered in a red rash.
“Is that itchy?” she asked.
Seth looked down and studied the rash. “Nope. I didn’t even know it was there.”
“Oh great! Now you have cooties,” Juju mocked.
Maggie gave Juju a stern look as Seth walked toward her like a zombie with his arms spread to give her a big hug.
“Ew,” Juju squealed. “Don’t touch me. I don’t want to catch cooties.”
By then, Seth was hugging her tightly, and Juju broke down laughing and pulled him into her. Maggie watched them with amusement, but her mind was drifting back to some of the articles she’d read when Seth was so sick.
“Come over here, Seth,” Maggie said in a calm voice.
Seth obeyed her, still stark naked. He stood in front of her, knowing she wanted to inspect his rash.
“Aggie, it doesn’t hurt, and it doesn’t itch,” Seth protested before Maggie began to look him over.
“That’s fine, but I still want to see it. Do you know how long you’ve had it?” Maggie asked.
“Nope, this is the first time I’ve seen it,” Seth responded, distracted by thoughts of getting to school on time.
“OK, get dressed. You have to eat breakfast before you go,” Maggie told Seth.
Maggie knew what she needed to do. Colby was going to meet her at Doubles later that evening, and she decided not to dwell on it until she talked with him.
“Colby, I need another favor,” Maggie started when they were alone in the lap dance room.
“Sure. What’s going on?” Colby asked with concern.
“I need to have Seth’s blood tested again. Can you hook me up with everything and get your friend at the lab to run tests?” Maggie inquired.
“That shouldn’t be a problem. What’s going on? Is Seth sick again?” Colby asked, a little worried.
“No, he feels fine, but he broke out in a rash. I need to know for sure what’s going on with him and was hoping your friend could run some tests on his blood to see if there’s anything unusual,” Maggie explained.
A few days later, in the nurse’s office at Seth’s school, Maggie and Mrs. Booker looked at the rash on Seth’s torso.
“Does it itch?” Mrs. Booker asked Seth.
“Nope. I’m fine. Aggie worries ’bout everything,” Seth commented.
“Well, young man, you’re lucky to have someone who worries about you so much,” the nurse told him.
Mrs. Booker tied off Seth’s arm in order to draw his blood again.
“I hate this, Aggie. Why do I have to keep getting these needles? They hurt,” Seth whined.
“Because the only way we can treat whatever is causing the rash is to know what’s causing it, silly,” Maggie responded in a voice that told Seth he needed to stop complaining.
After Seth left to go back to class, Mrs. Booker handed Maggie the vials of blood.
“Let me know if they find anything unusual,” the nurse instructed.
Maggie met Colby shortly after she left the school and handed him the vials of Seth’s blood.
“I need to know the results as soon as possible. Something isn’t right, and we need to get him medicine to make all this shit stop. Seth is so tired of being sick all the time,” Maggie said before she left.
Colby went straight to the clinic and gave the vials to his friend, the lab technician, who asked, “What are his symptoms?”
Colby explained, “Several months ago, the kid was really sick. High fever and vomiting. Then he started to feel better. After a few days, he had a couple of seizures. He was feeling fine for months, but now he has a rash across his torso. My informant wants to know if you find anything unusual in his blood so she can get the kid the medicine he needs.”
The lab technician wrote some notes as Colby described what had been going on with Seth. Then she picked up the vials of blood and gave Colby a nod. “I’ll call you when I have the results,” she stated.