“She needs you, too.” And I need you. Michelle’s heart went out to him. She wanted to hold him and comfort him, tell him that everything would work out just fine. That he’d be able to put all this behind him soon.
But the last time she’d tried, they’d ended up locked in a passionate kiss. The last thing she wanted was to seem as desperate as Dr. Ashley. All she could do was pray for his safety. He had to be safe for Precious, and for her.
***
“Michelle! Michelle!”
The screams jarred Michelle from the depths of a deep, pain-free sleep. Immediately realizing that they were coming from Precious’ bedroom, she bolted out of bed and ran next door. She rushed over to the sixty-gallon tank where Precious was standing with tears streaming down her face. Michelle dropped on her knees beside her. “Precious, what’s wrong?”
“Charlie’s choking on a rock.”
Michelle’s eyes followed her finger to the far side of the tank where the goldfish was struggling with a green rock fastened between its gills. Michelle had no idea what to do. Goldfish weren’t her specialty. A bruised knee she could patch, a runny nose she could wipe. What do you do with a goldfish with a rock stuck in its throat?
“Do something, Michelle!” Precious was in hysterics.
“Precious, I don't know what to do.” She felt sorry for the fish and anguish over the fear in Precious’ eyes. The child loved her fish just as if they were her siblings.
“He’s going to die...” Precious collapsed on the floor and broke into a storm of heart-rending sobs.
Michelle looked at the fish that was staring back through the glass with bulging eyes, as if begging her to save him. “Oh, Charlie,” she groaned, pushing to her feet. She pulled the cover from the tank and stuck her hand in the cool water. She tried to grab the fish, having no idea what she would do if she caught it. But he kept avoiding her and whirled around the tank.
“Hurry, Michelle!” Precious was on her feet again.
“I’m trying.” Michelle remembered hearing that fish could die from too much stress. She could see it happening. It wasn’t just Charlie she had to worry about, either. Sippy had also started to swim about in an agitated state.
She pulled her hand out of the water to give them time to calm down. Charlie swam behind an artificial plant. Sippy took refuge in a log.
“Why aren’t you helping?” Precious dropped to the floor again.
Michelle noticed the fishnet on the stand next to the tank. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She grabbed the net and plunged it into the water, this time hoping to capture the fish in the net and somehow squeeze the rock from its grasp. “Come on, little fellow.”
Charlie swam up to the top and in his haste to avoid being caught in the net, catapulted through the water and bumped his head on the side of the tank. The rock dislodged from his gills and floated to the bottom of the tank. A frightened Charlie swam into the giant log alongside Sippy.
Michelle exhaled a sigh of relief. “He’s fine, Precious. Come see.” She picked the whimpering child up from the floor and held her so she could look into the aquarium.
Precious smiled when she saw both fish were okay. “He almost died.”
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“But he didn’t. He’s okay. Maybe now they’ll stop munching on the stupid rocks.”
“Daddy says they suck on the rock to get algae because it’s nutritious for them.”
Michelle couldn’t voice her thoughts about folks always trying to grab things they thought were good for them and choking in the process, but still grabbing anyway. Precious wouldn’t understand. She set her down and added some stress-guard to the water.
Precious began calling at them, hoping to entice them from their hiding place. Michelle added a few flakes of food hoping to help lure them out. The fish stayed where they were.
“They’re probably tired,” she said, replacing the cover on the aquarium. “They’ll be back to their old selves tomorrow.” She went into the bathroom and closed the door.
When she came out, Precious was still at the tank. Michelle would have liked to give her all the time she wanted, but her cramps were coming back. She needed to lie down.
“Precious, it’s time you get back to bed.”
“I have to use the bathroom. That’s why I woke up, and that’s when I saw Charlie was choking.”
“Okay. Hurry up.”
Michelle slumped down on the window seat and rubbed her hand across her belly, willing the pills she’d just taken to work their wonderful magic. She looked up as Precious emerged from the bathroom, closed the door, and rushed back to the aquarium to check on her fish. Michelle struggled to her feet. “Bed, Precious.”