Method To My Madness
JAKE
THERE WAS A VERY GOOD chance that if I saw another piece of satin, silk, or lace, and I don’t mean of the sexy underwear type kind, I was going to implode.
Who the hell knew everything had a sample? Napkins, tablecloths, place settings, even silverware for Christ sake.
After a solid week of looking at wedding this and wedding that, I was pretty much over it.
It was tedious.
It was tiresome.
And yet, it was also exhilarating.
Yes, exhilarating.
Not the selection process—that I never wanted to do again. But Juliette. She had a fire about her when she worked that was an incredible turn on. She was focused, competent, and at times even commanding.
I scooped up a handful of nuts and watched Juliette lose one last time at Gin Rummy against Mimi.
She’d stayed here every night over the past week, and while I was at work she ate with Mimi, and they spent time talking about God knew what.
She was . . . fucking amazing.
Not just the sexy, doe-eyed, full of life, golden-skinned, shiny blond hair, soft, full-lipped kind of amazing. That was killer enough. But you had to add in the heat and light she just seemed to emanate. And when you did, she was impossible not to fall for.
Not that I had.
I popped another handful of nuts in my mouth and took a sip from my beer.
Jules, as I had taken to call her at times, had taken to Mimi, and even though tonight was my only night off this week, she had insisted we spend it with Mimi. I wasn’t going to argue. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with my grandmother, and Jules. I enjoyed seeing them both smile and laugh.
“Rummy,” Mimi said, her voice was hoarse, and her coloring seemed paler. It was nearly nine, and she should have been in bed, but she insisted she wasn’t ready.
I got to my feet and strode by the two of them sitting at the card table. All the dogs were lounging in their places, and of course, Daisy was on Mimi’s lap.
When I squeezed Jules’s shoulder, she looked up. Her eyes were bright with happiness and contentment. “I’m going to grab another beer. Do you want anything?”
She shook her head no. “I’m good, thank you.”
“Mimi?”
She also shook her head.
“A guy is willing to wait on you and neither of you want anything, go figure.” I grinned at the two of them.
As I walked out of the room, I heard Mimi whisper, “You’re doing a good job, sweetheart.”
I had a feeling she wasn’t talking about the wedding planning or the card game, but rather me, and I rolled my eyes. Who the hell knew what she had said to Jules, but I was surely going to find out as soon as I returned.
In the kitchen, I grabbed another bottle from the refrigerator and was just sinking a lime into when I heard Jules scream. “Jake! Come here, hurry.”
Alarmed, I rushed back into the parlor.
Jules was beside Mimi holding her hand with Daisy on the floor beside her. Mimi had slouched down in her chair. She’d gone even paler and her eyes were squinted like she was in pain.
“Mimi?” I kept my voice even. “Are you okay?”
She looked up at me and gave me a smile I failed to believe. “I think I’m tired. That’s all. I should probably go to bed.”
I nodded and called for Matthew to assist me. He was upstairs getting her medications ready, and I could hear him already descending the staircase.
Mimi’s head dropped again.
I lifted her chin. This time she was unresponsive and I calmly started checking her over. Her face was clammy, and her forehead was damp with sweat. Her pulse elevated.
“Let’s get her to the couch,” I directed Matthew.
He grabbed the blanket that was draped over her lap and headed that way. She looked so frail. Having lost even more weight, I lifted her easily and carried her to the plush cushions. Mr. Darcy came trotting over and put his head down with a whimper.
Jules gave him a pet. “It’s okay, big boy. She’s going to be fine.”
When I put a hand to Mimi’s chest, it was dry and hot. “Mimi, talk to me.”
Nothing.
I searched as best I could for signs of irritation. Distress. I bent to run my hands up and down her legs, straightening them.
“What was her last red blood cell count?” I looked up and fear tried to steal my voice. I forced it aside.
“I don’t have the exact number, but it hadn’t changed significantly from the previous one.”
“Increase or decrease?”
“It increased,” he said.
Fuck!
“Mimi. Look at me.”
Her head was drooping, and her eyelids started to flutter. When her whole body started to tremble, I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.
“Please state the nature of your emergency.”
“This is Dr. Kissinger,” I said. “I need an ambulance sent to 321 West Paces Ferry Rd, stat.”
Terror was trying to crash over me. I was trained for situations like this. I dealt with them every day, and yet I had to stop and center myself, but then Mimi started gasping, and I went on autopilot.
“Grab her oxygen tank,” I told Matthew.
He took off and ran up the stairs.
“What’s wrong with her?” Jules asked, her voice scared and small.
“Hypoxia.”
“Stay with me, Mimi,” I murmured over and over while I worked on giving her rescue breathes until I could administer the oxygen.
Matthew came running into the room. He set the green tank down and together we tore open the sterile packages of tubing.
Her lips had already turned blue. Slowly, I cranked the dial on the tank and brought the mask to her face. “Give me your stethoscope and hold this,” I told Matthew.
He took hold of the mask, and I put the rubber tips in my ears to listen to her heart rate. As soon as I did, panic gnawed at me.
Just then Mimi opened her eyes and smiled at me. “I love you, Jake,” she said softly.
“I love you, too. And you’re going to be fine,” I assured her.
The 911 operator had said she’d have someone here right away
Right away couldn’t come soon enough.