"Emma seems cool, bro," Ty whispers as she walks over to get more food. "She's real down to earth compared to…well. She's cool." Ty sighs. I know he's remembering some of the other women I've brought to his games. Flashy women who never dress appropriately for an ice rink, but who never mind because I'm always happy to whisk them away and warm them up.
Ty's right about Emma. She's nothing like any of those women. She's totally at home here in jeans and a well-loved t-shirt with a pair of Toms. And she's eating, right in front of my family. As a matter of fact, I feel like I need to lean over and protect my bowl of Tom Kha soup so Emma doesn't steal it from me. I see why she got so excited to learn Alice had driven all over the place for the ingredients. I need to make more requests from Alice, because this shit is delicious. I slurp the last of the broth and swallow, clapping Ty on the back. "Thanks, Ty. She's all right I guess."
He laughs at what he thinks is just a wry joke. "How come she doesn't have an engagement ring?"
Shit. He noticed. "Well…" I need to stall. Emma and I hadn't really talked about this, but she comes to my rescue.
"I don't need one. I told Thatcher I'd rather we spend the money on a down payment for a house." I could kiss her for thinking so fast, but I promised I'd be a gentleman, so I settle for stroking her cheek. I only touch her because my family has to buy that we're a couple in love, so I'm a little taken aback by the spark of heat I feel when I connect with her skin. Maybe she's just hot. She looks a little pale, come to think of it, but she smiles for an instant before her face drops back to a worried look. She seems off, but I can only concentrate on her scent as she leans against my arm. She smells nice, fruity and fresh but not overpowering. Different from the last time, I think, then feel unsettled that I'm remembering her different scents. This is unexpected.
The conversation around the table shifts and everyone starts helping with cleanup. I notice Emma seems to be struggling a little to stand up. "Hey," I whisper into her ear. "You ok?"
She nods slightly, but doesn't meet my eyes. "Just…maybe I need some water."
"Stay here. I'll grab some for you." I walk over to the cooler to grab a bottle of water but I hear someone scream.
"Thatcher!"
I look up and Emma is on the ground. Her body is stiff and Amy is crouched over her. I can't tell what's going on, so I rush over, then I see her face and I freeze in shock and fear.
"Thatcher," Amy's voice comes through my fog and I look at her, still not speaking. "What do we need to know about Emma? She said she takes medication?"
"I…I…" I struggle for words. I have no fucking clue what Amy is talking about. I barely know this girl and she's having some sort of convulsions on the lawn of my brother's house. Emma's face is stiff, her eyes unseeing. Her body twitches violently on the lawn. A minute passes and she turns her head sharply and vomits in the grass.
I notice Amy fumbling around with Emma's arm, tugging on the bracelet she always wears. I squint and notice that the rose-colored metal has one of those snake symbols on it. A Medic Alert bracelet. Huh. "Ok we need to get her to the emergency department," Amy says. "Emma has epilepsy, but I don't know if she's had her rescue medications or how long she's been seizing."
I can't seem to move or concentrate. "Seizing?" None of this makes sense. Wouldn't I have been able to tell if she had epilepsy?
"Thatcher!" Alice's sister is yelling at me and shaking my shoulders. "Pick her up and carry her to the car. We're going to the hospital." I do as she says and climb in the back seat of Amy's minivan with Emma. I have no idea what to do.
Amy climbs in the drivers seat and Alice leans in the window to hand me a package of wet wipes. "So you can clean her up a little bit," Alice says, patting my hand. I look at Emma and nod. Her body is relaxed now, but she's totally zonked.
"Amy, what the hell is going on here?"
Amy looks at me in the rear view mirror. "Hasn't this happened before? How long have you been together?"
I try to dodge that question. "Never, Aim. I have never seen her like this."
Amy sighs. "Some people go months without a big seizure, especially if they're managing their medications. From what Emma said in the kitchen she must be pretty careful."
"She did say she wasn't feeling awesome, but I didn't know that meant…what should I do?"
I see Amy shrug as she pulls into the turn-around at the hospital. "At this point we probably just give her some benzos and let her sleep. But they'll probably have her info on file." Amy parks the van. "Carry her inside and I'll meet you in there after I park. Tell whoever's in triage that you're with me."
I carry Emma's sleeping form inside and drop Amy's name. They take me right back to a small room with a gurney, so I get Emma situated. Her clothes are a wreck. The nurse asks if I want help getting Emma into a gown, and it feels wrong for me to undress her in this state, so I nod and step back while she works. I turn away and see Amy bustling down the hallways as fast as a hugely pregnant person can shuffle.
She gives me the side eye and helps the nurse lift Emma's hips to take off her jeans. I feel myself flush at the sight of Emma's pink flowered panties, and I turn away, feeling super uncomfortable about this whole situation.
I hear a young, deep voice finishing a phone call and look up to see a man in scrubs, carrying an iPad. "Amy, didn't think I'd see you until Tuesday. What've we got here?"
"Oh, Jeremy. I'm glad it's you. Listen, this is my brother-in-law's fiancé. Wait. Are you my brother in law? This is my sister's brother in law…his brother is married to--"
"Amy, spare me the ancestry report. What's wrong?"
"Emma had a seizure. Her medic alert bracelet says she has epilepsy but I don't know what meds she takes, if she took her rescues, anything. Thatcher here has just been totally numb with worry, which is sweet, but useless."
I don't even bother to scowl at her, because I do feel sort of shell-shocked. I pretend I'm too upset to remember her birth date, but I manage to spell Emma's last name for the doctor, who clicks around in his iPad. "Cheswick, Cheswick…here we go. Hm." He looks down at Emma and starts to examine her. I hear him ask the nurse for something that sounds like ox, which can't be right, but he lifts one of her eyelids and shines a light in her eye. They hook some machines up to Emma while I shift my weight uncomfortably.
"Listen," Dr. Jeremy says to me. "You're not listed on her chart, so I need to call what I assume are her parents. I can't say much more than that, even to a colleague who isn't on duty." I nod and he gives some info to another person in scrubs. I look over at Amy with a pained expression.
Amy scowls and says, "Hypothetically, Jeremy, if a patient presented unconscious after a tonic-clonic seizure, what would your treatment be?"
Jeremy smiles and squeezes my arm. "Hypothetically, I'd check out her heart rate and her oxygen levels, do some tests, but mostly give her some meds to help her sleep and discharge her after she woke up. I'd have this hypothetical patient follow up with her neurologist on Monday…except I believe I saw this patient's hypothetical neurologist in the coffee shop a few minutes ago. If you'll excuse me, I feel the need for caffeine."
Amy smiles as he walks down the hallway.
"What the hell just happened here?" I ask her. I really feel like my head is spinning.
"She's going to be fine. They called her parents to fill them in, so you'll probably see them soon. Are they as nice as Emma?"
Oh shit, I think. Suddenly our innocuous plan is dragging us both deeper into the damn swamp. Why does everything have to be so fucking complicated?