Trailed

by Naomi Niles

  “Again, I am sorry about today. I don’t know how I missed it.”

  “Yeah, it happens, Shirley. It shouldn’t, but it happens. You enjoy the rest of your day.”

  I let the elevator close between us. She was going to have to be replaced. I tried to stick it out with her as long as I could, but nothing was changing. I called HR and let them know to start looking for another secretary to replace Shirley. I sped to Vinny’s school. When I walked into the nurse’s office, he laid curled up on the bed. To his right, Bethany was seated in a chair, rubbing his head and doing her best to comfort him. The anger I had about Shirley’s mishap immediately went away upon seeing her smile. “Hey, Gavin. The poor guy has been throwing up for the last hour or so.”

  “Hour?” I said, stepping closer to him. “The nurse just called me.”

  “Yeah, that’s because he was trying to stick it out. But, after he threw up the second time, his teacher brought him to the nurse’s office. He doesn’t have a fever or anything, but he doesn’t seem to be able to keep anything down.”

  I walked closer to his bed. “Hey, kid, you couldn’t stick it out, huh?” He shook his head no. “Is it the same pain as earlier this morning?” He nodded his head. I turned to look at Bethany, “Alright. I guess I need to take him home and start trying to find out what is wrong with him. Do you have any suggestions?”

  “Well,” she said, looking back at him, “Pepto might help for the time being. He could just have a stomach bug. If that is the case, he should probably eat some toast, rice, and applesauce until his stomach can handle regular foods.” I heard everything she said, but it was too much for me to retain. I looked at her with a confused eye. She smiled, “Um, how about this? I’ll stop by there after I get off work to check on him. I’ll bring him some soup and things like that. It might take 24-48 hours before he starts to feel better, but the soup and other things I suggested will help it run its course.”

  “Wow. Yeah, I think that would help out a lot because right now, I have no clue what to do with a tummy ache. I know how to handle one for myself, but this is pretty new to me.”

  “You’ve never helped him when he had a stomach ache?”

  “No, I haven’t. I mean, the kid is usually pretty healthy, you know? This kind of caught both of us by surprise.”

  “I see.” She smiled as Vinny moaned a bit in the background. “Well, get him home. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Got it.”

  I helped Vinny up from his bed, then put my arm around him. After I signed him out at the office, I got him inside my car and drove home. He leaned his seat all the way back and curled up in the fetal position during the ride. “Are you hanging in there?”

  He nodded his head. As soon as we got home, I helped him out of the car. Not even a second later, he threw up all over the driveway. “Jesus, kid!” I yelled as he covered his mouth. Vomit spewed through the space between his fingers like a sprinkler. I put my hand on his back, “It’s alright, let it out. Get it all out.” He continued vomiting and gagging for a few moments until he was finished. Afterward, I brought him inside and led him to the shower so I could get him cleaned up. He looked out of it, and at the time, I felt completely helpless. It was the worst feeling in the world.

  When he got out of the shower, I put him in his bed and placed a trash bucket right next to him. “Now, if you feel the urge, go ahead and get it out right into the bucket, okay?” He nodded in agreement and with that, I went downstairs to get him a Gatorade drink to help with his dehydration. The clock read 2:44 pm, and I knew that Bethany would be here in just a few more hours. I couldn’t wait to see her, especially after the day that I had today. With Shirley’s mishaps and Vinny coming down with a stomach bug, she was the only thing I needed to help me make it through the day. She was my lifeline, and if I never needed one before, I needed one now.

  Chapter Twenty

  BETHANY

  As soon as I got off work, I called April to let her know that I wasn’t going to make it to her house tonight. “Hey girl, I have to go by Gavin’s house and check on Vinny. Gavin has no clue what he is doing, and Vinny came down with some kind of stomach bug at school.”

