Buried Seeds by Donna Meredith

Author:Donna Meredith [Meredith, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-16T22:00:00+00:00

Five days after Ben sat for that photograph, he suffered a severe setback.

I dipped another cloth in cool water, wrung it out, and held it against his head. The amber light cast by the gas lamp beside the child’s crib revealed his fevered skin and the sweat-soaked hair souring against his scalp. He twitched in his sleep.

Nellie, a wrapper loosely tied on over her nightclothes, ducked her head in the door. “Any better?”

I shook my head. “Thought you went to bed a long time ago.”

“Can’t sleep for worrying about our boy.” She padded closer in her stocking feet, stopping just behind me, one hand coming to rest on my shoulder.

I was grateful to have someone to share my worry, but it should have been Jack. He should have been home hours ago. Just because San Francisco was known as the City That Never Sleeps didn’t mean he had to work so hard personally to maintain its reputation. I’d told him this morning Ben was sick. He should be here.

“The rash is worse,” I said.

“Might be measles. Mother love is the best cure of all.”

Nellie was usually right, but what if this once she was wrong? “I wish Jack was here.”

Nellie patted my shoulder. “Any idea where he was off to this evening? I could send someone out to fetch him.”

Who knew where Jack was? Delmonico’s. The Alcazar Th eater. Marchand’s. The Majestic. Before Ben’s birth I had frequently gone out with him, much less so now. This evening Jack had the nerve to ask if I wanted to accompany him. As if I could leave Ben when he was sick.

A short while later, I heard the front door open and, with relief, thought surely it was Jack. It was not. I overheard Nellie rushing to greet Val, imploring him to attend to Ben, and then I heard the rapid fire tapping of his hard-soled shoes on the steps.

I moved aside to let Val examine my fevered child. “Thank goodness you are here. I am beside myself with worry.”

Val cautiously examined Ben’s blistered skin, frowning intently at the soles of my boy’s feet. The exam lasted less than a minute. When Val looked up, the alarm in his eyes terrified me.

“I’m going to ask Dr. Kasbarian to take a look at him.”

That Val would consult with the doctor who shared his practice told me he considered Ben’s situation grave. I knew Val and Dr. Kasbarian frequently disagreed over treatments, even though the older doctor had been one of Val’s early mentors and teachers.

A short while later, I crept down the stairs to freshen up the bowl of water I was using to cool Ben. I was careful to step on the outside of the wooden stairs as the center tended to creak, and I didn’t want to wake Nellie if she’d finally fallen asleep.

As I reached the landing, I heard hushed voices. I recognized Val’s voice.

“Dr. Kasbarian should be here soon. I want to consult on proper dosages for a child so young.

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