Unintended Consequences - By Marti Green

Chapter

32





When Dani arrived home, Katie met her at the door. “I didn’t want to bother you at work. I know how wrapped up you are now. But Jonah’s coming down with something, I think. He’s had diarrhea all afternoon, and his stomach is really bothering him.”

“Any fever?”

“No, 99 even.”

She went upstairs to Jonah’s room. As a child with Williams syndrome, he was more prone to illnesses than other children. It was one of Dani’s reasons for avoiding taking on cases from the investigation stage. She hated being away from home when he was sick.

Jonah lay on his bed with his eyes closed and an open comic book next to him. Dani started to leave and then heard a moan. “Jonah, are you asleep?” she whispered.

“No, I’m conscious. My stomach is feeling awfully unpleasant, though.”

“Katie told me.” She sat on his bed and felt his forehead. “What did you eat at school today?”

“Pizza.”

“Nothing else? Did you take food from anyone?”

Jonah shook his head and suddenly bolted upright and scooted off the bed. “I have to depart now,” he said as he rushed to the bathroom.

When he came back, Dani got him settled into bed again and then left to call Dr. Dolman.

“Give him Immodium AD or Pepto-Bismol and watch him over the weekend. If it persists, call my office on Monday and tell them I need to see him then.”

Monday. She was supposed to leave Sunday and fly back to Indiana. She was supposed to sit with George Calhoun one more time to wait as the clock ticked down. Doug could take off Monday to stay with Jonah, but did she want that? Dani wondered if fathers, even those as actively involved in their children’s lives as Doug, felt the same tug between work and family. When Jonah was sick, she wanted to be near him, to comfort him. And although in most instances Jonah was perfectly content to be with his father or even Katie, when he was sick he wanted his mother. All she could do was hope he’d feel better tomorrow.

She went back downstairs and sat in the kitchen. Katie busily prepared dinner for them—meatloaf and mashed potatoes—and Dani enjoyed chatting with her while she did so. “How is Megan doing?” Dani asked.

“That girl will be the death of me, I swear. If I weren’t her mother, I’d wring her neck.”

“What’s she up to now?”

“Claims she needs a break from college and is going to spend next year volunteering to teach poor children in Nicaragua. Can you imagine that? We skimp and save every extra penny to send her off to college and she up and decides to quit.”

“Why do you say she’s quitting? It sounds admirable to me. And then after a year she can go back to her studies.”

“Now, that’s easy for you to say. Jonah is nice and safe here in his home with both his parents around. All those poor people she’ll be around—who’s to say they won’t be jealous of the pittance she has and rob her in her sleep? Or worse.”

“Megan is so independent. She’ll be able to take care of herself.”

“Humph!” Katie turned her back. Clearly, Dani hadn’t offered her the answer she’d hoped for. No doubt she wanted Dani to say she was right, that Megan should stay at home. She wanted Dani to understand her need to protect her child. And she did understand. Sometimes, though, it was beyond a parent’s control.


Jonah was awake most of the night, running to the bathroom at irregular intervals. Dani made a bed for herself on the floor of his room so she could be near him. He was such a good child, rarely complaining, and it ached her to see him suffer so much. They both fell asleep around 4 a.m., and the morning sun woke Dani two hours later.

She checked Jonah’s forehead as he slept and it still felt cool. She tiptoed to her own bedroom and slipped in beside Doug. He murmured something unintelligible and resumed his rhythmic snoring. Dani’s mind swirled with confusion. Should she stay home with Jonah and send Melanie in her place tomorrow? She’d been George’s lifeline these past few weeks. How could she abandon him now? Yet, in the end, lawyers were fungible; mothers were not.

Underlying her unease was the awareness that Williams-syndrome children were prone to celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder caused by an intolerance to gluten. The symptoms include diarrhea and nausea, just like Jonah had been experiencing. She and Doug had been grateful that Jonah seemed to have escaped that added burden. He loved his pizza and Katie’s homemade cookies that awaited him on his return from school and Cap’n Crunch cereal in the mornings. If he had this condition, there were so many other foods he’d need to avoid. It was hard enough to explain to a child with the normal range of intelligence that certain foods were forbidden. How would she make Jonah understand the importance of eliminating foods he loved?

Dani tended to do this, imagine the worst before it became a reality. She didn’t know why. For herself, she turned a blind eye to any symptom that might pop up, but with Jonah and Doug, the opposite occurred. At 8 a.m., with Jonah and Doug still sleeping, she slipped out of bed and called Dr. Dolman’s answering service. He called her back fifteen minutes later.

“Dr. Dolman, I know I’m being a worrywart, but could this be the onset of celiac disease in Jonah?”

“I gather he still has symptoms.”

“Yes, he had a difficult night.”

“It could be celiac, it could be a stomach virus, or mild food poisoning. He hasn’t developed celiac disease yet, so that wouldn’t be my first guess.”

“I’m supposed to be somewhere else tomorrow and Monday. I’m afraid to leave him.”

“Mrs. Trumball, Jonah is not in serious danger. Can your husband be home with him?”

“Yes.”

“Then go and don’t worry about him. To be on the safe side, keep him away from wheat and grain products until I see him on Monday. But if he’s still having symptoms, he probably won’t be too hungry anyway. Just make sure whoever’s with him keeps him hydrated.”

She thanked Dr. Dolman and hung up.

When Jonah awoke, Dani could see from his whitewashed pallor and the perspiration beading his forehead that he was still sick. She fixed him a breakfast of scrambled eggs, but after two forkfuls he said, “My tummy needs a respite.” The day proceeded slowly, with Jonah lethargic and only reluctantly sipping the hot soup and drinking the warm tea Dani prepared for him.

By the time Jonah finally fell asleep that night, Dani felt drained. “I don’t think I should go tomorrow,” she told Doug during their honeymoon hour. “Jonah prefers when I take him to the doctor.”

“Whatever is going on with Jonah is not going to change if I take him to see Dr. Dolman.”

“Sure, but—”

“I know. You’ll feel better if you’re with him. But do you really think it’ll be the same for George if Melanie is by his side instead of you?”

Dani sighed. Doug was right, of course, infuriatingly right. Once again she felt the tug of war raging within her. Mother or lawyer? Which came first? Motherhood, of course. Jonah’s well-being always took precedence. But if she was honest with herself, she knew he would be fine with his father.

She lay her head on Doug’s shoulder. “It’s so hard for me to let go.”

“I know. “

Dani looked up at the clock. She needed to call Melanie before it got too late if she wanted her to fly to Indiana in Dani’s place. As she lowered her eyes, she spotted Jonah’s backpack on the chair across from the couch. The one he’d used in kindergarten had sported pictures of Barney, the giant purple dinosaur. Now it was the Jonas Brothers. He’s growing up. I’ve got to accept that. Dani lifted her head and looked at Doug. “I’m going to Indiana tomorrow. You’re right. That’s where I need to be.”