"Thanks for being so kind to us," Maggie said.
It was rare for Maggie to encounter people who thrived on helping others. In Kensington, people were more likely to go out of their way to harm or exploit people.
"No problem. Now you take care of this little man," Mrs. Booker commented, gently stroking the top of Seth's head.
Maggie and Seth walked slowly back to their apartment. The autumn air was crisp. Seth was lethargic, and his movements were calculated, as if every step he took was painful.
"Seth? Are you OK, sweetie?"
Seth nodded. "I'm just tired is all. I wanna go home and get in bed."
The two stopped at a convenience store and bought Gatorade with the ten dollars that Mrs. Booker had given to Maggie. Once home, Maggie settled Seth onto the mattress, and he quickly fell into a deep sleep. About an hour later, Juju came home and, seeing Seth in bed, gave Maggie a curious look.
"Joey came and got me. Seth passed out at school. The nurse thinks he's dehydrated from being sick for so long. She said to let him rest and make sure he drinks enough. I have clients lined up, starting at two o'clock this afternoon, and my shift at Doubles starts at eight o'clock. Will you be able to be here with him tonight?" Maggie asked.
"Sure. I'll go out earlier today. Once I make my quota, I'll come right back and stay with him. What should I do for him?" Juju asked with apprehension, remembering the bulb syringe that Maggie had stuck up Seth's nose.
"Just make sure he eats something and drinks a lot. I'm sure he'll feel better in the morning," Maggie said.
When Maggie got home at three in the morning, Juju was waiting for her. She looked over as Maggie entered the apartment. Her face was a mask of worry.
"What's wrong?" Maggie asked.
"I don't know, Maggie. Seth started shaking on the mattress, and his eyes were rolling back in his head."
As if it was planned, Seth began to jerk on the mattress again. It looked as if someone was seizing his shoulders and shaking him. Maggie rushed over and sat next to Seth. She gently rubbed his arms, and she knew immediately what was happening.
Juju's eyes were bulging from their sockets. She stood watching with her arms wrapped around herself. "That's what he was doing...what's wrong with him?"
Maggie tried to keep her voice even so she wouldn't reveal the panic that was rising in her chest. "He's having a seizure. Just relax. He's going to be fine. Wet a towel and bring it over to me," Maggie instructed calmly.
Juju sprang to action, grateful there was something she could do to help. By the time she walked over to the mattress with the damp towel, Seth's seizure had ceased.
Maggie took the towel and gently wiped Seth's face and neck. He looked at her through tired eyes. "What's wrong with me, Aggie? I'm scared," he muttered weakly.
"You're going to be OK, sweetie. I'm here, and you're going to be fine," Maggie fussed.
Then Seth looked at her with confused and disoriented eyes. Maggie lifted his thin, long body and placed him on his side, to keep his airway open. A few minutes later, he was sleeping again.
Juju was horrified as she watched Maggie. "What the fuck, Maggie? What are we going to do? There's obviously something really wrong with him, right?"
Maggie looked up at Juju. "Yeah, something's wrong. We're not going to panic...that would just freak him out," she whispered.
"But what are we going to do?" Juju insisted.
"We're going to wait and see how things go. Just remember to stay close to him when it happens. You wanna be sure he doesn't hurt himself if he has another seizure."
Maggie got up and went into the cramped bathroom. Only then did she let herself cry, releasing all of the anxiety and dread that had gripped her. When she came back into the living area, her eyes were bloodshot and her face looked as if it were made of stone.
"You all right?" Juju inquired, taking in her friend's expression.
"I'm fine, Juju. It's Seth I'm worried about."
Chapter One Hundred Twenty.
Just as quickly as Seth's symptoms began, they stopped. The next morning, he was feeling much better. He was still zapped of energy, but his spirits were better, and he had some color in his face. The girls were slightly relieved but still cautious.
"I want you to stay in bed and rest today," Maggie told Seth.
"No, Aggie. I wanna go to school. I wanna see Joey. Besides, I feel better now," Seth insisted, nuzzling into her for a warm hug.
"You're a real charmer, aren't you?" Maggie said cheerfully, as she pulled him closer.
"Yeah, the other boys hate me 'cause all the girls love me," Seth remarked.
"Oh, really?" Maggie teased.