  “Oh, so you’re playing mommy tonight, huh? Okay. Well, be safe, and I guess I will talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  I hung up the phone and made my way to Gavin’s house. Ever since I saw Anthony’s truck right next to my car a few days ago, I’d been increasingly nervous when I drove around the city by myself. I didn’t tell April the truth about why I came back to her house because I didn’t want her to worry. I told her that I had forgotten my notebook there, and I needed to come back and grab it. After that, she didn’t think anything else of it, but I was nervous. I went home that night and didn’t see any sign of Anthony or his truck. I dreaded what would happen if I did because I didn’t know what lengths he would go to just to make sure I got whatever message he was trying to send.

  I stopped at the store to grab a few things for Vinny: soup, applesauce, bread, and rice. Things that would help soothe his upset stomach for the time being. I also grabbed some spaghetti to cook for the night. I figured that since April was showing me how to handle myself in the kitchen, I may as well start showing off what I learned. When I arrived at Gavin’s house, he opened the door with a smile on his face and greeted me with a hug. “It is good to see you again.”

  “Likewise,” I said as I stepped inside. “How is Vinny?”

  “He is up in his room right now, sleeping. He threw up a lot when he first got home. It was all in the driveway. I had to take a hose to the cement because I hear if that stuff sticks, it is nearly impossible to clean off.”

  She chuckled, “Yeah, that is true. You did the right thing.”

  He took the bags from my hand, then led me into the kitchen. “So, I just want to thank you for coming over. I know you didn’t have to, but trust me, I have no clue what to do with Vinny. I wish I did, but this is not my area of expertise.”

  I pulled items from the bag, “Not a problem. I guess that is another reason why I am here.” I smiled, then poured the contents of the can of soup into the pot on the stove. I set the eye so that the soup would come to a boil, then prepared some other things to take up to Vinny.

  “So, how did you become so good with children? I mean, where did all of this come from?”

  “Well, I don’t know, honestly. I’ve always been drawn to them, ever since I can remember. When I was younger, I would ask to babysit other people’s children, and the funny part about it is that I would do it for free. I just loved being around children, you know?”

  “Wow. So, I guess it would make sense for you to find yourself in a school setting now. Why haven’t you crossed the line to become a teacher yet?”

  The soup simmered on top of the stove. I sighed. “Yeah, that’s another thing. I know I was telling you about school and how close I was to finishing it, but, I guess I am kind of nervous. I mean, I like where I am at now, but whenever I do become a teacher or whatever, I feel like I will be stepping into something I have no clue about. I know how to take care of children and how to connect with them, but I’m not sure if that translates into teaching. Maybe I should just like… open a daycare or something?”

  He laughed. “Well, that is another way to think about it. But, then again, you can’t let fear push you away from doing something you want to do. That’s all it is. Fear. Hell,” he stood up and occupied the space next to me by the stove, “if I let fear control me, then I would never be the CEO of my own company. I would’ve never taken out a loan. I would’ve never moved to Roanoke. There are a lot of things that I wouldn’t have done, but fear is nothing except false evidence appearing real. That’s it.”

  “Wow. I’ve never thought about it like that.”

  “Yeah. Most people don’t. And most people give up because they don’t know how close they are to the finish line. It is depressing sometimes, you know? When you look at people who ha
ve given up and you’re just like, ‘Man, if you went a little further, you would’ve made it.' That’s why I keep going, even now. I want to make it to the end.”

  His words were life to me. It encouraged me to keep going, no matter what was ahead of me. Right then and there, I wanted to call my school and let them know that I was going to finish up my hours so I could graduate. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I just have to gather myself and get back on track.”

  “You should. That is exactly what you should do. School. Your career. Whatever it is, just go for it. It really doesn’t make much sense not to.”

  Steam rose from the pot of soup as I stirred it around with a spoon. “I think it is just about ready. So, I am going to put this in a bowl and take it up to our sick – I mean, your sick little boy, and hope this makes him feel better.”

  He smiled. “Right after you.”

