Time to Party!

"I got a bonus." Fred said excitedly.

"How? I thought you would get by the end of the year." I asked surprised.

"I thought so too but the company posted profits in the first and second quarter of the year. So the management decided to give everyone something small for the efforts." He replied.

"Wow, that's nice." 

"Yea. Can we celebrate by going out tonight?" he asked.

"Tonight? What about the baby?" We cannot leave her alone." I asked.

"I thought about that and asked my sister to come and baby sit." 

"OMG!" I shouted. "How were you able to arrange all that?"

"I am good in surprises." he said laughing.

"Okay, when is she coming?" I asked.

"She will be here in about twenty minutes." He replied checking his wrist watch.

"And where are we going to?" I asked trying to figure out how this will work.

"First, I wanted us to go to the Chinese restaurant near Valley Road then we go out and hit the clubs. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah. I'm so excited. Let me go freshen up." I said and jumped up quickly to go to the bathroom. 

After like fifteen minutes, I was ready and looking spectacular. I found Fred with the sister in the living room seated together in the couch. 

The sister gave me a weird look then looked back at her brother continuing her conversation with him. Did she give me that look because of the short purple dress that I was rocking? I did not let that interfere with my mood. That was her problem. I gave her a brief on what to do and showed her where the baby food was.

We kissed Chloe bye and off we went.

The dinner was so nice. We sat outside the balcony overlooking the entire city as the restaurant was situated on the top most floor of the building. This place was so significant to us as we had so many dinners here while we were still dating in campus. It was "our place."

After we were done, we went to the new club which was recently opened. I think I got shocked on how the scene had changed from when we last went out clubbing. The young girls wore almost nothing. You would literally see everything. The sarcastic bit was the guys were so heavily dressed that it looked comical seeing them together. We sat near the bar. I ordered a mohito while Fred took his usual, a beer. The music was loud and got us in the mood to party.

Loo Issues

"I think you should take the Doctor's advice seriously. Try to relax and avoid stressful conditions." I said to Ann.

I will, hopefully he won't add to the stress." She replied while facing Mike.

"I won't." Mike said.

I took the last sip of the juice and excused myself. I had to go home and look after my small family. Traffic back home was smooth. No hustles. I packed the car at the far end of the compound and went in.

Chloe was crawling alone in the living room. Fred was nowhere to be seen. I dropped my bag, picked the baby up and placed her on my left hip and went to the other rooms to check. He was not in the kitchen. I called him. He didn't respond. I checked the bedroom but it was empty. The bed was messed up. As I was stepping out of the bedroom to go look for him in the back balcony, I heard some noises from the washroom. I went back in. The door was closed. I tried opening but it was locked from the inside. As I was struggling, the toilet was flushed and there came Fred. He had his phone in his hands.

"When did you come?" He asked not surpised on my presence.

"I just entered. Why did you leave the baby alone?"

"I didn't. I just went to the washroom. I was here."

"She was alone!" I insisted.

"No, I had to pee and I cannot go to the toilet with her."

I shook my head.

"Baby, you are getting paranoid. Nothing would have happened to the baby." He assured me while holding to my shoulders. "Okay?"

I nodded.

"Okay, let us go to the other room."

We followed his steps back to the bedroom. I placed Chloe on the bed and she started crawling to the other side. I quickly rushed to her side least she fell.

"Where did you go to?" Fred asked adjusting his blue shorts.

"I passed by Ann's place. She was in the hospital this morning but she is okay."

"Oh, hope nothing serious?"

"No, she is good."

"Was Mike around? It has been a while since we last saw each other."

"Yes he was." I replied.

"Ill give him a shout."

Mummy Problems

After the meeting, I checked my phone and saw a text from Ann. She informed me that she is back home.

I smiled. At least it was nothing serious. Since it was around 5 O'clock, I started packing and decided to go see Ann on my way home. At a quarter past 5pm, I left the office. The highway was too busy. The traffic started a few meters from the office. I took about thirty minutes to drive over to Mike and Ann's house where in the normal traffic free days, one would take 10 minutes. I found Ann sitted on the couch with her legs up. She was big! Her tummy was showing in the white short dress she was wearing. I gave her a hug and asked her how she was feeling. Even before she answered, Brad came running from the bedroom.

"Aunty, Aunty." He shouted.

"Yes Brad. How are you?" I asked moving him closer to my body.

"Good."

Brad was Ann and Mike son. He is two and a half years. He is the most handsome kid I have ever seen. He was taller now. He had taken both of the parents facial features.

"Mummy, can I watch Lily?" He asked.

