Looking Over Your Shoulder

CHAPTER 3

  JUNEAU HURRIED DOWN THE school sidewalk and got into the little red car. Theo eyed her sideways, smiling.

  “What?” Juneau questioned, wondering what that look was all about.

  “Nothing. You’re so pretty. I guess sometimes I can’t believe what a lucky guy I was to get my hands on you,” he said.

  “You charmer,” Juneau laughed, and she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

  Theo smiled. He shifted into drive and pulled out.

  “So where do you want to go?” he questioned. "To the mall?”

  “I can’t really eat at the mall,” Juneau said slowly.

  “Why not?”

  “So many people eating, touching things, and those fast food people, they’re not careful of cross-contamination. You can’t be sure that anything is safe.”

  Theo considered this.

  “Bottled juice or soft drinks,” he suggested.

  “Yeah, but that won’t be enough. I need a meal, not just a drink.”

  He nodded slowly, still thinking.

  “Those frozen yogurts or soft serve ice cream. No one touches those; they come straight out of the machine into the bowl.”

  “Uh-huh,” Juneau agreed doubtfully.

  “Umm…” Theo tried to come up with something else. “What else in the food court is sealed? I can’t think of anything else.”

  “No,” Juneau agreed. "Maybe in the superstore. Something in a box or a can.”

  “Crackers and spam?” Theo suggested. "Sardines?”

  Juneau laughed.

  “Do you know what my dad would think of me eating like that?” she said. “Soft drink, ice cream, crackers, and spam? He would go nuts!”

  “Well, you wanna do it?” Theo questioned mischievously.

  “I never get to eat at the food court. Seriously. Never. It’s too dangerous.”

  He raised his eyebrows and looked at her, waiting. Juneau giggled.

  “Are we seriously going to do this?” she questioned. “We’re seriously going to go to the mall and eat crap, instead of going to a restaurant and getting something good?”

  “If you want to,” Theo said.

  “Okay,” Juneau said finally, shrugging widely and shaking her head. “Off to the mall for an adventure, then.”

  Everything went smoothly. They decided to be backwards and start with dessert, the ice cream, and then proceed to the crackers and spam, which was a rather messy bohemian affair, but Juneau giggled all the way through it. She washed down some more crackers and spam with Diet Coke.

  “This was fun,” she said, as they sat on a bench outside. "I never get to eat like this.”

  Theo smiled and leaned in toward her and kissed her on the forehead. Juneau pulled him down to eye level and kissed him again. Snuggling up close, they shared a long, passionate kiss, and Juneau pulled back slightly, her lips tingling and head spinning.

  “Wow,” she said breathlessly. “Whoa.”

  Theo kissed her eyes and moved down toward her lips again. Juneau held him back, swaying slightly.

  “Juneau? Are you okay?” Theo said with concern, studying her.

  “No… no, I’ve got…” she shook her head in confusion. “Peanuts? There wasn’t peanuts in anything,” she picked up the cracker box and turned it over, looking for the ingredients list, but couldn’t focus in on it.

  “Peanuts?” Theo repeated. "No. I checked the ingredients. They were safe. Are you… you’re not having another reaction?”

  Juneau nodded. Her lips were number. Her head was racing. She was dizzy and confused. She opened her purse.

  “Here, let me,” Theo offered. He took out an autoinjector, pulled off the cap, and stabbed it into the side of her thigh. “There, okay? Is that better?”

  “911,” Juneau said thickly.

  “I’m calling now. It will be okay. Just like before. It will all be fine.”

  Tears started in Juneau’s eyes.

  “I was careful,” she protested in frustration.

  “I know you were. It’s not your fault. Something must have been contaminated at the factory. We were so careful.” He held her as he called 911, kissing her forehead again and rubbing her back soothingly. He quickly explained the situation to the dispatcher. “They’ll be here in just a couple of minutes,” he promised Juneau. “They’re close by.”

  Juneau nodded. The ambulance was not long in arriving, and the paramedics quickly took in her swollen lips, tongue, and eyelids.

  “You took your autoinjector already?” one questioned briskly.

  Juneau and Theo nodded.

  “She thinks it’s peanuts,” he explained. "But there isn’t peanuts in anything that we ate.”

  The paramedic looked at the food wrappers and shook his head.

  “We might not be able to trace the source. But let’s get her to the hospital where she’ll be safe,” he said.

  Theo nodded, and followed the ambulance to the hospital.

  Abe got to the hospital before Ursula this time. He greeted Theo coolly, and gave Juneau a minuscule hug.

  “How are you doing, sweetheart?” he questioned.

  “I’m okay,” Juneau said.

  He examined her. Juneau's lips were still obviously swollen, her eyes nearly swollen shut. She didn’t have any hives this time, except for a small rashy area on her forehead. Abe rubbed it with his thumb, frowning.

