by Laura Dower
The news is not good. Apparently, I have acute bronchitis. That’s what the doctor called it. At first I thought he was telling me I was cute LOL but of course I just heard him wrong. Bronchitis means I have too much congestion in my chest and an inflammation of my bronchial tubes and my cough will get worse this week before it gets better. And oh yeah, my throat hurts. A LOT. Lucky for me, Mrs. Gillespie gave me homeopathic mints called Flu-Ease that help because they have eucalyptus, so whenever I swallow, my throat feels icy instead of stinging hot.
Mom couldn’t believe that Aim, Fiona, and I all got sick at the same time. But it makes perfect sense to me. Best friends stick together, right? Or is that best friends SICK together?
I feel like my head is going to explode. I’d better go ask Mom for a cup of herbal tea with extra honey. It’s funny how much I love to drink that when I’m sick even though I never drink it any other time.
“Maddie,” Mom appeared at Madison’s bedroom door with mug in hand. “I made you something….”
Madison sniffed the air. She smelled honey. Mom was a mind reader.
Madison quickly hit SAVE and shut down her computer. Behind Mom, Madison’s dog, Phin, darted into the room, too, with a squeaky, rubber, toy chicken in his jaws.
“Roooooooowf!” Phin dropped the chicken and scratched at the bedcovers. He wanted to play.
Mom pulled back on his collar. “No, Phinnie,” she said sternly. “No, no, no!”
“Mom?” Madison didn’t know why her mom was getting so angry. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Mom sat on the corner of the bed. “Aw, I’m fine, Maddie,” she stammered. “I just … I just … have a lot on my mind, that’s all. We have a major deadline next week … and this morning’s meeting didn’t go as well as I’d hoped … and …”
“Oh,” Madison said, taking a sip of her tea.
“And I was supposed to have a second round of meetings early this evening, but now … we spent all that time at the doctor’s office…. I can’t possibly make it now….”
“Sorry,” Madison mumbled. She sniffled and took another sip.
“No, don’t apologize!” Mom said. “I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all. You asked. I’m the one who’s sorry … for being so … busy.”
“Oh,” Madison said again. She pulled a blanket up over her.
“You know what? You look pale,” Mom commented.
“But I always look pale, don’t I?” Madison replied meekly.
Mom tucked the blanket snugly around Madison and moved the orange laptop off the bed. “I want you to close your eyes, honey bear. No e-mails right now. You need your shut-eye. Get some sleep before supper. Your dad is coming over tonight, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” Madison said. He was planning to bring over take-out food. Dad always either took Madison to dinner or brought burgers over before heading out of town.
“I can call him and cancel,” Mom said. “If you want….”
“No, that’s okay. If Dad comes you can get more work done,” Madison suggested. “You can just leave us and make your calls or whatever.”
“That might work out,” Mom said. She sounded relieved for the first time in their conversation. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
Madison nodded enthusiastically. Ever since the Big D, when her parents got their divorce, Madison always felt strange about Dad’s visits. When the visits started, it was awkward just having him come to the front door. These days, Mom didn’t seem to mind if Dad came to the house for longer stretches of time. Madison always laughed at Dad because he knew (more than Mom) where everything in the house was located—from crayons to Scotch tape to pots and pans and the French roast coffee beans he loved.
Phin let out a low growl. He wanted to get up on the bed next to Madison.
“Can dogs catch bronchitis?” Madison asked aloud as she reached down to the floor and lifted up the pug.
“I doubt it,” Mom said. “Besides, Phinnie is Super Dog, right?”
Madison smiled. Mom kissed her forehead.
“Oh, honey bear, it feels like you still have a fever,” Mom said, sounding concerned. “You’re sure you’ll be okay if I go make a few phone calls?”
Madison nodded. “Uh-huh.”
Mom kissed her again and replaced the empty box of tissues next to the bed with a full one. “If you need something, just holler. I love you.”
“I’ll try to sleep, Mom,” Madison said. “Don’t worry so much.”
As soon as her mom left the room, however, Madison forgot all about sleep. Instead, she grabbed her laptop and powered it up again. While Phinnie curled up into a little ball and snored, Madison surfed onto TweenBlurt.com in search of a chat room and her two BFFs.
The three found one another in a room called ACHOO.
Madison clicked offline just in time to hear Mom coming back upstairs. With one movement, Madison lifted the blanket at the end of her bed and tossed it over the computer. She curled up into a knot and pretended to doze.
“Maddie?” Mom whispered as she pushed open the door.
Madison moaned in her fake sleep.
“Honey bear, your father is downstairs,” Mom said. “He came by with some food. He’s waiting in the kitchen.”
Madison opened one eye and then the other. “What?” she said, even though she’d heard every word. “Did you say something, Mom?”
