Read Abruption for Free Online Page A

know, I’ve been a PICU nurse for a little over four years, and I’ve worked with lots of kids with CP. I’ve read over Finn’s history. He’s remarkable. Cognitively, he’s right on target, if not beyond, and I can only imagine the intense physical therapy he’s undergone to already be walking with braces. It’s a testament to his parents and to Maya. I know how hard it can be, how time consuming. Your child is your number one priority, and when I’m at work, my patients are mine. So I’ll tell you, even though it’s not any of your business, but it might put your mind at ease: I’m thirty-two, this is my second career, and I’m more than qualified to take care of your son. As for his status, his labs are all back. White count is normal, urinalysis is negative, and as you know, cultures won’t be back for forty-eight hours. His last set of vitals was an hour ago, and I was just about to take his temperature again. Hopefully, he’ll be afebrile and can avoid a tap.”
    She had balls, I had to give her that. And she seemed to have a clue.
    “Fine. Finn seems to feel comfortable with you. I’ll tell the charge nurse she doesn’t have to reassign you.” Her jaw dropped and I felt guilty. But I wasn’t apologizing. This was my son, my whole life. I didn’t have that luxury of being the old me, the laid-back, glass half-full guy. “And will you call Dr. Guillroy? Tell him I’m here now, so we can get this over with.”
    “Speak of the devil.” She pointed to Finn’s pediatrician walking up behind me.
    “Guy.” We shook hands. Guillroy was point man for all of Finn’s care—neurology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy—and he was damn good. “I saw his labs, Guy, and I’m on the fence whether he needs a tap right now.”
    Maya stepped from the room and waved us over. “Hello, Dr. Guillroy, nice to see you. Sorry to interrupt, but Finn seems warm again and his cheeks are flushed. I think he may be spiking. This is how he looked early this morning.”
    “100.3,” Jules announced to the room, with her line of sight directly pointed at me.
    Goddamnit. Right on the cusp.
    In the ten minutes we stepped out, Finn’s cheeks and forehead had flushed. Without speaking, Guillroy asked for consent. Fuck.
    “Do it. Call neuro,” I instructed. We needed answers.
    Maya bit back a sniffle, while Jules squatted beside Finn and asked, “Did you tell Dad what’s so yummy in your tummy?”
    Finn’s pink face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yemon, Dada, yemon in my tummy.”
    Man, that smile.
    “And tell Daddy what I promised to bring to you since you’ve been such a trooper today?”
    He giggled. About to spike a fever and have a needle jammed in his back, and he was smiling and giggling.
    “Bawoons, Dada.”
    “That’s great, bud. You’re one lucky dude.”
    Guess she managed to get balloon guy to come back. Hmm. Not bad.
    “I don’t know about you guys, but I would cave to any request to see these two little dimples.” Jules poked Finn’s cheek, and my boy giggled again. Maya even relaxed enough to laugh, and I felt my cheeks tighten with what I could only assume was something resembling a smile. I hadn’t smiled since walking through the ER double doors this morning.
    Jules stood up from her squat and ruffled his hair, which in return made me swipe a hand through my own roots. Bad habit, I guess, one I never realized until my two-and-a-half-year-old started raking his own hair and saying “Dada hair.” Now it was a running household joke.
    She circled to the other side of the bed and bent over to reach behind the side table. There were those tits again. I shook my head as if to erase the memory. Like that would happen. Whoever made the deep V in the scrub top was a genius or male. A male genius. Too bad this was not the time to appreciate his work.
    “All charged,” Jules said, handing Finn his iPad. “You promised to make me a movie.