  “That’s weird,” he pointed out. "A localized rash on your forehead? That doesn’t make any sense. What did you get on your forehead?”

  Juneau shook her head.

  “Nothing. That’s just the only place it came out.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. Did it show up at the same time as your reaction? You didn’t already have it this morning or something?”

  Theo shook his head in concert with Juneau.

  “I would have noticed it if she’d had it when I picked her up,” he contributed. "She looked perfect. There was no rash anywhere on her face.”

  Abe frowned, smoothing Juneau’s hair back from her forehead, trying to make sense of it.

  “You don’t know what you got it in?” he questioned. "You know better than to eat at the mall. You’ve been told a hundred times.”

  Theo jumped in and explained their approach, how they had only eaten things that no one could have touched. Things that were still sealed.

  “What if someone touched the pop bottle or the spoon?” Abe challenged. "With a smear of peanut butter on their thumb. Then you put that on your lips…”

  “We used alcohol wipes,” Theo protested, “to wipe off anything that touched her mouth.”

  “It was really gross, too,” Juneau agreed. "The first bite of everything tasted like rubbing alcohol.”

  Abe rolled his eyes, shaking his head at their craziness.

  “You’re right,” he said. "It sounds like you took precautions. But something must have been contaminated anyway. Or you’re allergic to something new.”

  He rubbed the rash on her forehead again, as if it might reveal something to him.

  “Something must have touched you here,” he persisted. Something… or someone.”

  His eyes riveted on Theo. Theo shifted nervously.

  “You think she’s allergic to me?” he demanded.

  “To you, or something on you,” Abe said slowly. “Did you kiss her here?” he indicated the spot on her forehead.

  Theo shrugged uncomfortably.

  “Yeah, I guess I might have,” he admitted.

  Juneau nodded.

  “He kissed me on the forehead. And lips. And eyes!”

  Abe nodded.

  “What did you eat,” he demanded, "or put on your lips?”

  “Like chapstick? No, I didn’t put anything on my lips. And I ate exactly the same as Juneau did.”

  Juneau shook her head at him, looking at him through the crack between her swollen lids.

  “No,” she disagreed. "You put nuts on your ice cream.”

  “What?” Abe dem
anded, his loud voice echoing through the hospital room and silencing the buzz of conversations between other patients and their families, doctors, and nurses in all of the rooms and halls nearby. “You ate nuts and then you kissed her?”

  “I… I never thought that… It didn’t occur to me that she could react to something that I had eaten,” Theo protested. "I thought she could only react to what she ate!”

  “How smart do you have to be to figure out that if you put nuts in your mouth, and then your mouth on her, that she's going to have a reaction?” Abe demanded furiously.

  Juneau put up her hands and tried to calm Abe down, to make him be quiet.

  “Daddy! Shhhh, you’re making a scene.”

  “He poisons my little girl, and I’m supposed to stay calm about it? What a stupid, idiotic thing to do! Why don’t you use your brain for something other than to separate your ears?”

  “I didn’t think about it either,” Juneau said, tears leaking from her swollen lids. “I’m sorry Daddy. I never even thought about it. I thought it was safe as long as he ate them and didn’t get them near me. And he didn’t get it on his hands, because he used a spoon,” she said lamely. “I never thought about… his lips…”

  Abe shook his head angrily.

  “This is the second time he’s poisoned you. I think it’s time that this relationship came to an end.”

  “No,” Juneau protested. "No, he’s tried to take care of me, Daddy. It was just an accident. Both times it was just a stupid accident. He didn’t try to hurt me.”

  “Ignorance and stupidity can kill just as easily as intention. Don’t you know how many kids die from accidental cross contamination all the time? Juneau can’t eat away from home. She can only eat what we prepare. That way we know that she’ll be safe. You can’t take her out to eat. Not anywhere. Especially not at a food fair. And you can’t eat anything that she’s allergic to. Ever.”

  “She’s never had a reaction at home?” Theo questioned belligerently.

  “Before we knew what her allergies were. Or factory cross contamination. I certainly never ate nuts and then kissed her!” Abe said hotly.

  “You can’t protect her for her whole life. Pretty soon, she’s going to move out, and you’re not going to be there to protect her and to watch every bite that goes into her mouth.”

  “Well, hopefully by that time, you’ll be history, and she’ll have figured out how to take care of herself,” Abe shot back. “Because you can’t protect her like I can.”

  “Daddy,” Juneau protested, "Daddy, please. Settle down. It was just an accident. I should have thought of it. I should have stopped him. It was my fault, not Theo’s. You can’t expect him never to eat anything that I’m allergic to.”

  “Why not? If he thinks he loves you, why wouldn’t he do that for you?”

