Seth ruffled her hair playfully as he stood up. “We’re gonna have a great night, Li. Everything’s gonna be awesome. You’ll see.”
As Lilah looked up at his smiling face, he once more reminded her of the Seth she had known back in elementary school, and for the briefest moment, it was like he was. Illuminated from behind by the bright fluorescent lights of the cafeteria, his slick, gelled hair took on the appearance of soft, unruly curls; his high cheekbones appeared round and full, the way they had been before he lost his baby fat in sixth grade. Even the scar on his chin – the one he had gotten on the playground when they were playing capture the flag – looked darker. Newer, somehow. Lilah knew the illusion had to have been some sort of trick of the light. But still, the image of young Seth seemed so vivid. It was almost as if she could reach out and squeeze his plump cheeks…
“Dude,” Seth waved a hand in front of Lilah’s face. “What’s your deal? You sure you’re not on drugs already?”
Lilah blinked her eyes and the sweet, young version of Seth disappeared, replaced by a friend who was practically a stranger these days. “Yeah. Sorry. I was just… remembering something.”
She hadn’t realized that she had stood up, and it only now occurred to her that she was gripping the edge of the table so tightly, her fingertips were turning white. She relaxed her hands, welcoming the tingly feeling of blood flowing through her fingers once more. The memory of that sweet little boy had stirred something inside of her; she was overcome with the desire to hug him, to let him know that everything was okay, that he was safe and deserving of love, even if he didn’t believe that himself.
But Seth, now older and impatient and much too self-conscious for such public displays, had already slung his bag over his shoulder and was walking towards the door.
“You coming, Quinn?” He glanced over his shoulder at Lilah, who was staring after him as though she had seen a ghost. The expression on her face made him uncomfortable, and he wanted nothing more than to cover himself from her piercing hazel eyes.
She’s so weird sometimes, he thought, not bothering to wait for her as he hurried out the door.
Chapter 6
The Bad News
“Well, I have good news and bad news,” Dr. Kreuter announced, once all of the tests – both Lilah’s and Marie’s – had been concluded. “Which would you prefer to hear first?” He gave Mrs. Quinn a pointed look.
She glanced over at her husband. It was well after noon by this point, and rather cloudy and dreary outside. Lilah was back in her hospital crib, sleeping soundly after gulping down her third warmed bottle for the day. Stanley had spent the morning helping the nurse and Sheriff Reid fill out the police report while Marie stayed with the baby during her various examinations – save for a forty-five-minute window where she herself was subjected to several scans and blood tests. She hadn’t mentioned that part to her husband yet, praying that her paranoia was simply born from poor sleep and shared hallucinations.
“We’ll take the good news first, I suppose,” Marie said, squeezing Stanley’s hand tightly in hers.
The doctor pulled up a chair beside them, flipping through his notes. “Well, even though it doesn’t sound like good news, the MRI and EEG findings were in line with your suspicions. Lilah does suffer from seizures. In fact, while she was hooked up to the EEG, we noticed an abrupt spike in brain activity, just enough to confirm that she was, at that moment, having the beginnings of one. We immediately gave her twenty milligrams of phenobarbital intravenously, which successfully warded off the impending seizure, thereby saving Lilah’s little brain the trauma of yet another episode today.”
“Did anything… strange happen when her seizure started?” Stanley asked, glancing at Marie. She was staring straight ahead at the doctor, her face unreadable. But her hand was squeezing Stanley’s so tightly, he couldn’t feel his fingers.
“We were quite expeditious in administering the medication, and it worked miraculously well. If it’s the side effects you’re inquiring about, she didn’t appear to have any, save for some drowsiness. But that’s to be expected and will wear off over time as her body acclimates to the new medication.”
Stanley sighed, half in relief, and half in consternation. He was glad nothing unusual had happened, because the doctor certainly would have mentioned it… But if the doctor and his nurses hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, how in the world was he going to explain to them what had happened to his wife earlier that day? They’d cart him off in a straightjacket! Still, there had to be an explanation for what had happened to Marie, and Stanley was determined to find it, even if the doctor took him for a certified loon.
“Stan, dear, are you listening?” Marie asked.
Her husband started. “Sorry, I guess I wandered off for a minute there.”
Dr. Kreuter smiled – a rare expression on his wizened face. “Mr. Quinn, I was just saying that, thanks to you and your wife, we were able to get this poor child the help she clearly needed. Repeat or prolonged seizures can be extremely detrimental to a developing brain, especially one as young and fragile as hers. How many seizures she may have had before you brought her in, I cannot say. But I can say, with a great deal of certainty, that you have significantly improved the quality of this little girl’s life.”
Stanley felt something wet splash against the back of his hand. He glanced over at Marie; she was beaming, tears streaming freely down her face.
“I do have additional good news as well,” the doctor continued. “I have just provided Sheriff Reid with a signed authorization, per Mrs. Quinn’s request, that will allow you to take the baby home with you once we release her from the hospital. While Sheriff Reid conducts his investigation, it makes far more sense to me to place her in a loving home, rather than contacting social services for foster placement.”
“Thank you so much, Doctor,” Marie said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
The doctor nodded, then cleared his throat. Stanley couldn’t be sure, but he appeared to be looking to Marie for some sort of confirmation.
“Doc, you, uh, had mentioned something about bad news?” Stanley asked, wariness creeping into his voice. He was certainly glad the kid was off the streets, but he didn’t know the first thing about taking care of babies. They didn’t have a crib, or formula, or diapers… And even then, how would he, big and gawky as he was, take care of such a tiny, fragile thing? One wrong move with his clumsy sausage fingers, and – well, he tried not to think of it. Not to mention whatever the hell had happened that morning! Stanley had to find a way to talk to the doctor about that. Shaking his head to clear the image of his ailing, emaciated wife, he turned to the doctor. He was surprised to find him staring at his clipboard, sadness etched in the corners of his eyes.
“Doc?” he asked, taking his wife’s hand in his. What if the baby had some other illness or disease? What if it was life-threatening? Marie’s heart would break.
Doctor Kreuter cleared his throat. “Mrs. Quinn, perhaps you would prefer we discuss this particular topic in—?”
“No,” she interjected, taking a deep breath. “Best we do it here and now.”