Done Adulting Vol. 1 Ch. 72 (Patreon)

Jamie woke up shivering and wet and hot all at the same time with his head pounding and his stomach lurching.

“Mom!” He tried to shout. He needed to get out of his crib before he … “MOM!” Jamie fought his way to his knees and gagged, gagged again, and let nature take its course. It wasn’t one of those times you feel better right afterward. “MANDA!” He started to cry, something he never did when he was sick back home, but now he had someone to take care of him and had no qualms about letting himself feel miserable.

The light on the ceiling fan killed the nightlight. “O, baby. There, there,” Rebecca said as she came in and lifted Jamie out of his mess, getting plenty of it on herself. O, yeah, Becky remembered, this part of motherhood still exists. She put her hand to his forehead and found him much warmer than five hours ago. “Shhh,” she cooed, rubbing his back.

“Mom?”

“O, good. Manda, I’m going to run him a bath. Can you take care of this?” Jamie wasn’t done and did it again. “Ugh. And come for this shirt in a few minutes.”

“Is he …”

“He’s just a sick little,” Becky assured her. “Everything will be okay.” She kept rubbing Jamie’s back and took him into the bathroom. She set him on the edge of the tub and started to run the water. “Where does it hurt, baby.”

“Everywhere.” And he wasn’t exaggerating. He felt like he had the flu and the stomach flu at the same time.

Rebecca stood Jamie in the bathtub, keeping a hand on his shoulder to steady him in case he started to fall. She stripped his diaper off and turned the tap to lukewarm.

With one hand, she filled a cup from the sink and lifted it to Jamie’s lips, telling him to spit into the tub.

“We’ll get you all cleaned up in no time,” she promised. He sat and managed to keep himself upright while she took the shower wand down and tested the temperature. When he was clean by appearance she turned the wand off to let the faucet run and stopped the drain, letting only a few inches of water collect. She soaped him well, and scrubbed him gently before draining the tub again, rinsing him with the wand, and then filled the tub about to his hips with cool water.

“You’re a very brave boy,” she whispered to him. He seemed steady, and she left him sitting for a moment to got a washcloth from the vanity drawer, dipping it under the tap and laying it across his neck.

Amanda came in. “I scrubbed his mattress down too. Thank goodness for PUL mattress covers. How’s he feeling?”

Becky didn’t want to say like shit in front of Jamie. “Just yucky is all,” she said instead. “Do you mind taking over while I take a shower?”

Amanda sat on the stool next to the tub and wet the washcloth with cool water every few minutes. She sighed in concern. He looked dusky and listless.

“Okay, let’s dry you off,” she said, pulling the plug and standing Jamie up. He wobbled on his feet, and Amanda sat him back down.

“Manda?”

“I know, baby boy. It’s alright.” Amanda took a towel down and wrapped it around him, lifting him out of the tub and onto her shoulder. She carried him into the nursery and got him into a fresh diaper, leaving him otherwise naked and sitting in the rocking chair, very gently rocking and patting his back and humming their mom’s lullaby in his ear.

Becky came back, freshly clean, with a pillow, two blankets, and a large bowl. She leaned over from behind the chair and kissed Amanda on the top of her head.

“Go on back to bed, Manda. We’ll go to the doctor first thing,” she told her daughter.

Becky laid out her makeshift bed on the floor, and Amanda laid Jamie down on top of it. Rebecca put the bowl next to Jamie and laid down beside him.

“Just dim the lights partway, Amanda. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight, Mom. Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, hun.” Amanda went back to her bed, leaving her mom propped on one elbow running her fingers down Jamie’s back. “See you in a few hours.”