  Juneau opened her mouth, looking for a retort. A security guard moved into the room, moving as silently and smoothly as if he was on hidden wheels.

  “Is everything okay here?” he questioned in a very calm, soothing voice.

  “Everything is fine,” Abe snapped. “Why don’t you get this young punk out of here so I can talk to my daughter alone.”

  No one moved. Theo and Juneau looked at each other, Juneau’s eyes glistening in the crack between the swollen lids.

  “Daddy,” Juneau protested finally, but couldn’t think of what to say.

  “I’ll head out,” Theo said slowly, “just to keep the peace. I’ll see you later June. When he’s had a chance to cool his jets.”

  Juneau nodded awkwardly. The security guard stood close by to make sure that Abe didn’t throw a punch at Theo before he left. After he was gone, Juneau moved her head slightly to focus her small range of vision on her father.

  “That was rude, Daddy,” Juneau said reproachfully. “I really like Theo, and that was inexcusable.”

  Abe looked at the security guard in consternation, not sure how to respond. The guard shrugged uncomfortably.

  “Everything is okay in here, then?” he questioned.

  “Everything is fine,” Abe said dully.

  “Keep it down,” the security guard advised, and retreated as smoothly has he had appeared.

  Juneau closed her eyes the rest of the way, resting.

  “You may as well go home,” she said. "I’m not going to talk to you when you’re in this mood.”

  Abe stood there, glowering. Juneau didn’t open her eyes again. She didn’t say another word.

  “Juney,” he protested.

  Juneau didn’t respond.

  Abe watched Meggie from the kitchen window as she walked up the sidewalk to the house. Her sweet little strawberry blond ringlets bounced with each step. He went to the front door and opened it as she mounted the steps.

  “Daddy!” she greeted enthusiastically, throwing herself at him for a hug. Abe picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “How’s my Meggie?” he questioned heartily.

  “Today at school we got to do science,” she chattered cheerfully. "We got to mix colors. Guess what colors you mix to get purple?”

  “Hmm… would it be…” he paused theatrically, “blue and red?”

  “Yes!” Meggie agreed. "Did you guess?”

  “No, I went to grade one once too. A looooong time ago.”

  She poked him gently on the nose.

  “You’re so silly, Daddy.”

  “I am, am I? Huh. Are you ready for a snack?”

  “Yes!” Meggie crowed. "I’m starving!”

  “Good. What do you do first?”

  “Wash hands!”

  “Right. Go to the sink,” he encouraged, setting her back on the floor. “And show me how you wash your hands.”

  Meggie ran to the bathroom at the back door by the kitchen, and stopped to set the timer to two minutes. Abe supervised closely as she lathered up, attentively washing each part of her hands as she sang a cheerful little scrubbing song.

  “Use the brush,” Abe reminded her. "Get under your nails.”

  “’Cause germs can grow under your nails,” Meggie sing-songed.

  “Yes. Or you might have gotten something under them that Juneau is allergic too. Juneau’s had too many accidents lately. We have to be extremely careful.”

  Meggie nodded, splashing happily, but still meeting Abe’s standards for scrubbing up.

  “And wash your face,” he reminded.

  “Wash my face!” Meggie exclaimed dramatically, clapping her hands to her cheeks. "I don’t have any germs on my face!”

  “What if someone coughed or sneezed near you?” Abe suggested.

  “Eww, gross! Not on my face!” Meggie squealed. She resumed splashing and scrubbed it.

  “Or kissed you. How many boys kissed you today?” he teased.

  Meggie considered.

  “Just one,” she said lightly.

  “Just one?” Abe repeated. "Who kissed you today?”

  Meggie looked up at him, her pink, damp face full of mischief. Her eyes sparkled.

  “Just… you!” she announced.

  “Oh, just me. Whew! I don’t want you getting any boyfriends until you’re grown up, Megsie.”

  “Like Juneau?” Meggie suggested.

  “No, not until you’re way older than Juneau. She’s practically a baby still.”

  “A baby?” Meggie repeated, giggling at the thought. "Juneau’s grown up!”

  “Well… to you she might seem grown up to you… but she’s not quite there yet. You’re not going to have any boyfriends until you’re… fifty, right?”

  “Fifty? I’m going to have a boyfriend when I am twelve,” Meggie decided.

  “Twelve? Twelve isn’t nearly old enough to have a boyfriend. It's your job to take care of me until I die. After that, you can have a boyfriend. How about that?”

  “Well, you’re really old, Daddy,” she said earnestly. "You might die before I’m twelve.”

  “I would never do that,” Abe promised, as Meggie dried her hands
on the towel. "I’m going to be around for a long time.”

  “Then I’m going to date before you die,” Meggie said with a cheery shrug of her hands.

  “Hmmph.”

