“No,” I said looking back at the little girl. “I still have all my arms and legs.”
“Oh,” she said sitting back down to her doughnut. Apparently not losing a leg was a big let down.
“Mr. Henderson has a bionic leg.”
“He is the third-grade teacher at her school,” Julie explained to me. “Sometimes he comes over for dinner.”
I looked over at Julie with a raised brow. She gave me her own penetrating look back, daring me to ask.
I struggled to hide the crazy amount of jealousy that was boiling between my skin. Of course, I shouldn’t have expected Julie never to have another relationship. At the same time, I wasn’t ready to hear about it either.
“He is in his late sixties and lost it to diabetes,” Julie finally said by way of explanation. “He lives all alone and in our complex.”
I smiled at the wave of relief that washed over me. I couldn’t help but notice the satisfying blush my smile brought to Julie’s cheeks. She may have been pissed as hell with me, may have hated my guts, but she was still just as attracted to me as I was to her.
“How bout you go brush your teeth real quick and then time for medicine,” Julie said to Emma as she licked the last sugary crumbs from her fingers.
The little girl obediently got up and walked down the hall.
“Still got a fever?” I asked as I watched her walk down.
“It’s a little better, but not much.”
“Has she been keeping hydrated?” I asked.
“Yes, Dr. Smith, she has been drinking Gatorade to keep hydrated.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I can see you know what you are doing.”
She softened her hard exterior at my words.
“I’m actually a little glad that she finally ate something, even if it was a doughnut.”
“Not eating? Is it because her throat is too sore. I could give another exam real quick if it would make you feel better.”
Julie gave me a soft smile before shaking her head no. Emma came back into the room, and we dropped the conversation.
I spent the next hour on Emma’s bedroom floor playing dolls and having princess berets styled in my hair.
I could hear Julie around the apartment cleaning this or that poking her head in from time to time. I ached to get to know every inch of this little girl in front of me. I couldn’t believe I had gone the last six years without knowing she existed.
Finally, I could tell she was getting pretty tuckered out. The fever still kept her skin pretty warm, even with the reducers, and it was a lot for such a little thing. Without so much as a word, she grabbed a little pink bear lovey and, with thumb in mouth, crawled into bed.
“Are you getting tired?” I asked.
She nodded her head.
I grabbed the cup of Gatorade that Julie left in the room.
“How about you finish drinking this, and then I can pick a book to read to you?”
She nodded again and took the cup from me. I scanned her little shelves of books before coming on one I liked. I sat down next to her on the bed and took the now empty cup from her.
In my head, I was doing my calculations. Probably wasn’t more than four ounces in there. Not nearly enough for half of a day. At least it was better than
nothing.
I leaned against her headboard as I read Emma the story of Corduroy Bear. She happily rested against my chest to look at the pictures. I couldn’t help but wish to have this moment not just now but for forever.