Jessalyn sniffled. “So I went hypoglycemic. Got confused and dizzy and might have had a seizure, apparently. They say I passed out and gave myself a concussion, falling. I came around on the office floor and somehow managed to call 911. I didn’t know what had happened at that point. I should have just eaten a cookie or something.” She sobbed again, probably thinking about the cookies she wasn’t supposed to eat.
Blow your nose already, Nell wanted to snap. “Okay. So you’re pregnant and have gestational diabetes. Are you okay to keep working ’til your due date?”
“I have to! I need the money and benefits. It scares me to be totally dependent on Mike’s salary, especially when he’s out of the country and in harm’s way for months at a time.”
Nell nodded. “Fair enough. But you have to take care of yourself. With your permission, we should tell Mary so she can keep an eye on you in case you have another hypoglycemic episode, okay?”
“Sure. Mary’s nice.”
Is she implying that I’m not nice? But Nell decided that Jessalyn just meant she didn’t mind having Mary keeping tabs on her health and safety. “I understand why you didn’t want to tell Aidan about your pregnancy, but if you’d like, I can help you sort out things like maternity leave coverage and a childcare plan if you’re coming back to work afterward. Don’t worry about that now, though. We’ll talk when you’re back at Champagne.”
“Okay. I’m supposed to meet with a dietician tomorrow. Maybe they’ll release me after that?”
With a concussion and poorly-controlled blood sugar, Nell thought that was unlikely. “There’s no pressure. You’re on sick days right now, so it’s all good, even if they keep you ’til Saturday. Eam— Easy and I will take care of everything at Champagne.” She corrected herself before using his name. He was wearing his stage persona for Jessalyn, and maybe he didn’t like to mix that with his private self. She made a mental note to ask him.
Jessalyn shot an admiring glance at Eamonn. “How come he’s here with you? You’re so lucky! Are you guys dating?”
Nell shook her head, just as he said, “Not yet, but I live in hope.” And he winked at her.
That made Jessalyn giggle, apparently delighted by what she saw as a romance unfolding.
Then a nurse came in to check Jessalyn’s blood sugar, and she shooed the visitors away. As they were leaving, Nell overheard the nurse saying to Jessalyn, “Your visitor, honey, he looked a heck of a lot like that bass player who was part of Smidge and—”
“Not just looked like, it really was him!” Jessalyn replied. “Easy. He’s my new work supervisor’s friend…” Nell rolled her eyes as they headed down the hall to the elevators, with Eamonn being Easy and flashing his star-quality winks and smiles for all the nurses.
As they got into the truck, Eamonn swiped at the rain soaking into his hoodie, then looked something up on his phone. “I don’t know that I can do another two days of this rain without a jacket, and there’s a Walmart in Chelan. Want to go shopping?”
Nell looked down at her wet shoes. The idea of having a rain shell and gumboots was awfully appealing. “The weather’s getting worse, though. Shouldn’t we get back to Champagne and off the road?”
“It’s only half an hour down the freeway,” he said. “My truck has good tires. It’ll be fine. Come on, you don’t want to spend the next forty-eight hours getting soaked every time we have to run from the office to the dining room, do you?”
“Not really, but…”
“I mean, that’s altogether the wrong kind of wet, isn’t it? I’d much rather you were wet for me.” He shot her a flirty look, then laughed as she processed what he’d said.
“Ugh, pervert.” She smacked him on the upper arm, not hard, but deliberately hitting a pressure point.
“Ow. Peace! I was just kidding.”
The wind and rain were truly nasty. Nell looked at the sodden parking lot and how everything that could move was shaking and banging in the wind. Not nice to drive in. But Eamonn was a confident driver and he seemed to think they’d be fine. And she hadn’t planned to be on-site longer than overnight, or in bad weather — she definitely needed a few things. “All right,” she told him. “Let’s go shopping.”
They didn’t talk much on the road, and this time he didn’t put music on.
“I’m definitely buying rain boots,” Nell said, after a while. “Having wet shoes is the worst.” She made a mental list — a pack of cotton panties, because she hadn’t brought enough for more than the night or two she’d expected to be there, and a pack of athletic socks so she wouldn’t have to suffer damp or bare feet while she waited for the two pairs she’d brought to dry. Something to read. A rain shell. Could I splurge for less-embarrassing pajamas?
“My work boots are all right in the rain,” he replied. “But I need a jacket.”
In the Walmart, they took baskets and split up to find what they needed. She didn’t want him watching her choose underwear and presumed he didn’t need her looking over his shoulder while he picked out whatever necessities he had on his list.
Socks and undies were inexpensive and she just wanted basic white; the same ones she usually bought to wear with her taekwondo uniform. No issue there. But there were no black rain boots in her size — only bubblegum pink, a pastel floral pattern, electric orange, and dark purple with silver stars. She opted for the purple with a resigned sigh, wondering why footwear manufacturers seemed to think grown women would want colors and patterns