  When we got into his room, Vinny was on his bed, curled up in the fetal position with his eyes closed tightly. “Vinny?” I said as I eased into the room with the bowl of soup and a side of crackers. “Vinny, we’ve got some food for you, kid. Can you pop up for us?” He slowly opened his eyes and raised himself in the bed. He rested against the headboard as I put the tray of food in front of him. “Now, the soup is kind of hot, okay? So, take your time with it.” He nodded his head. I put my hand on his forehead while he looked down at his food. “He feels like he has a slight fever. That is a good thing, though. That means his body is fighting whatever it is that is attacking him.”

  I looked at Vinny and asked, “Can you eat?”

  He nodded his head, then lifted the spoon to his lips.

  “That’s my boy,” Gavin said as he watched his son force the food into his mouth. “Eat as much as you can, alright? Your body needs the energy to help it fight.”

  “I know, Dad.”

  He smiled. “Well, excuse me. I forgot I was talking to the smartest kid in America.”

  Vinny smiled. That bid well for both of us to see because before then, he looked as if he wasn’t going to make it. We stayed in the room with him to keep him company until he finished his food. Afterward, I took the tray away from him, and Gavin went to tuck him back into his bed. “Do you need anything else, Vinny?” He shook his head no. “Alright. We will be downstairs, and we will check on you from time to time to make sure you are still alive.”

  I nudged Gavin in the side. “Ouch,” he said, playfully. “I mean, did I say alive? I meant okay, Vinny. Make sure you are still okay.”

  Vinny smiled, then Gavin kissed him on the forehead. With that, we left his room. “Why did you tell him that we were going to make sure he was still alive? He probably already feels like he is going to die.”

  “No, he doesn’t. I was just joking with him. Vinny is smarter than that. He knows that this is just a stomach bug and it will all be over soon enough.” I walked into the kitchen and cleaned up the mess I’d made. After that, I started to prepare dinner. “Oh, and you cook, too?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say it like that, but I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade since I’ve been here. April taught me, so I figured I’d try my skills out on you.” I looked at him as he sat at the table, “You don’t mind being my test dummy, do you?”

  He laughed. “Hey, as long as you don’t try to kill me, I don’t mind.”

  “Kill you? What fun will that be?” I winked at him, then broke the spaghetti noodles in two and dropped them into the pot of water. I remembered everything April told me, from the seasoning to how to sprinkle the salt in the water so that the noodles wouldn’t stick to the pot. This was the first time that I was going to prepare a meal on my own, but for some reason, I wasn’t nervous at all. I felt like Gavin’s presence was strong enough to give me the confidence I needed to complete the meal. “So, how was your day?”

  He exhaled. “Man, today was not good at all. We have a new secretary named Shirley. Now, initially, she had made a few mistakes when she first came on board. She wasn’t really familiar with a few of the programs and things like that, but I overlooked it. I figured she would get it together eventually, but she actually got worse.”

  “Worse?”

  “Yes. She missed two big time meetings. She forgot to mention them to me, and the first time she did it, I lost the potential partner. The second time she did it was today, and if it wasn’t for my ingenuity, I might have lost them as well. I called HR when I came to pick up Vinny from school. I had to let them know that she needed to be replaced. I can’t have that kind of incompetence, especially when millions of dollars are at stake.”

  I stirred the noodles around in the pot, “Yeah, I can understand that. She can’t make those kinds of errors. Hmm… maybe you should hire me?”

  “Hire you?” He laughed. “No, there aren’t any children around, so I am sure you would get bored rather quickly.”

  “Well. I know a few things that we could do to um, pass the time.”

  I had been horny ever since our last sexual episode together. I didn’t want to force the issue again, though, and I didn’t want to have sex with his son here and risk the chance of Vinny walking in on us. But, I wanted him again, and there was nothing funny about it. “Yeah, I bet you could think of a few things,” he added. “So could I.” He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, then eased a kiss onto the back of my neck. We talked until the spaghetti was done. I fixed his plate and eased it on the table, crossing my fingers, hoping that it came out right.

  He took a bite, then started to gag. I punched him in the arm, “Stop it!”

