It's All About Him

by Colette Caddle

  'What do you mean?'

  'When I leave here I'm going to a recruitment consultancy because I need a cook. I won't take a stranger into my home, though, unless all of the references are okay. I won't let anyone within a yard of Sam unless I've checked them out as much as is humanly possible. To all intents and purposes, you are also a stranger and I'd like to check out your references, too.'

  Neil looked momentarily flummoxed. 'I suppose that makes sense.'

  Dee stood up. 'Okay. When you come up with someone I can talk to, let me know.'

  Chapter 17

  'Where's my mummy?' Sam asked, his voice whiney.

  Lisa counted to ten. 'I've told you, Sam, she had to go out. Have some lunch and she'll be back before you know it.'

  'Don't want it. I feel sick.'

  Lisa was immediately by his side, her hand on his forehead. He was warm but not alarmingly so. She studied him carefully and noted that while he was pale, his eyes were alert. They were also having fish pie for lunch, not one of Sam's favourites. She crouched down beside him and smiled up into his face. 'Would you like to curl up on the sofa and look at your Barney book while we have our food? Then maybe you could eat something later with Mummy.'

  Sam nodded eagerly and scrambled down from his place at the table. Lisa continued to help the other children with lunch but kept a careful eye on him and was relieved to see that he was sitting up straight and happily flicking through the book. The children were just finishing the meal when Natalie knocked her milk all over Rebecca and while Martha fussed over the distraught child, Lisa cleaned up the mess. When they had finished Lisa led the toddlers out to the bathroom to tidy up and get ready for nap time. As she was shepherding them back inside, Dee walked through the door and smiled as the children ran to her.

  'Hello there!' She bent to hug each child in turn.

  'How did it go?' Lisa asked.

  'Really well.' Dee shrugged off her jacket, dumped her bag on the hall table, and followed them back into the crèche. 'They have at least three people on their books who might suit, so we're going to try and set up interviews for early next week. Where's Sam?' she asked, scanning the room.

  Lisa's eyes flew to the sofa but Sam was gone. 'Martha? Where's Sam?'

  Martha looked up from where she was settling the children on their sleeping mats.

  'He was there a second ago.'

  Dee walked across the room. 'Sam? Are you hiding?' She moved towards the cabinet with the TV, expecting Sam to jump out on her – it was one of the children's favourite hiding places – but as she drew level with the sofa she pulled up short at the sight of the crumpled heap on the floor in front of it. 'Sam!' She dropped to her knees and rolled him over gently. His eyes were closed and there was no response. 'Lisa, call an ambulance.' She pressed her ear to his chest, listened and prayed. 'Oh, thank God,' she murmured when she heard the quiet but steady beat. Gently, she prized open his mouth but could see no obstruction and he seemed to be breathing okay. 'Sam? Come on, sweetheart, wake up. Mummy's here, Sam, Mummy's here.'

  Lisa came back into the room. 'The ambulance is on it's way. Martha, let's take all the children in for their nap.'

  'What's wrong with Sam?' Tom demanded, standing his ground.

  'He's not feeling too well,' Martha said gently. 'Don't worry, the doctor is coming to take care of him but right now we need to leave him to sleep.'

  She sat Tom on a cushion with a book and then settled the other children on mattresses while Lisa returned to Dee's side.

  'How is he?'

  'His breathing is normal and so is his temperature,' Dee said worriedly. 'I don't know what's wrong, but he won't wake up. How was he all morning?'

  'He said he felt sick and wouldn't eat lunch but I checked his temperature and he was fine. I told him he didn't have to eat and sat him on the sofa looking at a book. He was quite happy and alert up until about five minutes ago.' She straightened as she heard the ambulance siren and hurried out to the door.

  'Mummy?' Sam's eyelids flickered and he looked up at her briefly.

  'Sam! It's okay, sweetheart, you're going to be fine.' Dee tried to smile at him but her eyes were full of tears.

  'Hello, there.'

  Dee looked up and through her tears saw a paramedic bending over her. 'He opened his eyes for a moment.'

  'That's good. What's his name?'

