Glimpses

Chapter 64

March 15th, 2022

"Em? Are you dressed yet?" Rory called out, from the doorway of the living room, having left Em to get ready on a Tuesday morning in her bedroom.

Generally the girl was pretty good at brushing her own teeth and picking out her own clothes, usually just requiring minor adjustments to make sure she was dressed according to the weather. When it came to her colors not matching - Rory didn't really bother, she wanted Em to be happy, and this was certainly an aspect in which she saw no need in limiting her. Plus, she got some pretty cute pictures from those times that she'd been especially brave in her choices.

"Breakfast is ready!" she added, not hearing back from Em.

Logan was just pouring both of them a cup of coffee in the kitchen, shrugging slightly as Rory glanced a look towards him, as she was wondering why she wasn't responding.

"I better go check," Rory shrugged, hoping desperately that this wasn't another one of those times where Em had decided to wash her dolls in the sink so the bathroom was full of foam or gotten carried away with toothpaste.

It was funny with 4-year-olds - being 4 was a big step up from 3, behaving almost like adults compared to the latter, but every once in a while one was reminded by the fact that she really wasn't that yet, almost taking Rory by surprise.

Rory made her way upstairs, bracing herself from anything from Em having not gotten up at all when she'd woken her ten-fifteen minutes ago to an overflowing sink. In the old place this would've been so much more difficult to happen since the place was so much smaller, Em never being more than two steps from her. But so far - most of the time - Em was well trusted with behaving well and doing what was expected from her.

"Em?" Rory asked as she peeked through her daughter's bedroom door and saw the girl still in bed. Not asleep but not eager to get up either.

"I don't feel well, mommy," came a weak voice.

"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Rory inquired worriedly, sensing Em's forehead with her palm at the same time to check whether she had a fever. She didn't feel hot, warm - maybe.

"My head hurts, and my tummy," Em replied, snuggling into her pillow more.

"Maybe your stomach is just hungry?" Rory suggested, optimistically, hoping it really was just that. The girl hadn't exactly eaten much last night at dinner, but that may have been because the food had been a little unfamiliar to her, Logan having made Tom Yam Goong.

The girl did look a little pale, and definitely less energetic than she was on most mornings.

"Alright, but can you at least try to brush your teeth and maybe we can see if you feel like eating anything. I have the thermometer downstairs," she instructed, hoping that once she got some food into her she'd feel up to going to school. Rory had a big test today, which all of her seniors were supposed to take. She was in charge and she really didn't want to call in sick.

Em nodded, unenthusiastically, but climbed out from under her blanket.

"She's feeling a little under the weather," Rory commented to Logan as she finally was allowed to take a sip of her by-now luke-warm coffee, after having assisted Em in at least getting her teeth brushed and get changed into something other than her pajamas, and walked her downstairs..

"Anything serious, you think?" Logan asked with some concern. He hadn't really seen Em sick much, recalling just a few brief occasions from fall, but then he hadn't been living with them yet. So he hadn't really seen it up close.

"I don't know, she doesn't seem to have a high fever, but she's saying her head hurts and her stomach," Rory explained and already began to text the usual babysitter. She hadn't caught Em outright lying to her about being ill before, hence she didn't really consider it an option, giving her the benefit of a doubt, but there had been a few times where her aches had just come and gone too, Rory putting these things down to growing pains in most cases or muscle ache when Em had been especially active. But her stomach and head were certainly a different story.