No One's A Fool (Revised & Complete)

Chapter 11

Wrenna practically ran back up to the hotel room after finishing her class. She tried to hide her anxiety as she greeted her mother and two aunts, kissing and hugging them all, doing the obligatory chit chat. Eventually, she'd need to talk to her mother alone, but for now, she'd have to make nice and visit with them, even though it was killing her to put it off. But when her mother sighed, Wrenna looked over at her, surprised.

"Well, I guess we should get on with it." Stevie announced.

"Get on with what?" Wrenna asked, the anxiety rising in her again.

"The real reason why we're here." Stevie replied. "Joe came to see me in Spokane yesterday."

"Joe...?" Then it hit her. "Joe Walsh?" Stevie nodded. "He came to the west coast, yesterday?!" Another nod. "Oh my God." Wrenna breathed. She stood up, suddenly needing to move her body. "So it's really him, isn't it?"

"Yes Wrenna, it is." And just like that, after twenty-five years of ignorance, Wrenna had the truth. She had wondered how she would deal with it, and now she had her answer: she wanted to run. But as she tried to move from where she stood, a feeling of weakness washed over her body, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Gabe caught her before her head hit the floor.

~~~~~~~~

It was instantly chaos in the room, as everyone jumped into action, trying to figure out what to do. Gabe, ever cool-headed, was the one to take charge. He asked Lori and Sharon to take Aurora out of the room, and they obliged, leaving Stevie and himself hovering over Wrenna, trying to get her to come round. When she finally did, she moaned.

"I think I'm going to throw up." She announced, and Gabe grabbed a trash can right before Wrenna began to wretch violently into it. Stevie rubbed her back until she finished, at which point she sat up, shakily.

"I think you're having a panic attack." Gabe told her.

"My heart is beating really fast." She replied. "I don't feel good."

"That's a panic attack." Gabe confirmed. "You need to lay down and breathe."

"I don't like this." She said, and he could tell she was starting to panic again. Gently, he lifted her into his arms and laid her on the bed.

"You need to lay down, relax." He told her.

"I don't like this. I don't want to feel like this anymore." She said, her breathing fast.

"Do you want to go to the ER?" Gabe asked her. But she shook her head.

"Wrenna, I can call a doctor to come here and see you." Stevie offered. "I know one in Manhattan that I've used before."

"Yes. Yes." Wrenna replied, before leaning over the trash can to vomit again. Stevie stepped away to make a phone call, and when she came back, she noticed Wrenna's body was shaking.

"Birdie, he's on his way. He's going to be here in about fifteen minutes." She told her daughter, running her hand over Wrenna's hair. "You need to try to relax, baby."

"I can't – I –" Wrenna started.

"No, you have to!" Stevie implored. Gabe went to the bathroom and came back with a wet washcloth, which he laid over Wrenna's forehead.

"She's right, Wrenna. You're going to keep making yourself sick if you don't calm down. Breathe, babe. You've got to breathe." Gabe told her. The two of them stayed near her side until the doctor arrived. He checked Wrenna, assuring her she was not having a heart attack, and offered her an injectable sedative, to which she agreed. Within minutes, she was calm and on her way to sleep.

"She'll probably sleep off and on until morning." The doctor told Stevie and Gabe. "If she wakes up panicky, she can take one of these." He handed Gabe a small pill bottle. "It's a low dosage of Ativan. It's fast-acting, and it'll get her out of it quickly. Has she had these before?"

"Yes, but not for a long time." Stevie answered.

"So it might just be a one-time thing, especially if she's been under a lot of stress this week. If it continues, I'd make a follow-up with her PCP. But otherwise, I think she'll be okay." Stevie thanked the doctor, paid him, and promptly sank into a chair near Wrenna's bed.

"This is my fault." She said.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Joe's fault, maybe. Not yours." Gabe offered.

"I should have told her years ago. Before it came to this."

"She didn't want to know. It always gave her anxiety. We talked about it before we even started dating, and she told me that." Gabe argued. "If she had wanted to know, she would have asked, and you would have told her. And to be frank, if anyone's at fault for this situation, it's me. I'm the one who figured out why Joe Walsh was acting so weird at the concert. She pretty much knew after I spelled it out to her."

"Yeah, but he was going to come tell her. I know he was." Stevie shook her head. "It's better she found out this way. I can't imagine what it would have been like if he had come busting in and told her. I just... I wish things had been different for her." Gabe came over and hugged Stevie.

"It's not your fault, Stevie. In all the years I've known Wrenna, she's never said less than high praise about you. She adores you. She knows you are the best mom ever. If Joe wanted to dip, that's on him. She has Mick – and he's a really good dad to her."

"He is pretty great." Stevie smiled.

"Speaking of which – should we call him and let him know what just happened?"

"He's on a plane, on his way here. He knows I was coming to tell her, and he wanted to come see her after. I'll wait until he's landed to tell him what actually happened."

"Okay. Well, I'm gonna go find Aurora and relieve the aunties. I probably need to go get her something to eat, too. Can you stay here with Wrenna?"

"Of course." Stevie nodded. Gabe kissed her on the head and left the room.