R. Ruggiero - Brushfire Plague

Elena’s hand was hot to the touch, but she squeezed back firmly, filling his heart with hope. “I’m here, baby, I’m here.” He pressed his other hand to her forehead. It was burning and covered in sweat. Damn it, she’s cooking inside there. He took a washcloth that had become dislodged from her forehead, soaked it in the ice water he found on the nightstand and wiped her forehead, cheeks, and chest with it. She moved restlessly and opened her eyes when he did so.

Briefly, the spark returned to her eyes and a corner of her mouth upturned in a half-smile, “Cooper. Oh, Cooper. It’s you. It’s so good to see you. I was worried you wouldn’t make it here.” A single, long, oval tear fell from her left eye and glided down her cheek.

He squeezed her hand more tightly and caressed her cheek with his other hand, “You too, honey. I was in the car before we hung up the phone. I’m here now. I’ll take care of everything. You need to rest and put everything into getting better.” He leaned his head in, pulled his mask down, and kissed her on her blazing cheek, “I love you.” She whispered back, “I love you, too.” He pulled his head back, looking into her eyes, which belied her next words, “I’ll lick this thing. Hasn’t been a bug yet that liked my Romanian-Mexican blood, has there?” Her health had always been legendary and a source of light mockery between them whenever he had been sick and she hadn’t.

“Knowing you’ll be here, to take care of Jake, will just make it that much faster.” Her false words of optimism contrasted sharply with the truth in her eyes. Cooper and Elena could never lie to one another, not even the white ones. The few times Elena had attempted innocent ones when they were first dating, her eyes had betrayed her—as they did now. Cooper had never even tried.

Cooper allowed her the charade. “Don’t you worry about a thing. I will take care of everything and I will,” he choked on the word because he knew she’d know the deeper, barely hidden, import of the word now, “I will take care of our boy.” Her eyes and a short nod revealed their understanding and she squeezed his hand firmly. “I have to rest now. I love you, remember that,” and her eyes closed slowly.

Within seconds, she had drifted back into restless slumber. He leaned over and hugged her tightly for several minutes, not wanting to leave her. He could not shake the dreadful feeling that she was slipping away from him. Vivid memories welled up. The emerald green dress she wore on their first date. The way her face glistened, drenched in sweat, the day Jake was born. Elena standing, bathed in the early morning light, looking down at him with love-soaked eyes after the first time they’d made love. The sweet taste of her lips whenever they kissed. The timbre of her laughter, which he could not resist. The furrow of brow when Jake was injured or ill that revealed the depth of a mother’s concern. When he left the room to go and talk to Lisa, he did so in a daze.

He took care to close their door quietly as he exited, vainly hoping it would help. He turned to find Lisa, Dranko, and his son clustered in the upstairs open loft area that adjoined their bedroom. Dranko took one look at Cooper’s tired eyes and hunched shoulders and quickly ushered Jake downstairs with a thinly veiled excuse of needing his help to get something for his mother. Even in his debilitated state, Cooper saw the ruse and wondered for a moment just how Dranko would distract his son. But, he knew that Dranko would figure out a way to do so; he was a resourceful man.

Lisa met him halfway across the room, he with tired, ambling steps and her with a few quick, purposeful movements. Lisa was a tall woman, so she inclined her head slightly to gaze into his eyes with a tender expression. Her left hand touched his right shoulder, gave him a comforting squeeze, and asked in a soft voice, “How are you doing?” The faintest hint of her Minnesota background made her words kinder still.

Her tender actions broke him out of his despair and he returned to his usual, calm, matter-of-fact demeanor. His back straightened, his face stiffened, and he took a deep, cleansing breath, “OK. Just tell me how it is. Dranko will tell you, I don’t like sugarcoating. I can handle it and I need to know what the score is.”

Lisa was momentarily taken aback by Cooper’s sudden transformation from the tired, dejected man that had stood in front of her just a moment ago to this firm-backed man, straight-faced, ordering her to give her report. The effect was so startling that she almost barked a “Yes, sir!”

“Well, Cooper, the truth is I don’t know too much. This illness that is breaking out all over in the last few days has far too many unknowns. If this were normal times, I would tell you to watch her, make sure she is getting plenty of fluids, give her ibuprofen for keeping the fever down, and get her to a hospital if she develops difficulty breathing.”

He clasped his hands together, “But, this isn’t normal times.”

“No, it isn’t,” she nodded gravely. “Whatever this virus is—and we do know it’s a virus of some kind—appears to have both a very high morbidity or kill rate and high contagion rate. It also moves very quickly. Patients who come down with it are either recovered in 48-72 hours or they…” she paused, her typical self-assuredness in briefing a patient’s family member shaken by the fact that it was happening with a friend and in his home.

Cooper made it easy for her, “Or they die, right?”

“Or they die.” She paused, debating her next words, “And, I’m sorry to say, most die.”

Reflexively, Cooper made a quick circle of the room, pacing quickly, and returning to the same spot. “OK. Can’t we do something? What about getting her to the hospital?”

She looked at her toes and shook her head dejectedly, “The hospitals are overrun.” She drew the courage to raise her gaze to meet his, “The first thing I did when everyone began falling ill was to call old friends and former co-workers at all the area hospitals. Cooper, every single one told the same story. One, they said don’t bring them here; nothing we are doing is making any difference. Two, every bed is full, the hallways are full, as are the tents they hastily erected in the parking lots! Three, the little we can offer is comfort and you can do more of that at their homes.”

“This can’t be happening! This is like out of some damned movie,” he exploded. He pivoted on his left foot and made a rapid circle around the room. He came to a stop back in front of her, “You’re telling me we can’t do a damned thing for her! That’s my wife in there! It’s Elena, your friend… not some faceless patient who walked off the damned street! Can’t you do something?”

Lisa was unfazed by his loud outburst; she knew it was a normal reaction. She grabbed his arms to stop their waving about and looked him straight in the eye, “Cooper, I know this is tough. But, this is real. It is happening. And while there isn’t much we can do for Elena other than keep her comfortable, your son needs you now like nothing else. He’s watched his mother fall seriously ill in the last few hours and he needs your strength right now.”

Her last sentence had a tonic effect on him and Cooper staggered a half-step backwards. His rage left him like a tire leaking air. After a few seconds he looked back at her, “OK. Got it. Thank you. Sorry for that. I know it’s not your fault. Just tell me what I can do for her.”

“Unfortunately, you already know. From this side of it, it’s just like any other flu. Keep her comfortable, make sure she gets plenty of fluids, and…”

Cooper knew the rest and had already tuned her out. He began thinking of Jake and how to help him in this terrible crisis. He also knew he had to talk to Dranko to get the full skinny on what was happening with this illness. He knew he would have the best information around.