After Mom told her a second time, Madison slipped out from under her blanket and pulled on a Far Hills sweatshirt.
“Let’s go, Phinnie,” she said, hoisting the pug into her arms and heading downstairs.
Dad waited in the kitchen with several bags full of goodies. The whole kitchen smelled as though it had been deep-fried. He had brought chicken and biscuits from the Chicken Coop, a new fast-food chain that had opened near h
is apartment building.
“Hey, Dad,” Madison sniffed the air and sneezed.
“Oh, Maddie!” Dad stretched his arms open wide. “You really are sick!”
“Did you think I was faking?” Madison asked.
Mom chuckled to herself and poured a glass of wine. “Want a glass of white, Jeff?” she asked him in a sweet voice.
Madison had noticed that with their divorce now more than a year in the past, Mom and Dad were able to get along better. Were they on their way to becoming friends?
“White wine? Fran, you know I’m not drinking,” Dad said curtly. “Ever.”
Mom rolled her eyes. “I can’t remember everything,” she said.
Dad sighed. “That’s for sure,” he said.
“Don’t start this, Jeff …” Mom started to say something but cut herself off.
Dad was boiling under the surface, Madison could tell. Dad’s not drinking was something important that Mom had obviously pretended to forget. And in a matter of seconds, Madison’s parents had gone from cordial to cranky.
“Hey, Dad, did you get any corn on the cob?” Madison asked as she peeked into one of the greasy bags.
Dad slapped his own forehead. “No! I forgot!”
Mom rolled her eyes again and laughed softly. “Well, I’ll leave you two to your chicken,” she said, disappearing out of the kitchen toward her office. “Love you, honey bear.”
She walked out with her glass of wine and a bowl of chips and clicked the lock on the office door behind her.
“Sorry, Dad,” Madison said. “I mean, sorry that you have to come here when I’m sick. I know it’s hard seeing Mom in the house and everything….”
“Nonsense! I love being back,” Dad said, looking fondly around the kitchen. “I remember when we had these countertops installed.” He ran his hand over the surface. “Great space for cooking here.”
Dad was a real gourmet, Madison thought. At least he was a gourmet compared to Mom, whose cooking skills were best described as a cross between “boils water” and “burns toast.” Dad was always trying new recipes. If there was anything good about the divorce, it was the weekly dinners with Dad.
Madison picked at a piece of chicken. She wasn’t hungry.
“Do you have a fever?” Dad asked, feeling her hot forehead. “Feed a fever, starve a cold, right?”
“Actually, I think it’s the other way around, Dad,” Madison replied.
“I always mess that up,” he groaned, half laughing. Taking a huge bite of fried chicken, he changed the subject. “So, is Mom being a good nurse?”
“Well, Mom is really busy with work,” Madison said in a low voice so that her mom wouldn’t hear. “You know how that goes….”
Dad bit his lip. “I wish I could take care of you, Maddie. It’s just that I can’t miss this business meeting tomorrow. Wait! If you’re sick, maybe you could stay with Stephanie.”
Stephanie was Madison’s brand-new stepmother. And although Madison liked her very much, she didn’t like the idea of asking Stephanie to nurse her back to health. Stephanie wasn’t really Madison’s mother, after all. Wasn’t that a job for her real mom?
“Just forget it,” Madison said, trying to sound convincing. “I’m okay at home. I understand that you both have jobs. You’re busy….” Inside, a little voice screamed, Tell him the truth! You want attention! You want TLC! You want warm cocoa! You want chicken soup! You want it NOW!
“Maddie,” Dad went on. “Are you sure?”
“Dad,” Madison said. “I’m really fine. I swear, I’m not even that sick…”
Gack! Hack! BLECCH!
Madison coughed. It wasn’t an ordinary sputter. It was a long, dry, tickling cough that wouldn’t stop no matter how much water or medicine she swallowed.
Dad slapped her on the back.
“Maddie!” Mom came rushing into the kitchen. “Are you okay? What’s going on in here?”
Dad rubbed Madison’s arm. She finally stopped coughing.
“I think maybe I should go up to bed,” Madison said. “This bronchitis doesn’t feel so a-cute anymore.”
“Very funny,” Dad said.
“Maddie, I want you in bed,” Mom said, as if she were giving an order. She handed Madison two pills. “And take these.”
First, Madison helped Dad clear the dirty dishes and wrap the leftovers. Of course, Dad still remembered the drawer where the plastic wrap and containers were kept. Madison gave him a huge bear hug before leaving the kitchen.
“E-mail me from your hotel?” Madison asked.
“I’ll E you and call you. The doctor should have all of his test results by then, too, right?” Dad asked, kissing the top of her head as he had when she’d been younger. “I want you to get well quick, sweetie.”
“I will, Dad,” Madison said, pausing for a moment. She secretly hoped he would change his mind and stay.
