Loose Ends

Chapter 50

Amy was awakened by the sound of moans and sniffles. She opened her eyes and saw John squirming next to her. She glanced over her shoulder at her alarm clock and saw that it was 3am. She turned on her bedside lamp and John squinted his eyes and tried to bury his head against Amy's side. She felt his forehead and sighed with relief when she felt that it was damp, indicating his fever had finally broken. She also noticed the smell of John's dirty diaper and got up to change him. When she removed it she noticed that John had a slight touch of the runs so he was probably moaning from the bowel discomfort. Once his dirty diaper was deposited in the diaper genie and John was wearing a fresh one, Amy carried him downstairs to fill his sippie cup with Pedialyte. Hearing movement, Moose woke up and came into the kitchen from the laundry room to find the source of the noise; he wagged his tail happily when he spotted Amy. She ignored him and headed to the fridge to retrieve John's juice. She pursed her lips with frustration as she just managed to fill his cup with the rest of the liquid in the bottle. She screwed on the cap and tossed the empty bottle in the recycling bin before handing John his cup.

"Guess we're making a quick juice run," she told him as she carried him upstairs to put on his shoes and a jacket. She sat John on the bed and he drank his juice while Amy quickly and quietly slipped on a hoodie and pulled a pair of sweatpants on over her pajama shorts. She picked up John and then her purse and headed back downstairs. She unlocked the door to leave the house and then relocked it behind her, Moose quietly watching the whole time. It was times like this that Amy was grateful for her driver's license, a vehicle and her job. She buckled John into his car seat and then got into the driver's side and drove to Walmart, also glad at this moment that it was open twenty-four hours. She parked close to the entrance and then got John out, letting him hang on to his sippie cup. She made her way to the childcare products aisle and quickly picked up two jugs of Pedialyte and then headed to the self-checkout area to pay for her purchases. Whoever invented debit cards is my hero right now she thought to herself as she swiped her debit card and then retrieved her receipt and her purchase. As Amy buckled John back into his car seat she noticed that he was starting to nod off again. She took his sippie cup so he wouldn't drop it and then got in and drove her little man back home. They were greeted at the door by Moose and Amy smiled to let him know she was happy to see him too. She locked the door behind her and then set her bag on the counter. She carried John upstairs to her room and laid him down on her bed. She took the baby monitor with her as she went back downstairs to put one jug of juice in the fridge to chill and the other in the pantry. Amy yawned and scratched Moose's ear as she grabbed her purse and headed upstairs. She took out her phone and set her alarm for 5:30. She shut her bedroom door behind her and then placed her phone on her nightstand before climbing back into bed. She pulled the covers over her and John and drifted back to sleep.

At 5:30am Amy's cellphone alarm went off. She grabbed for her phone blindly and quickly silenced it. She had to think for a minute about why her phone was going off before her alarm clock and then she remembered. She speed dialed the number of the daycare center.

"Thank you for calling Little Cherubs Daycare center, this is Diane speaking."

"Hi, Diane. It's Amy."

"Hi, Amy," Diane said cheerfully, even though it was only 5:30 in the morning. "How's John doing?"

"Well his fever broke but he's not quite back to his old self yet so I'm keeping him home today."

"Aww. I hope the little guy gets better soon."

"Thanks, Diane. But that also means I won't be in to work today."

"Of course. I'll let the ladies know."

"Thanks, Diane. Bye."

"Bye." Amy ended the call and the scent of a dirty diaper assaulted her nose. Amy looked over at her sleeping son and smiled to herself. Good thing I became an expert at changing a sleeping baby's diaper she mused as she pulled back the covers and got up to retrieve a fresh diaper and wipes from the stash she kept in her room. She got John cleaned and changed without waking him up and then tucked them back in for another hour.