  'Sam.' Dee moved back to allow the man to examine her son. 'I checked his mouth but I couldn't see anything. We've no idea what happened. He complained of feeling sick but he was playing one minute and the next I found him on the floor unconscious.'

  'Sam? Sam, can you hear me?' The paramedic checked Sam's pulse and lifted his shirt to inspect his body.

  Sam opened his eyes again.

  'Hello, Sam, how are you feeling?'

  'A bit sick.'

  'Poor you. Did you have a fall, Sam?'

  He shook his head.

  'You didn't hit your head, did you?'

  'No.'

  'Any headache?'

  'No.'

  The paramedic shone a light in Sam's eyes and then checked his neck for stiffness.

  'Now, I'm just going to put this on your arm. Do you know what it is?'

  'It's for checking my blood pressure.'

  'That's right; you're a very clever boy.'

  'He's quite familiar with all things medical,' Dee explained. 'Sam suffers from asthma and eczema.'

  'Does he now? Has he ever had an episode like this before?'

  'No.'

  'Okay. Well, your blood pressure is fine, Sam, but I think we'll bring you into hospital just to let the doctors take a look at you. Is that okay?'

  Sam's lip wobbled. 'Can my mummy come?'

  'Of course she can.' He turned to Dee. 'Do you want to put a bag together with some of Sam's things?'

  'Oh, right.' She scrambled to her feet but Sam wouldn't let her hand go.

  'Mummy's just going to get your teddy,' Lisa said, taking Dee's place. 'Can I sit beside you until she gets back?'

  Sam looked from his mother to Lisa and nodded, releasing Dee's hand.

  'I'll be straight back,' she promised and sped upstairs to pack pyjamas, teddy, toys and books into a small bag. Her heart was racing and she was terrified, but she knew she had to keep it together for Sam's sake. When she came back downstairs they had put Sam into a wheelchair and were taking him out to the ambulance.

  Dee grabbed her bag and jacket and turned to Lisa. 'I don't know how long we'll be.'

  'Don't worry, we'll manage. Shall I phone Conor and tell him what's happened?'

  'Please, and you'd better get him to warn Ronan that it might affect tomorrow's menu.'

  Lisa grabbed Sam's coat and hat from a peg in the hall and handed them to Dee.

  'He'll need these later when he's coming home.'

  Dee tried to smile but found she was close to tears. 'Oh, God, Lisa, I've never been so scared.'

  Lisa threw her arms around her. 'I know, Dee, I know and I'm sorry. If there was something I should have seen, should have done—'

  'Don't be silly, it's not your fault.'

  'He's all loaded up,' the paramedic said from the doorway.

  'Do you think he's going to be okay?'

  'I'm sure he'll be fine. You know what kids are like; at death's door one minute and running around like wild things the next.'

  Lisa walked with them to the ambulance. 'Call us when you can,' she said as Dee climbed in beside her son.

  'I will.'

  'Bye, Sam, see you later.' Lisa just had time to see Sam raise his hand before the paramedic shut the door and the ambulance drove away. Taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to control her own tears, Lisa went back inside. The children were all sleeping except for Tom who was sitting staring into space, his eyes wide and frightened. Lisa sat down next to him and gave him a hug. 'Don't worry, Tom, everything's okay now.'

  'Where's Sam gone?' he asked in a shaky voice.

  'To the hospital, but he's
going to be just fine.'

  'Will he be back soon? Will he be back in time for tea?'

  'No, darling, I don't think so.'

  'Is he going to die?' Tom said bluntly.

  Lisa shook her head. 'No, of course not. The doctor will give him some medicine and he'll be fine.'

  'Will they give him ice cream at the hospital?'

  'Er, I'm not sure, maybe.'

  He smiled up at her. 'Do you think I could have some too?'

  She laughed. 'We'll see.'

  The closer they got to the hospital, the better Sam seemed to get and by the time they were wheeling him into the emergency room, he was the life and soul of the party. Dee was relieved to see him so alert and happy but she still wanted to know why he had passed out in the first place. If it happened once it could happen again.

  'Mrs Hewson?'

  'Miss,' Dee said automatically, and she stood up to greet the doctor.

  'I'm Doctor Berrane.' He smiled as he shook her hand and Dee thought she wouldn't mind being a patient if she had him to look after her. 'And it's Sam, is it?'