  A smile stretched onto his face, “I’m kidding. This is good. Really good, actually. I am impressed.”

  “You should be,” I said, confidently.

  Afterward, he asked me to stay the night, but I refused. I had to go to work tomorrow, and I didn’t want Vinny to have any negative thoughts about me or ask why I spent the night. “No, I’m going to go. I think that is the best thing to do for now.”

  I stood at the door as his hand was locked in mine. “Okay, I understand. Well, please tell me that you will see me again this Saturday. I will not take no for an answer.”

  I kissed him on the lips, then spoke, “And, I will not give you no for an answer. I will see you Saturday.”

  I could feel his eyes on me as I walked to my car. I loved the way things were going, and as of that moment, if he had asked, I would have told him yes to anything.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  GAVIN

  “Hey, kid, are you alright in there?”

  I heard Vinny in the bathroom early Saturday morning. I went to his room to check on him, but when I didn’t see him, I checked down the hallway. The door was cracked open when I showed up. As soon as I opened it completely, I saw him crouched over the toilet, hurling into it. He gagged again as he continued to vomit. It had been a couple days since he’d started feeling bad. The doctor said he had a stomach bug and it would take a few days for it to pass through. In the meantime, I had to keep a close eye on him and make sure he had lots of fluids to replenish what he was losing.

  I put my hand on his back and kneeled beside him. He looked at me with tired, and weary eyes. “Are you finished, or do you still have some to go?” He shook his head, and with that, I helped him up from the ground, wiped his mouth, and escorted him back into his bedroom. His bedside table was covered with discarded applesauce containers and Gatorade bottles. I felt bad for him, and at any moment, I would trade places. After I tucked him back in bed, I took his trash from his desk and left the room.

  “Dad?” he called out to me in a weakened voice.

  “Yes, son?”

  “You can still go out with Bethany today. I won’t mind.”

  I chuckled. “No, son, I’m not going anywhere. Not with you feeling like this. Thanks for the offer, though. You just get some rest, and I’ll be back up here to check on you in a bit. Okay?”

  He nodded his head; then I made my way back into the kitchen. I hated that I wasn’t going to be able
to spend time with Bethany today, but Vinny came first. Ever since I started dating her, I realized how much more I needed to be in his life. I looked at my watch. It was 8am by the time I started the coffee machine. I figured that I’d better call Bethany and let her know that I wasn’t going to be able to make the date this afternoon just so she would know well ahead of time. I thought Vinny would be okay by now, but after seeing him hug the toilet, I knew he would need a couple more days.

  I grabbed my cup of coffee, then walked to the couch and placed it on the table. With my phone in my hand, ready to dial her number, I leaned my head back against the cushion. Before I knew it, I had dozed off. I woke up a few hours later with my hand still in the same position, but my phone had fallen to the floor. The lukewarm coffee on the table made me cringe when I thought about the taste of it. I leaned forward and scooped my phone off the floor. It was nearly 12 pm when I noticed the time. I pulled myself up from the couch, then went to Vinny’s room to check on him. He was curled up in a ball underneath his blanket. “Vinny?” I called out to him softly, but he didn’t say a word. He seemed to be fast asleep, so I left him there and went back to the front room.

  Before I could make a phone call, the front doorbell rang. Bethany stood on the other side, smiling, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. “Wow, you look like you just rolled out of bed.”

  I looked down at my wrinkled t-shirt, then rubbed my hand over my face like it was a washcloth. “Yeah,” I said. “Yeah, I did. I woke up early because Vinny was having a hard time, then I ended up falling back to sleep on the couch.”

  Her facial expression turned sour. “Aw, is he still not feeling well?”

  I sighed. “Unfortunately, he is not. He threw up once this morning, and he has been laying in the bed ever since. The doctor said it would take him a few days to get over the stomach bug, so it is just a waiting game now. I meant to call you earlier to let you know that we were going to have to cancel our date today, but as I said, I fell asleep.”