Measles
Six year old Jed Curry lay on his side in his bed, snuggled beneath layers of quilts, his knees drawn up, his hands tucked beneath the pillow that held his feverish head. Thick blonde, bed matted curls lay flat against the sides of his flushed face. He was awake but felt too sick for anything or anyone to draw his attention.
Across the room, his five year old sister, Katie also occupied a bed, equally as ill as her older brother, and equally listless to her surroundings.
The bedroom door opened and with passive eyes, Kid watched his mother carry a bowl of water into the room and set it down on a small table near Katie's bed. She sat down gently on the mattress and dampened a cloth in the cool water. Then she gently wiped Katie's face before folding the cloth and resting it on the child's forehead.
Mrs. Curry reached for several pillows that lay at the foot of the bed and she slipped them behind her daughter's back as gently as she could.
"Come on, Katie, you've got to sit up for an hour. Doctor says it's important to keep the infection from going to you lungs, darling."
"Mama," Katie complained weakly, but did as her mother told her.
Mrs. Curry then stood and pulled the quilts up close about Katie's shoulders.
"You warm enough, Sweetheart?"
The little girl gave her mother a slight nod, then pulled her knees up and turned to her side.
"Can you eat or drink anything?" Mrs. Curry asked, but the child had already fallen back to sleep.
Mrs. Curry picked up the bowl and carried it across the room to tend to Jed.
"How about you, young man, can you eat or drink something?" she asked as she wiped his face and brow, then folded the cloth and rested it against his forehead.
"It won't stay down, Ma," Kid replied and, knowing what was coming with the pillows, pulled himself weakly up and forward so she could put the pillows behind his back.
When he laid back down against the pillows, his mother reached out and gently pushed back the damp curls that stuck to his forehead.
"I worry about you, young man. You get those lung infections so easily. Tomorrow, like it or not, you're sitting up in a chair for an hour."
"Yes, Ma'am," he replied, his little voice weak and frail.
She smiled down at him. She could see the rash beginning to spread across his cheeks, his blue eyes, always so clear and bright, were dull and listless, a reflection of the illness within.
"You close your eyes and try to get some sleep, Jed. I'll check on the two of you in an hour."
"Ma," Jed said, his heavy eyelids already closed. "Is Han alright?"
Mrs. Curry smiled. "Healthy as a jackrabbit. He had measles a couple of yeas ago. He won't be getting them now."
"Can he come and visit?"
Mrs. Curry smiled but shook her head. "Sorry, Jed. The doctor has you and Katie on a strict quarantine. No one but your Pa and me is coming in here till the two of you are well again."
Pulling herself up from the mattress, Mrs. Curry pulled the quilts tight around Jed's shoulders. "Sweet dreams," she whispered to the boy who, like his sister, was now fast asleep.
The early morning light of day hurt Jed's eyes as it streamed in through the window just to the right of Jed's bed. He bent his chin down and pulled the top quilt up over his eyes.
"Is that anyway to treat a visitor?"
Jed heard Heyes' voice from outside the window and smiled beneath the covers. Ever so slowly he lowered the quilt and squinted his eyes into two tiny slits to look out the window.
Jed coughed, then sniffled. "You shouldn't be here. Ma says we're quar-teened. Only Ma and Pa can come in."
"Well, I ain't in, Jed. Besides, I already had measles. I can't get em again. Geeze Kid, your face is as red as a cherry, only splotchy."
Jed opened his eyes a little further and raised his head to glance across the room to be sure Katie was still asleep."
"They closed the school for two weeks," Heyes said and Jed wondered why Heyes sounded disappointed by that fact.
"Closed the school and I gotta go and be sick. We could be fishing everyday, Heyes."
Jed heard the doorknob turn. "Ma's coming," he warned Heyes in a loud whisper and quickly scooted himself down deeper into the quilts.
"I'll be back in the morning," Heyes quickly replied and darted off across the yard.
"Jed, I thought I heard you talking in here," his Ma said as she walked in with a bowl of warm milk toast and a glass of water.
"Just checking to see if Katie was awake," Jed replied. "She ain't."
"She isn't," Mrs. Curry corrected and set the bowl and water on the table.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"How are you feeling?" she asked and pressed the back of her hand on his rash covered forehead. "Fever seems to be down. I want you to get up and sit in the chair for some breakfast. Doctor says you need to sit up and you need to start eating."
Reluctantly Jed pulled back the covers and padded his way to the chair. Mrs. Curry slid the bowl directly in front of him, then gathered a quilt and draped it over his shoulders.
Jed looked at the soggy concoction in the bowl and could feel his stomach begin to churn in protest.
"Ma?"
"You take a bite young man. We'll see if you can keep it down."
Jed slowly picked up the spoon and moved it around in the bowl, searching for the smallest piece of soggy white toast he could find. Raising his eyes, he saw he was under his mother's tight scrutiny so he sighed heavily and slowly raised the spoon to his mouth and took the bite, then quickly dropped the spoon back into the bowl.
Mrs. Curry smiled before walking over to the other bed to check on her still sleeping daughter.
"I'm going to go fix your Pa his breakfast. I want you to stay in that chair till I get back," she told her son. "You warm enough or do you need another quilt?"
"I'm warm enough," he said, then coughed and sniffled again.
This morning ritual went on for the remainder of the week with Heyes sneaking over at dawn and visiting with Kid through the window until one of them heard Mrs. Curry stirring about.
On Friday afternoon the doctor returned to check on the children and was pleased with their progress. Both children still had bright red rashes, but neither had a fever and Jed's cough had improved considerably. In the afternoon, Jed even felt well enough to sit next to Katie and tell her the story of the Three Bears.
Saturday morning just as he had done every morning that week, Heyes stood outside Kid's window for their brief morning visit.
"I thought I'd find you here, Hannibal," Mrs. Curry said, her voice coming from somewhere behind Heyes and startling him so much he literally jumped.
Jed, who had been standing by the window, dashed into his bed and pulled the covers up over his head, hoping against hope he had not been seen.
"I a... I just came to see how Jed was feeling, Aunt Becky," Heyes tried to explain.
Mrs. Curry stood with her arms folded across her chest. "Like you've been doing every morning, Hannibal?"
Heyes dropped his head sheepishly and looked at his boots.
"I appreciate you doing Jed's chores every morning," she added.
"Just...wanted to help," Heyes replied.
"I talked to the doctor yesterday and told him you and your family all had the measles two years ago. He said, so long as you don't get too close, you can come in for a visit"
Beneath the quilts a sick little boy smiled brightly.
"Aunt Becky, would it be alright if I wait till this afternoon to visit?"
Mrs. Curry nodded. "Is there some reason?"
"Well, Jed always likes it when Miss Hadley reads to us in school. I thought I might bring a book over and read to him...and Katie of course."
Mrs. Curry smiled. "I'm going to limit your visit to an hour, and you have to sit in the middle of the room and Jed and Katie have to stay in their beds," she said, thinking of all the things she should could do with an extra hour of time each day. "But you can come over every day, if it's alright with your folks."
Heyes smiled. "Yes, Ma'am. And I'll keep doing Jed's morning chores, too."
"You're a sweet boy, Hannibal. Thoughtful."
Heyes blushed.
"Jed," Mrs. Curry shouted. "I know your heard all that. You boys aren't in any trouble. But if you're well enough for visitors, you're well enough to eat a full bowl of milk toast every morning. Agreed?"
"Yes Ma'am," came the muffled response from a very happy child who understood that some pleasures come with a bit of pain..