  Dee nodded to where her son was crouched on the floor playing with a truck.

  'That's him. He doesn't look very sick, does he?'

  The doctor laughed. 'Thank goodness, but we'll check him out just to be sure.'

  Sam climbed up on the bed in the small cubicle and the doctor carried out the same routine tests that two other doctors had already carried out. Then he asked Dee all about Sam's medical history and he wrote notes, nodding from time to time. 'Okay, then, thank you.'

  'So what happens next?' Dee asked as he started to walk away.

  He paused. 'We'll wait for his urine sample to come back from the lab and if that's all right then you can probably take him home.'

  'But you don't know why he collapsed.'

  He shook his head. 'No.'

  'Then how do we know he's all right? How do we stop it happening again?'

  'Let's wait for the tests to come back and we'll talk about it then.' And with a polite nod, he walked out of the ward.

  'It's frustrating, isn't it?' said the man sitting beside the next bed. 'My daughter's been having fits on and off for months and they still can't get to the bottom of it.'

  Dee looked at the girl in the bed who was busy playing with a doll. 'She looks fine.'

  'Yes.' He chuckled. 'She always seems to improve once we walk through the door!' He stood up. 'I'm going to get a drink, can I get you something?'

  She shook her head. 'No, but thanks.'

  'I'll be back in a minute, darling,' he told his daughter and quietly left the ward.

  Dee turned back to study her son. He was leafing through a book that she'd packed for him and looked completely fine. Maybe they all just felt safe when they got in here, she mused, looking around. She could understand that as the emergency ward, despite being crammed with beds, was bright and cheerful. A nurse walked in and Dee immediately hopped up and went over to her. 'Nurse, could you keep an eye on my son for a little while? I need to make a phone call and I think he's a bit nervous about me leaving him.'

  'No problem at all. Sam, would you like to come into the nurse's station with me to get some crayons and paper?'

  He nodded and stood up, slipping his hand into hers.

  'I'm just going outside to call Lisa, Sam, okay?'

  He nodded again and left with the nurse without a backward glance. 'And I think I'm indispensable,' she murmured, exchanging a wry smile with another mother.

  Dee hurried back through the rabbit warren of corridors to the front door and joined the ranks of other worried parents outside, some on mobiles and some just staring into space. She shivered, realizing things could be a lot worse. She phoned the crèche and Lisa picked up the phone on the first ring.

  'Dee! How is he?'

  'He's fine, Lisa, in great form.'

  'Oh, thank God.'

  'I haven't got long; I can't use my phone in the hospital so I just ran out for a minute to check in with you. I don't have anything to tell you, really. They did some tests and we're just waiting now for results but they don't seem to know what's wrong with him.'

  'Well, he's in the right place,' Lisa consoled her. 'I'm sure he'll be fine.'

  'Did you talk to Conor?'

  'No, he wasn't answering his phone so I rang Ronan. He sends his love and says not to worry; Zoe is going to make bolognese for tomorrow and he'll buy a couple of quiches from the supermarket.'

  Dee winced. 'God, I hope he doesn't lose customers,'

  'They'll survive for one day.'

  'What about the children's tea? I was going to make them scrambled eggs on toast.'

  'I saw the eggs, so I was going to boil them and make sandwiches, is that okay?'

  'Dear God, Lisa, we'll make a chef of you yet!'

  'Don't push it,' Lisa warned.

  'I'm so sorry for leaving you in the lurch like that.'

  'Don't be silly, as if it's your fault. Anyway, Paula's here. Her mother saw the ambulance and sent her over as soon as she got in from school.'

  'That was very kind.' Dee felt a surge of gratitude for good neighbours.

  'Is there anyone else you want me to call? Pauline?'

  'God, no, she'd only get in the way and drive the staff crazy,'

  'Okay, then, you go and look after Sam and don't worry about us; everything is fine.'

  'Thanks, Lisa.'

