“You and a lot of other people,” Dr. Kumar said. “But that’s going to alter with climate change. Mark my words.”
“Is EEE serious?” Brian asked hesitantly, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“Yes, it can be. Particularly when there are neurological symptoms.”
“Like my wife is experiencing.”
“Like your wife is experiencing,” Dr. Kumar agreed. “It’s why I want her in the ICU. I want her to be closely observed, particularly for more seizure activity and changes in her orientation and oxygenation level.”
“How long do you think she will be in the ICU?” Brian asked. “I think it might stress her out even more.”
“With luck, just a few days,” Dr. Kumar said. “One of the ICU hospitalists will call you in the morning and let you know how she is doing.”
“I appreciate that,” he said. “Tell me, is EEE contagious?”
“Not from person to person,” Dr. Kumar assured him.
“At least there’s that,” Brian said.
“It’s a mosquito-borne illness, which, simply enough, means it’s becoming more and more important to avoid mosquitoes. Especially during evening barbecues like you mentioned. That’s when those Asian tiger mosquitoes are out in force.”
At that moment several orderlies appeared. Without a word one went to the head of Emma’s gurney, where he disengaged the brake, while the other went to the foot and began guiding it out of the treatment room. Brian was able to follow and quickly give her arm one more squeeze before watching her disappear from the room. He couldn’t help but wonder when he would be seeing her again, especially since he assumed that ICU visitation was most likely limited these days.
“I can show you back to the waiting room,” Ms. Baxter offered.
Brian merely nodded and followed the nurse, passing out through the same door as Emma had just been pushed, but turning in the opposite direction once out in the hallway. He’d hoped to feel more encouraged after seeing Emma for himself, but he didn’t. He also didn’t respond to the nurse’s small talk, too distracted by a wave of anger directed at fate. First it had been the coronavirus that had derailed all their carefully laid plans for their new security business. And now it was this illness he’d never heard of threatening his wife. And to make matters worse, it happened while they were trying to make the best of a difficult situation by having a bit of family fun in the face of the pandemic.
Five minutes later Brian started the short walk from MMH to his home on West 217th Street. Just getting out of the hospital helped his mindset to a degree. Yet he still felt as if he’d run an emotional marathon. Transitioning from yesterday to today boggled him. He couldn’t imagine two days being so different. Yesterday he’d been capable of feeling relatively happy despite the obstacles they faced, and today he was overwhelmed with worry about Emma.
When he walked into the house, he was relieved that Juliette was already fast asleep in bed. He’d been concerned about how he would find the patience to deal with her needs. Camila said she hadn’t eaten much dinner but had been eager to go to bed after having a long bath.
“You are more than a lifesaver, you’re a godsend,” Brian told her after looking in at his peacefully sleeping daughter clutching her beloved Bunny. “You certainly have a way with her that I’m so thankful for. As hard as she was crying at the hospital, I was worried she’d be up all night.”
He closed Juliette’s door silently to avoid waking her.
“She’s a joy,” Camila said. “Emma’s seizure and then the hospital frightened her, and she just needed to get home to calm down. How is Emma?”
“I only got to see her for a few seconds,” Brian said. “She was sleeping off some medication, so I wasn’t able to speak with her.”
“I’m sure she is going to be just fine. Did they give you any idea when she might be coming home?”
“No, they didn’t. I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes and keep our fingers crossed.” He didn’t mention that Emma had had a second seizure. He wasn’t sure why, although he guessed it was because he was trying to forget it.
“How about we have some dinner?” Camila suggested. “On the way home from MMH I picked up enough take-out from Floridita for the three of us: pulled pork, black beans, and yellow rice. Juliette didn’t do it justice.”
“That was thoughtful,” Brian said. “The idea of dealing with food hadn’t even occurred to me. What did we do to deserve you?”
“I think the feeling’s pretty mutual,” she said with one of her characteristic laughs. “It’s been a real win-win situation.”
Over dinner Camila shared some good news. She said that she’d gotten a serious inquiry that afternoon about security needs for a weekend-long wedding planned for the middle of October out in Southampton. “Apparently it’s going to be a sizable affair with people flying in on their private jets from all over the country. The man’s name is Calvin Foster of Priority Capital. He made the call himself, which impressed me. He asked to speak to you directly and gave me his number. I told him that you would call him back tomorrow.”
“Wow,” Brian said. “Did he say anything at all about Covid-19 restrictions?”
“He did,” Camila said. “Everyone will be required to be tested before arrival, and he’s going to have an on-site testing setup.”
“Whoa! That is good news,” he said. “A big wedding like that will be a significant financial shot in the arm, especially if we will be tasked to take care of some of the guests as well.”
“The number to call is on your desk in the office,” she said. When Emma and Brian had started Personal Protection LLC, they’d turned the home’s formal dining room into a dedicated office with desks for all three of them.
“Did he happen to mention how he got word about us?” Brian asked. The conundrum of publicity from day one had only been made worse by the lockdown. Lately they had only been doing online advertising and not even much of that. With people staying at home, there was simply no real need for security.
“He did. He said he’d gotten the number from Deputy Chief Michael Comstock.”
“Really? Terrific! That’s encouraging,” he exclaimed. Deputy Chief Michael Comstock was the commanding officer of the Emergency Service Unit of the NYPD. Brian had served under him for the six years he’d been with the unit and Emma for four. When Brian and Emma had resigned from the NYPD, they had been mildly concerned the CO was resentful, since he skipped their departure party without any explanation. The fact that he was now recommending Personal Protection was a very good sign.
After dinner, while Brian cleaned up the kitchen, Camila went back to the office to work on their accounts receivable in hopes of scaring up some receipts. A bit later he joined her to do some research on eastern equine encephalitis. After he spent some time reading about it, he wished he hadn’t, especially given the paranoia about viruses engendered by the Covid-19 pandemic. EEE was a very alarming illness with a variety of possible consequences, and now that his beloved wife had possibly contracted it, he had a nagging fear that they would be facing a long road to recovery.
Chapter 5
August 20
It was one of the worst night’s sleep Brian could remember having. He kept waking up, tossing and turning, wondering how Emma was faring in the ICU. He hoped that the heavy medication they had given her to stop her second seizure kept her asleep, so she wouldn’t be tormented by the stressful environment. At just after four a.m. he was wandering around the house for the second time, arguing with himself about whether to call the hospital and check on Emma’s status. Ultimately, he didn’t call, not because he didn’t want to but because he doubted he’d get through, and the effort might make him feel even more frustrated and nervous than he already was.