"Yes dear. Seat here." Ann said while showing him a cushion on the floor. She then changed the TV channel and put on Cartoon Network. Brad smiled and started watching.

"So? What was the problem?" I asked.

"I woke up with some pain in my belly. It was similar to cramps. I took a glass of water then went back to bed. A few minutes later, I had the urge to go to the washroom only to discover that I was spotting." She started.

"Sorry."

"Now, the sad part was Mike saw my reaction and freaked out." She continued.

"No I did not." Mike said while coming out from the kitchen with three glasses of juice.

We laughed.

"Yes you did. You were so worried that something bad will happen. I on the other hand, I was too freaked out that I could not move." She said looking at Mike. "After a few awkward moments, we decided to go to the hospital and get checked out."

"So what did the doctor say?"

"He said it was normal for women to spot especialy if they are seven to thirteen weeks. He however cautioned me to avoid stressful condition and eat healthy food."

Disclinary Issues

With things back to normal at home, I went back to my work schedule in the office. The workload was too much but I was at peace knowing that my kid was safe.

At around 10am, I called Ann. I had missed my best friend. The phone rang but she didn't pick up. I tried again but I was not lucky. I decided to send an sms to her to call me once she was free.

Then, after a few seconds, Mike called.

"Hey Kate."

"Hey Mike, nice surprise. I was even trying to call Ann."

"That's why I was calling you. She cannot came to the phone at the moment." Mike replied.

"Why?"

"She is with the doctor's now." He responded sounding a bit low. "She experienced some spotting earlier today so we are at the Doctor's to get checked out."

"Oh my.." I said. "Which hospital is she in?"

"At Mercy General." He responded and the line went off.

I tried again calling him but it didn't go through. I decided to try Ann. Her phone went unanswered but I left a voice mail to call me back. I was worried.

Since I had to step in to a meeting, I took my notebook, pen and the tablet and went to the boardroom. Mrs. Wright was already seated facing her laptop. Brian, who is the head of Consulting Department was seated right opposite Mrs. Wright. He was on his phone. The other two in the room were the Head of IT, James and Mary who was the assistant to the Tax Manager. As soon as I sat down, the meeting started. It was to discuss various issues in the departments and way to move forward.

The meeting lasted roughly three hours as there was some confusion on how best to deal with the various disclinary issues that we had face like two months ago. Although Mrs. Wright was for following the rules as stated in the company rules and regulations, it was not accomodating other issues that come up and not stated in the rule book. As a HR, I was faced with a lot of issues on knowing what needs to be addressed in the face to face, warning letter or termination as it stood on the middle. 

James also wanted to know on how best to deal with employees who spend most times on the internet rather than concentrating on the work. This was one of the issues that ws not clearly stated in the rule book and we didnt know what step to take. In the end, we decided to each come up with suitable ways of dealing with such. We scheduled to meet in a week's time.

Home

The next day, Chloe was released from the hospital. She had greatly improved. Her cute smile was back. I got a call from Fred that he was waiting for us at the parking lot. I had spent the night at the hospital keeping her company. During the night, she was without any discomfort although her temperatures was still up.

We got dischaged after about 30 minutes. The long complicated process was so tiring but at least we managed. During the trip home, Fred put on some music and to our surprise, Chloe started humming to it. We looked at each other then laughing. She was moving her head from side to side trying to sing along.

"Do you want to pass by the supermarket and get anything?" Fred asked.

"We can pass by and get some more diapers for the baby." I responded.

"What about fruits and some juice?"

"Oh yes...We  have to get them as well."

The store was a bit empty. A bit wierd as I was used to the human traffic. We did our shopping under ten minutes and we went home. I heated some water, put it on her basin. As I was undressing her, I noticed the rashes that the doctor was telling about us about. It was on her lower back. It had dried up a bit guess from the treatment she had received.

I then went ahead to prepare a fruit smoothie. Chloe loves smothies. I figured I should make banana and an orange smoothie. I combined the fruits in a blender alongside almond extract. I blended until thick and smooth. Chloe was so eager to drink it all. Once I gave her, she soon fell asleep on the couch. Fred took her to the bedroom.

"You should rest." He said noticing that I was still trying to clean up the kitchen.

"I know but I can't leave the kitchen like this."

"It's okay, ill clean it up." He said. "I had asked for a day off so am around."

"Wow, thanks." I responded.

"I think you have done a lot so far. Take a rest."

"Thanks babe." I said as I leaned in and gave him a kiss.

I packed the extra smoothie then put it in the refrigerator. 