  Dee was about to go inside when a thought occurred to her. Maybe she should phone Neil? There was no real reason to; he hadn't been around all the other times Sam had been sick but that, she realized, was what was niggling her. He was here now. She could dial his number and in seconds he would know. It didn't make any difference to her, she still would not let him come in and see Sam but if he was being honest about his feelings, it would make a difference to him. If he cared about Sam he would want to know if he was sick, even if there was nothing he could do about it. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, Dee searched for his number and dialled.

  'Oh my God, Dee, is he all right?'

  'Yes, he seems to be.'

  'But he lost consciousness?'

  'Yes, but I don't think it was for long.'

  'You're not sure? Was he alone?'

  Dee sighed irritably. He hadn't been around for five years and now he was passing judgement on her? 'No, he was in the crèche. One minute he was reading on the sofa and the next he was gone. We thought he was hiding but then,' Dee's voice wobbled, 'I found him on the floor in front of the sofa.'

  'I'll come straight in.'

  'No! No, Neil, there's no point; there's nothing you can do. I'll phone you when I have more news.'

  'Dee?'

  'Yes?'

  'Thanks for letting me know.'

  'That's okay. Bye, Neil.'

  Chapter 18

  When Dee got back to the ward, Sam was sitting up on the bed watching a Barney DVD on the small television in the corner. His eyes were heavy and Dee climbed up on the bed and slipped an arm around him. 'Are you okay?'

  'Uh-huh.'

  The nurse came over when she saw Dee was back. 'Are you tired, Sam?' He nodded, not taking his eyes off the screen. 'The doctor will be down to see you soon.'

  'Are the results back?' Dee asked.

  She nodded. 'Yes, Doctor Berrane needs to look at them. He's on his rounds now but I have paged him.'

  'Thanks.'

  The nurse moved on to talk to the little girl in the next bed and Dee wriggled around in an effort to get comfortable. 'Everything is going to be fine, Sam,' she said, cuddling him into her. 'You have a little rest.'

  'Mrs Hewson? Mrs Hewson?'

  Dee's eyes flew open and she looked up at the doctor smiling down at her. 'Oh, I'm sorry!' She slipped her dead arm from under Sam and sat up.

  'Sorry for disturbing you, you looked very comfortable.'

  She looked down at her sleeping son. 'Is he okay?'

  The doctor put a hand on Sam's wrist and listened before
nodding. 'He's fine.'

  'Is there any news?' she asked anxiously.

  'Yes and no. The tests are all clear which is, of course, good news, but it means we don't know why Sam lost consciousness.'

  'So what do we do now?'

  'We can keep him in and run more tests if you like or you can take him home and bring him back if you're worried. If it's any consolation there seems to be a bug going round and the symptoms have been fainting and nausea.'

  'He did say he felt ill at lunchtime and he didn't eat much at breakfast.'

  'Let him sleep for the moment,' the doctor suggested. 'We'll take another look at him when he wakes, but I think the best thing to do is to take him home. If he doesn't want to eat, don't press him but make sure he gets plenty of fluids. If you're worried, bring him back in. You can come straight up to the ward and the nurse will page me.'

  Dee smiled. 'Thank you, you've been very kind.'

  'Good news?' The nurse came over and sat on the edge of the bed after the doctor had left.

  Dee shrugged. 'I suppose so.'

  'I know it's hard when you don't have all the answers, but you wouldn't believe how often it happens with children. They seem to get so seriously ill and so suddenly and then' – she snapped her fingers – 'just like that, they're better again!' She smiled. 'My mother says it's why God invented hair colorant.'

  Dee chuckled and stood up. 'I've certainly got some grey hairs today! I'd better go and make some more phone calls. If he wakes, will you tell him I'll be back in a few minutes?'

  The nurse stood up too. 'Sure, but I'd say he'll be out for a while; he's had quite a day.'

  Dee turned back to Sam and laid a hand gently on his forehead. Thankfully he was as cool as he looked and so peaceful. She crept away from the bed and then hurried back outside to call Lisa and Neil and maybe she'd try to get through to Conor; it was odd he hadn't been in touch but then her phone had been off while she was in the hospital.

  She stood on the steps and switched on her phone, nearly jumping out of her skin when somebody touched her arm.

  'Sorry, Dee, I didn't mean to frighten you.'

  She whirled around and did a double take when she saw Neil standing beside her. 'Neil, what are you doing here?'