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***
Harold was just about to get popcorn for his annual rewatch of Terms of Endearment when he heard the doorbell ring. For a second he hesitated … He could just pretend to be out like the rest of his family. And after all he wasn’t the only doctor in town. Whoever needed his help could just as well visit Dr. Brown. The guy loved doing good, or so he said. He was on and about at every hour of the day as if his life depended on it. But then the bell rang again, even more urgently than before, and he sighed. He had trained his patients well; no one would ring his doorbell at this time of day unless it was an emergency. So he put down the popcorn, changed into his jacket, and opened the door to find Delia standing there.
„What is it, child?“
„My dad, he is really sick!“ He had been inclined to suspect some kind of prank, but Delia looked really distraught. She seemed to have walked all the way from her house to his while looking not that sure on her feet herself. He faintly remembered Brown telling him his daughter had caught the flu the other day, so that was probably the reason why she looked so bad.
„Where’s your brother?“
„He’s on a school trip.“ She sniffled. „We are all alone.“
He grabbed his emergency bag (always by the door for cases like that, his father had insisted). „We will take the car, you can tell me what happend on the way.“
***
From what Delia told him he got the impression that her father had caught the flu despite claiming to be immune to it as a doctor. Working at all unreasonable hours of the day had probably done the rest. She had surely overreacted, though he didn't tell her that. The child had just lost its mother, it was only natural that she was worried.
Brown did indeed look bad when he found him lying on the couch. His fever was so high that he was unresponsive which had understandably frightened his daughter. He did a quick check of his vitals and turned his attention back to Delia. „It’s the flu, the same you had. It hits adults harder, you know. But you don’t need to worry, all he needs is medicine and a few days of rest and he will be as good as new.“
The poor child was so relieved that she almost lost the fight against her tears. She reminded him of Amy at that age, such a serious and fiercely independent little thing. And before he knew it, he had promised her to stay the night and watch over her father if she promised to go to bed and sleep. The girl was so tired that she swayed on her way up the stairs. In the end he swept her up and carried her to bed. She was asleep before he finished tucking her in.
***
Brown was still sleeping restlessly when he returned. He had brought a pillow and blanket from the master bedroom and continued his tucking in of Brown family members, this time dealing with a much larger and less cooperative body. There was no chance to give him something to bring down his fever as long as he was so out of it that he couldn’t be trusted to swallow. He checked his temperature again – high, but not dangerously high. How silly of the man to get so sick and frighten his child and cause him a sleepless night! And then Brown blinked and mumbled „Harold“ and the anger he had been holding melted away.
„You’re sick, but everything will be fine. Delia is asleep in her bed. Try to get some rest, will you?“ Harold‘s hand had found its way to Brown‘s chest without him realizing it. Had Brown tried to get up? In any way it seemd to calm him, and his eyes drifted shut again.
He should have pulled his hand back. But there was something calming about the way Brown‘s chest moved with every breath. He could feel his heartbeat–fast, but steady–reassuring him that everything would be fine indeed. Maybe he had been a tiny bit worried too. Having a frightened child on your doorstep tended to do that to you. And despite his annoying qualities, Brown was a friend of sorts. Well, a friend in the broadest sense of the word.
And as a friend in the broadest sense oft he word he would have a talk with the man as soon as he was well again. He really had to do the responsible thing and take better care of himself! Even if he wasn’t much of a father, he was all that those children had left.
The thought of lecturing Brown lifted his spirits. He let go and stood up to make himself a calming cup of tea. A long night was lying ahead of him.
* Fin *