"Yeah, but ya know, I love Joey. I told ya, someday I'm gonna marry her," Seth said.
"You're twelve, Seth. It's a little too soon to talk about marriage. Besides, you need to do well in school. You want to go to college, don't you?" Maggie pressed.
"You didn't have to go to college," Seth protested.
"That's because I couldn't, and you know that. But it's different for you. You'll have the freedom to do whatever you want," Maggie reminded him.
"Well, once I'm bigger, I'm gonna kick Rock's ass so you can do whatever you want too," Seth said valiantly.
"Nah, I'll be a wrinkled-up old woman by then. Rock will be running away from me," Maggie kidded. "You go to college so you can get really rich, and then I'll come and live with you. How's that sound?"
Seth's face lit up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. "Yeah, I like that. We'll live together forever."
Maggie gave him a tight embrace. "You're the best man in my life," she whispered.
Seth gave her a Herculean squeeze and walked into the bathroom to get ready for school.
That night, while in the lap dance room with Colby, Maggie let her guard down and told him about Seth. Tears dribbled down her cheeks as she expressed her concern over his freakish symptoms. "I think he needs to see a doctor. I mean, he felt better today, but who knows? He had seizures, and I know that's just not normal," Maggie explained.
Colby listened, and his heart ached for them. Then he came up with an idea. "You said the nurse at Seth's school told you to go see her if there were any more issues, right?"
"Yeah, but there's only so much she can do," Maggie responded.
"How do you know? If she can draw his blood, I can get it tested. All you need to do is convince her to take blood and give you the vials. Then I'll bring the blood to a friend of mine who works in a lab. That way, you'll know what you're dealing with. How does that sound?"
"That sounds incredibly nice of you. OK, I'll do whatever it takes. You'll get me everything for the blood test, right?"
"You bet I will. Just so you know, this isn't the norm. I would never do this kind of thing for other informants I've worked with in the past," Colby said.
"So now I'm just another informant," Maggie said, smiling brightly, knowing it was far from the truth.
"Nah, you're just my best-looking informant," he teased.
Two days later, Maggie and Juju walked Seth to school. They stopped for a few minutes to chat with Joey and watched as the two walked into the school together. Maggie and Juju waited until they entered the school, and then they went directly to the nurse's office.
"Hello, Maggie," Mrs. Booker said, giving her a warm smile, and then concern washed it away. "How are you? Is Seth OK?"
Maggie returned the woman's smile. "Seth seems to be better than he was two days ago. But we're a little worried." She gestured at Juju. "Oh, I'm sorry; this is my roommate, Juju."
Juju said a quick hello and turned back to Maggie, who continued speaking.
"He had a couple of seizures the night he came home sick from school. He hasn't had any more since then, and he says he feels better, but I'm worried. It's not normal to have seizures, right?" Maggie said nervously, already knowing the answer.
Mrs. Booker was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was calm and even. "There could be many reasons why someone would have seizures: epilepsy, high fevers, a bad infection, or something like a tapeworm. I don't want to jump to any conclusions. How else has he been feeling?"
Maggie rattled off his symptoms. "He's very tired all the time. He has night sweats, and then he's freezing cold. He's been complaining that his body hurts him...you know, like when you have a fever and get achy all over."
Mrs. Booker nodded. "I'm not a doctor, but it sounds like our Seth is showing signs of mononucleosis. You'll need to take him to your doctor and have a blood test done to know for sure."
Maggie sat down in one of the two chairs in the office and put her head in her hands. After gathering her courage, she looked up at the nurse. "Mrs. Booker, we don't have a doctor. I'm sure you can appreciate that we are on our own. We don't have the money to afford a luxury like a doctor."
Maggie paused, letting her words sink in, before she spoke again. "I do have a good friend who knows someone who works at a lab. He can get Seth's blood tested if someone can take his blood." Maggie sat back and watched as Mrs. Booker processed exactly what was being asked of her. Maggie silently prayed, Please God, let her help us; please God, let her help us.
Mrs. Booker sat behind her desk and stared down at the neat pile of papers in front of her. She'd done a lot to help the children of Kensington over the years, but nothing like this. This would be the first time she would do something that wasn't legal. She pondered that thought for a moment. Was it illegal? Then she shook her head to bring herself back into the present.