But he didn’t.
“Okay! I’m going to bed, Mom,” Madison announced, leaning over the banister. “Are you happy now?”
Mom and Dad both chuckled at that one.
“Maddie, be nice to your mother, will you?” Dad said in a sterner tone.
Mom smiled. “Thanks, Jeff,” she said.
“Lub you,” Madison said through her stuffy nose. She blew them each a kiss and promptly sneezed again. It seemed like old times for a brief moment, as she stood there on the bottom step: Madison, Mom, Dad, and Phinnie, together again.
But it wasn’t old times. The Big D had changed everything forever.
“Rowooororooroooooo!” Phin howled from upstairs. He’d raced ahead.
As soon she climbed to the top, Madison disappeared into her room. But despite her promise to Mom, she still didn’t have sleep on her mind. Madison booted up the laptop again and headed into her e-mailbox.
She hit NEW MAIL.
From: MadFinn
To: Bigwheels
Subject: FEVER!
Date: Mon 22 Sept 8:56 PM
My fever is almost 102. But I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. And lucky me, my dad came over tonite and he and Mom got into some weird non-fight. That’s how they do it. They’re mad but they don’t really yell. They just talk all around stuff. I hate it!!!!
How r u? How is Sparkles? How’s that guy Reggie u like so much? I guess I have a lot of questions today. Must be the cold medicine.
Madison stared off into space again. The medicine was definitely working better this time around. Her nose wasn’t so runny anymore. She gazed right past her desk and out through her bedroom window. Streetlights illuminated the sidewalk in front of the house next door. Someone was out walking a dog.
Madison didn’t recognize the dog or the dog walker. She got up and went to the window for a closer look. It was a boy. He had red hair, or at least it appeared red under the street lamp. He wore an old corduroy jacket, ripped jeans, and lumberjack boots. The big dog sniffed madly at a hydrant.
“Phinnie,” Madison asked as she lifted the pug up to the window. “Do you know that dog?”
Phinnie wriggled loose and leaped to the floor. Apparently, he didn’t know the mutt. And he wasn’t in the mood to look out of windows. Phin just wanted to curl up on a pillow somewhere.
As Madison squinted to get a better look at the boy, he and his dog walked right into the neighboring house.
Madison gripped the windowsill and took a deep breath.
Who was this guy? Why had she never seen him before?
Madison touched her cheeks. Her face felt flushed. Was this another cold-medicine hallucination?—or had she really just discovered that a cuter-than-cute boy lived right next door?
For a brief moment, Madison didn’t feel all that sick.
Chapter 3
“THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE CALLED,” Mom said as she brought a tall glass of cold orange juice into Madison’s bedroom on Tuesday morning. She raised the blinds and pulled back the curtains. “And it’s a good thing you’re staying home from school. Dr. Pinkerton says you off
icially have bronchitis. You will be out for a few days.”
“What?” Madison asked, rubbing her eyes. Mom’s words drifted over her like a thick fog.
Phin, who had followed Mom into the bedroom, jumped up and licked Madison’s nose. Madison swatted him away.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Mom asked.
“Okay, I guess,” Madison said. But as soon as she started to sit up in bed, she let out a long moan. Her shoulders drooped. “Oh, that was a big lie, Mom. I feel awful.”
Mom reached out to feel Madison’s forehead. “Yup,” she said. “You’re burning up.”
“I feel ten times worse than yesterday,” Madison rasped. “How is that possible?”
Mom shook her head. “Have some OJ,” she said. “And take your medicine.”
Madison took the juice and the medicine. She gave the top of Phin’s head a pat. He rolled over to have his tummy rubbed, too.
“Maddie,” Mom said. “I need to talk to you about work….”
“Yeah?”
“Well the thing is … I have a few important appointments this week that can’t be skipped,” Mom explained. “And with your being sick, and your father being away, I’m in a tricky spot….”
“Why?” Madison asked. “I can watch myself during the day. No prob.”
“During the day is fine. But I have to go away for a night or two,” Mom admitted finally. “And someone needs to take care of you when I can’t be here.”
“Do—you—really—have—to—go—away?” Madison asked, coughing between every word. She fell backward among her pillows and pulled the quilt up to her chin. She was still feeling hot and cold at the same time, just like yesterday.
Mom plumped up the covers around Madison. “Well, I have a surprise for you,” she said. “I called Gramma Helen. She’s flying in from Chicago to help us out.”
Madison’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe Mom had convinced Gramma to come all the way to Far Hills just to nurse Madison back to health. It was true that Gramma Helen had been saying for almost a year that she would visit, but then she had thrown her hip out and decided against traveling east. She was always making excuses about why she wouldn’t get on a plane.
“Gramma?” Madison said, blowing her nose loudly. “I guess I can deal with that. When is she coming?”