I had a shower then took a nap. My body was in pain because of the small bed I had to do with in the hospital. I was all cramped up in it. The room specification documents states that the wards provide an extra bed for parents but all I got was a raw deal.

Virus

"You can now go in and see her." The Doctor said. "Please follow me."

We followed him to one of the wards just adjacent to his office. The room was white with cartoon characters on the wall. Chloe was on the third bed near the wall. She was sleeping on her right side. Her face did not have the smile she usually has when she was sleeping. Her little hands were held in a fist.

"So what was the diagnosis?" Fred asked sitting on one of the chairs placed next to the bed.

"We did several tests on her but unfortunately we found she had Rubella." He said.

"What's that?" I asked seemingly shocked with the news.

"It is basically an infection caused by Rubella Virus. It usually starts with a rash on the body then one experiences vomiting, fever or sore throat."

"But I did not notice any rash on her?" I asked.

"At times it not that noticeable."

"Is it fatal?" I asked.

"No. It is easily treatable as it clears on its on or responds to the medicine that is given to treat it."

"Okay, so how long do we have to keep her here?" Fred asked.

"I would prefer to keep her here for the next two days. As I told you, the disease is an infection caused by a virus. We have to make sure that we keep it at bay and prevent it from infecting further or spreading to other members of the family as it is easily contagious."

"That's okay." I responded.

"You will have to excuse me for a bit, I have other patients to check on."

Fred and I remained in the room holding baby Chloe's hand. Personally, I was praying. Please God, make this go away. How did she get this? When? We are so careful with her! 

I looked at my wrist watch and noticed it was 8.45am. Oh my...I have to call my boss and tell her that I won't be coming. 

I tried her cell like three times and it wasn't being answered. I then called the switchboard and asked to talk to her. Was told that she was in a meeting so I left a message to let her know that I won't be in the office today.

Chloe is sick

"Fred!" I shout.

"What?" He asked lifting the bedspread to cover his face.

"I need you to drive me to the hospital." I shake his body even more. "Chloe is sick."

He wakes up startled and looks at me like he has seen a ghost.

"What happened?" He asks.

"Can we talk about this on our way to the hospital." I reply while wearing my sandals which were next to the bed.

He wakes up and looks at the baby whom am holding on my arms. She has closed her eyes while her hair is spread around her small head.

We rush downstairs to the parking lot and off we go the hospital. The distance seems to be infinite but we arrive at the hospital entrance after an ambulance. We hurriedly walk to the pediatric center and go directly to the nurse at the reception.

"Yes, how can I help you?" She asks not bothering to look at us.

"The baby has had several vomiting episodes and has a high fever." I tell her almost handing her the baby.

The sentence seem to startle her as she comes next to us, puts her back side of her hand and felt Chloe's temperature.

"OMG!" She says and quickly take the baby inside.

I was confused so I looked over to Fred and we rush to follow her.

"What is wrong?" I keep on asking. She wasn't responding.

Finally, she stops on the second room on the right down the hallway. It was the doctor's office. He wakes up from his seat and looks at the nurse. Without saying anything, he takes his stethoscope, lifts the baby's vest and listens to her heartbeat.

"Nurse, please give me the thermometer." he asks.

He takes her temperature and gets a surprise look. "How was she before you came here?"

"She vomited several times. I also noticed her poop was a bit watery."

"We need to admit her as soon as possible." He says. "The nurse will give you some forms to fill."

He starts walking away with the baby before we stop him.

"Excuse me, what is wrong with the baby?" Fred asks with concern all over his face.

"The baby has a high fever of 106 degrees F. We need to check her as quickly as possible." 

With that, he went to the wards and left us still standing in the hallway. Tears rolled down my cheeks. We wait for a few minutes. I feel so weak. My baby must survive this.

After about thirty minutes, the doctor emerges and calls us to his office. After we have settled, he takes a long look at the file he has on his hand.

"The high temperature on your baby is not normal. It can be caused by several factors including meningitis. The reason as to why the baby has to be admitted is because we have to perform several tests to rule out any chances of infections or diseases that she might have." He starts.

"What about the vomiting?" I cut him.

"Yes, the vomiting. It may have been caused by the fever but we need to ascertain the cause."

"So what next?"

"The tests to be done." He answers. "Do you have insurance?"

"Yes we do." Fred says.

"Okay, we will also need your information in order to continue with the process. The nurse at the reception will guide you through it."

"Can we see her?"

"Unfortunately at the moment you cannot." he says. "We can arrange that in a few hours."

Fred glances at his phone. It is 5.17am. 

"Okay, we will wait." Fred says.