October Mourning by James Rada Jr

Author:James Rada, Jr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, history, medical thriller, maryland, world war i, historical thriller, spanish flu, cumberland
Publisher: James Rada, Jr

Friday, October 4, 1918

Alan spent the night in Western Maryland Hospital, sleeping in the chair beside Emily’s bed. Sitting in a wooden chair with a straight back wasn’t the most comfortable way to sleep, and he woke up many times during the night. Each time he did, he would check on Emily to make sure she was still alive. He’d watch the rise and fall of her chest and listen for any tell-tale sign of her struggling to breathe. Other times he woke up in a panic because he heard Emily cough or moan.

Alan eventually woke up and saw daylight coming through the window and decided to give up sleeping altogether. Besides, his neck was stiff, and his arms were numb from slumping in the wooden chair for so many hours.

It felt reminiscent of how he had sat beside Anne’s bed. He prayed that it wouldn’t end the same. He checked Emily again just to make sure that she was only sleeping.

Alan left her sleeping because she needed the rest. She had had a worse night than Alan with all her coughing and moaning. He walked out into the hall and blinked in the sudden light.

“You look a fright, Dr. Keener,” Harriet Dinning said.

“Thank you, Harriet. I only hope that I am able to return the compliment someday.”

Harriet smiled. “Not if I’m lucky. Why don’t you go home and shower and change? Your wife will be fine here. She’s finally getting some sleep. That will do her more good than anything. I’ll keep a close watch on her for you.”

Alan sighed and nodded. “I know you will.”

Emily wouldn’t miss him while she was sleeping and he couldn’t do anything to help her. “I think that is a good idea. Thank you.”

He walked outside to the car and drove home, all the while trying to ease the cramps from his neck as he did. Back in his house, the shower felt good and helped refresh him. When he had dressed, he cooked himself some toast and eggs for breakfast. He was too nervous to handle the fried eggs in his stomach and only wound up nibbling on the piece of toast.

He detoured on his way back to the hospital to stop at a florist. He went inside and bought a beautiful arrangement of bright flowers that he hoped would brighten Emily’s day. She loved flowers and grew many different varieties in her garden. He needed to do what he could to keep her stress from building to the point it had last night.

As Alan started to pass the money over to the florist, he realized that such a simple contact could be enough to spread the flu virus. He pulled his hand back quickly.

“Is something wrong, sir?” the florist asked. The man looked expectantly at the bills in Alan’s hand.

Alan shook his head. He laid the money on the counter.

“No, I was just thinking about something else,” Alan said.

As he walked out of the store, he wondered how many people were passing the virus back and forth between each other.

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