“Give him to me.” I held out my arms.
She came over, gently putting him in my arms and then took a seat right beside us and held his hand.
“He’s still crying!” I called out, rocking him gently in my arms.
“Give him a minute.”
A minute felt like days. But finally, when it came, he took deep breaths, his chest rising. He even wiggled a little in my arms. But by the third minute, he’d settled down much more, putting his fist to his month.
“Thank God.” Thea exhaled, her head on my shoulder.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Yeah, thank God.
“Like I thought,” Dr. Cohen voice came through the speaker, startling Ulric, who didn’t understand where the new loud voice was coming from. Which was good, he’d been crying so loud he couldn’t hear anything else. Thea got up and lowered the volume just a little bit. “He’s caught a small cold, which caused him to get a dry throat. Do you have a humidifier?” Dr. Cohen asked.
“No,” Thea replied.
“Since you don’t already have one, get a warm mist pediatric humidifier. For now, until his next check-up, always have it on around him. This weather hasn’t been helping, and while I’m sure the heat is on, that’s still just stagnant air.”
“How long should we stay in here?” I asked.
“Maybe another three or four minutes. Check his temperature again in a half hour; if it’s normal, then that’s all it is. If it’s climbing, then come in, and call me if you need anything. But from the sound of it, he’s feeling much better.”
Ulric was now babbling, trying to put his fist in his mouth.
“Thank you so much.” Thea exhaled deeply. “Thank you.”
“That’s why I’m here. Try not to panic too much, all right?”
Easy for him to say. She said goodbye for the both of us and then just sunk to the floor. She put her hand over her mouth and her brown eyes were fighting back tears again.
“Come here,” I said to her. “Look at him.”
Again, she took another breath before crawling over to him. When he saw her face, he giggled, lifting his hands toward her.
“Apparently my arms aren’t as nice as Mommy’s,” I said.
She stroked his face gently. “I thought…”
“I know.” I kissed the side of her head. She had thought the worst … just as I did. It really felt and looked like he was dying.
“Buy the humidifier.”
I turned off the water before walking over to my phone. “I’m going to see if there are any I can pick up tonight.”
“He said it was a warm mist pediatric humidifier,” she repeated even though I remembered. It was seared in to my brain the moment he said it.
“Shit,” I muttered scrolling through each sight.
“All of them are sold out.”
“Levi—”
“Don’t worry.” I said already I dialing the only person on Earth who I knew could get me anything when I needed it.
“Sweetheart?”
“Mom, do you know where we can get a warm mist pediatric humidifier as quickly as possible?”