"I've never done anything like this before, Maggie. I don't have the tools to draw his blood," Mrs. Booker said.
Maggie opened her purse and pulled out a needle and three vials. She laid them on Mrs. Booker's desk and sat back in her chair.
"I won't ask who gave these to you," the nurse said.
"They came from the lab," Maggie responded. "They're all sealed, so they're sterile," she pointed out.
"Yes, I see that. Listen, honey. I haven't drawn blood in a long time. I'm not going to be very good at it," the nurse stated, feeling ashamed the second the words left her mouth.
Mrs. Booker wanted to help children. That was why she chose to be a school nurse in Kensington. She'd received other offers in affluent school districts in the suburbs, but her need to help the less privileged made her accept the offer in the shit hole town of Kensington.
"Don't worry about it. Just do your best. Look, Mrs. Bookman-" Juju said.
"Booker, it's Mrs. Booker," Maggie corrected.
"Right, Mrs. Booker. We need your help, and there ain't nobody else around this place we can ask. You're all we got, so if you don't help us, we're fucked," Juju said.
Mrs. Booker was amused by Juju's brutal honesty.
"So, let me get this straight. You need me draw Seth's blood, give you the vials, and not say anything to anyone about what I'm doing?" Mrs. Booker asked.
The girls nodded in unison. Maggie added, "We're just asking you to cut us a break. All we're trying to do is make sure that Seth is getting whatever he needs to feel better. That's all..."
"OK, fine. But don't you girls make me regret doing this. Don't breathe a word to anyone, you hear? Not even your friend in the lab," Mrs. Booker stated.
The girls lit up. "You got it," Juju confirmed. "We'll take the secret to our fuckin' graves."
Mrs. Booker smiled at both girls. She was doing something completely out of character, even for her. But she was certain that she was doing it for the right people.
Mrs. Booker picked up the phone. "Can you please send Seth down to my office?"
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-One.
Maggie and Juju stood in the nurse's office while Mrs. Booker drew Seth's blood.
"Why do I have to do this?" Seth complained.
"Because you may need medicine to take care of whatever it is you got," Juju fired back.
Seth had a death grip on Maggie's hand as Mrs. Booker inserted the needle. To her disappointment, she missed the vein. "Damn it," the school nurse breathed. "Sorry, Seth. Hold on. Mrs. Booker is a little rusty."
Seth wiggled in his seat and looked at Maggie with eyes that screamed, Get me out of here!
"It's OK, Mrs. Booker. He's OK," Maggie said, giving Seth a look that screamed, Sit still, or I'm going to really make you squirm!
Seth closed his eyes and bit down. He felt the needle go in again and waited for what seemed an eternity. Then he heard, "Got it!"
Seth opened his eyes as the blood gushed into the vial, and he watched Mrs. Booker fill the other vials with his blood. When it was finished, he looked at Mrs. Booker. "When I grow up, I wanna be a nurse like you," he said with a smile.
Mrs. Booker smiled back at him and patted his knee. "When you grow up, you can be anything you want to be. All you have to do is focus on what you want and believe. Put in the work, and it'll pay off. Trust me, sweetheart," the nurse confirmed.
Once Seth went back to his classroom, Mrs. Booker handed the vials of blood to Maggie. "OK, here you go. Remember not tell anyone I did this for you. I could lose my job, which in itself doesn't worry me as much as I would worry about some of these kids if I wasn't here to keep an eye on them," Mrs. Booker stated.
"That's not a problem." Maggie lowered her eyes to the floor and then looked up at Mrs. Booker again. "Thank you. I know what we asked you to do for us is a big deal. Juju and I just want Seth to get better, that's all."
"Of course you do, and so do I. Now, go on and get those vials to the lab," Mrs. Booker instructed, touched by Maggie's sincerity.
Maggie and Juju left the school and got on a bus that would take them into the city, to the Melrose Diner. They saw Colby walking down the street toward the diner long before he saw them. Maggie reached into her purse and pulled out the brown lunch bag in which the vials were stored. As he approached, Maggie walked to him and hugged him, her hand holding the bag in the center of her body. She pressed the bag into his stomach, and he reached in, squeezed the bag, and put it into the pocket of his leather jacket.