  Abe deposited Meggie on one of the stools, and got out an apple that he cut for her and a spoonful of sunflower butter. Meggie dipped a slice of apple in the sunflower butter.

  “Mmm, peanut butter,” she purred.

  “No,” Abe said sternly. "You know you can’t have peanut butter in this house. You can’t have peanut butter and be around Juneau. Do you know how she had her last allergic reaction? When she had to stay at the hospital for two days?”

  Meggie shook her head.

  “Peanut butter?” she ventured.

  “Theo put peanuts on his ice cream sundae,” Meggie nodded seriously. “And then he kissed Juneau.”

  “Kissed her!” Meggie exclaimed. “And he had peanuts on his lips?”

  Abe nodded.

  “He had peanuts on his mouth from eating them, and then he kissed Juneau and got it on her mouth.”

  "Eww!" Meggie shook her head in mock despair, her curls bouncing around her face.

  “Yes it is. You wouldn’t want to go to hospital like Juneau does, would you?”

  Meggie shook her head, the curls bouncing wildly around her head.

  “And I want to be able to kiss boys and not get sick,” she announced.

  Abe guffawed.

  “Oh you do, do you, little miss? My, but you are growing up waaaay too fast! You’re still supposed to think that boys are gross.”

  She considered, tilting her head as she ate another apple slice.

  “Some of them are,” she agreed. "But I like Bobby Richards.”

  “And who is Bobby Richards? I’d better meet this boy before you get too serious.”

  “A boy in my class,” Meggie answered. She spun her stool around and stopped for another apple slice. “He eats peanut butter sandwiches.” After considering this for a moment, she spun again. “Juneau goes to hospital,” she said. "And Crispy goes to hospital. And sometimes you go to hospital,” she ended the statement on an upward note, as if it was a question.

  “Yes,” Abe agreed reluctantly, "Crispy and Dad go to the hospital sometimes too.”

  “But I don’t. And Mommy doesn’t. That’s good.”

  “Yes. That’s good. It’s actually not a whole lot of fun.”

  “The beds are fun,” Meggie pointed out. "You can make the pillow and the feet go up and down. And they have TV’s.”

  “Yes. But you would be sick and sad and lonely. You wouldn’t even want to watch TV, you would be so sad.”

  “Don’t want to watch TV?” Meggie said melodramatically, throwing back her head and shaking it. “That’s crazy talk.”

  She put her arms out to him.

  “All done,” she said.

  “You’re not going to eat the rest of your apple?”

  “No.”

  He picked her up and swung her to the floor. Meggie rubbed her hands together, and Abe grabbed a washcloth and cleaned them off. Meggie rubbed her wet hands dry on her pants, looking irritated.

  “Need cream,” she advised.

  “Is your skin dry?”

  Meggie nodded.

  “Verrry dry.”

  “Okay. Here.”

  Abe put a squirt of unscented, hypoallergenic skin lotion in his own hand, and then rubbed it on hers.

  “There. How’s that?”

  Meggie rubbed them together.

  “Too much!”

  “Rub it on your arms then, up here.”

  Abe rubbed his arms. Meggie followed his actions and rubbed the cream onto her forearms as well.

  “Too much soap dries them out,” she announced, repeating what she often heard her mother say.

  “But lotion keeps them soft,” Abe reminded her.

  “Time for my shows,” Meggie said. She ran to turn on the TV.

  “Don’t you have any homework, young lady?” Abe called after her.

  There was a distant “no”, and the TV started to blare cartoon music. Abe went to the bathroom and picked up her backpack where she had dropped it to see what she had brought home with her.

  Crispin was the next to arrive home. The door opened with a slam that made Abe wince. Crispin headed straight for the stairs, beeline for his room.

  “Halt!” Abe called.

  “Whaaaat?” Crispin demanded in annoyance.

  “First thing you do when you get in the house; wash your hands.”

  “My hands are clean. I haven’t been eating anything or touching anything.”

  “You still wash up. You don’t know if someone who had peanuts or something might have touched a doorknob, and then you touched it. You could contaminate Juneau without even knowing it.”

  “Dad, that’s not going to happen. It’s never happened before.”

  “That doesn’t mean it won’t. Juneau’s had lots of reactions lately, she might be getting more sensitive.” He paused and thought about that for a moment, and shook his head. “Last time it wasn’t even something she touched or ate. It was Theo.”

  Crispin paused on the stairs and looked down at his father.

  “What?” he questioned, then completed the thought. "What did he eat?”

  “Peanuts.”

  “Well that was stupid,” Crispin observed. “I’d never eat peanuts.”

  Abe chuckled.

  “I agree,” he said. “But you don’t know what you might have touched throughout the day. So please wash up.”

  “Fine,” Crispin said shortly, and stomped the rest of the way up the stairs. Abe heard him turn on the water, and went back to the kitchen to work on supper.