Early in our relationship, I took Ed swimming at night. Skinny-dipping was another activity he had never experienced as a romantic encounter. Not having a pool conveniently at our disposal, I decided to borrow the one at the apartments where Jon lived. If we were caught, I was certain Jon would vouch for me as being his guest.
The pool officially closed at ten p.m. when the lights were extinguished. The odds were, if you sneaked in, no one would see you. Apartment security paid little attention to the steady stream of late night visitors, so long as there were no complaints by residents. After all, it was an all-adult community. Some hanky-panky was naturally expected.
A short time passed when Ed's pager went off and Ed announced he had to go to the hospital. Knowing most of his hospital calls required little time, I elected to wait at the pool until he returned. Earlier in the evening, I complained I wasn't feeling well. I had no specific complaint at that time. I simply did not feel up to par.
I watched while Ed reluctantly dressed. I informed him should I become bored in his absence, I would go to the Club for a drink. We agreed to meet there as a secondary plan. He gave me a kiss and departed with a promise to return as soon as possible.
I paddled around the pool to amuse myself for a time. I had always enjoyed swimming, especially at night. Growing up on beaches in general had made me an avid swimmer, and a strong one. I took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely swim alone.
After a time, I sensed movement in the darkness. A shadowy figure taking a shortcut past the pool appeared. As he approached, I recognized Bob. I hailed him in a whisper, and he stopped to say hello. "What are you doing here?" I asked as I propped my arms on the edge of the pool and gazed up at him.
"I had business in the area and thought I'd drop by the Club to grab a quick drink," he explained. "I'd ask what you are doing, but I can see that for myself. It seems like every time I run across you somewhere, you're naked," he observed. "Do you ever wear clothes?" he shook his head and smiled slightly at my unclothed state.
"My date abandoned me to make a hospital call," I explained. "I told him that if I wasn't here when he got back, I'd be in the Club having a drink. If you're alone, would you like to have one together?" I asked.
"Why not?" Bob said extending his hand to assist me from the water.
I wrapped myself in a towel while I sorted my clothes in the dark and began dressing. Bob gallantly lent a hand in pulling my shirt over my head in order to hurry the process. His hand touched my torso, and he recoiled with a curse. "Damn! Is the water that warm tonight?"
"Not really. It seemed a little cool to me. I'm shivering. Can't you tell?" I asked as I trembled erratically from the chill I felt. I ran my fingers through my wet hair and swung it back out of my face.
Bob reached to feel my forehead and his hand was like ice on my skin. All I heard him say before the world began spinning was, "My God!" Everything went dark.
What began as a not so innocent moonlight swim quickly became an unpleasant incident; it was an incident of which I have few vivid recollections except what was repeated to me later. It would seem that I collapsed rather unexpectedly and Bob, unsure what to do about it, took me immediately to Jon's residence.
There, I was given the benefit of doubt and taken in while they pondered the situation. Once Bob convinced Jon that I was sick rather than simply inebriated they shifted their focus to deciding what to do next about me.
Wisdom prevailed when Bob decided to go through my address book and locate Ed's phone number. He decided that Ed would surely be looking for me by that point. Jon was opposed to the idea, but despite that, Bob called Ed anyway.
Ed responded to the page immediately and was given a synopsis of the situation by Bob. Within the hour, Ed paid a house call to Jon's apartment, one of many to come over the course of three days. What he found was I, in a state of fever that raged dangerously out of control for some time.
Ed's first suspicion as to the cause of the fever was based on limited information that Jon and Bob provided. Jon gave him information about my having lived in Central America for a time as a child, and few details about an undiagnosed fever I reportedly contracted while there. Bob's contribution was to simply relate the details of what happened at the pool after Ed left me there alone.
Ed made use of his hospital privileges to run tests to rule out his first three dreaded diagnostic suspicions, which were malaria, meningitis, and encephalitis. All of these were potentially deadly and possibly contagious. He had a valid concern about having to report to the health department and possibly the CDC had any of those diseases been confirmed. Thankfully, they were not confirmed. He began a standard course of treatment in hopes I would respond and recover quickly.
Quickly is a relative term. Three days and nights of worry and inconvenience for the three of them must have seemed like an eternity. Being in a state of near unconsciousness for the duration, I was oblivious. What took place was the result of three rather stubborn personalities, all determined to see to it I didn't inconvenience them further by dying in their care.
Arguments naturally ensued. Bob demanded that Jon notify my family. Jon insisted that he could do as much for me as any family member since they were all unavailable to lend any immediate support. Ed sided with neither Bob nor Jon, and went about trying to act strictly in the capacity of a medical adviser and practitioner. Ed not only prescribed but also procured the necessary drugs to treat me. He made, at minimum, two to three house calls each day to oversee my care.
Bob seemed impressed by Ed's diligence, but Jon took the liberty of pointing out that it was part of my agreement with Ed that he would provide medical care as part of my fringe benefits package. I think he took some sadistic pleasure in using my arrangement with Doc to dissuade Bob from any further interest in me.
Jon was unable to tend me around the clock, but he made the effort to the point that he was himself on the verge of collapse from exhaustion by the end of the first twenty-four hours. Bob, for reasons unknown to any of us at the time, stayed with me. He was my self-appointed nurse during the crisis.
Jon related to me later that Bob changed sheets, did laundry, bathed me, kept my hair reasonably groomed, packed me in ice at Doc's suggestion whenever the fever spiked, and spoon-fed me liquids a few drops at a time. With his bad back, even carrying me to the toilet was out of the question for Jon. Bob took the liberty instead, the same way he took the liberty of bathing me to keep me comfortable and clean.
While I don't recall much about it, I do know that the few occasions when I opened my eyes, Bob, Jon, or both, were constantly sitting at my bedside, sometimes dozing in a chair when opportunity afforded them the chance to sleep at all.
With Bob's contributions to my upkeep, Jon was able to continue working during daylight hours, leaving me entirely in Bob's custody while he was away. Jon saved my job by reporting me ill to my boss. Bob enlisted Christina's help in persuading my usual babysitter to care for my children while I was sick. Jon maintained his position of authority in being the final decision maker, while Bob carried out his orders, but not without argument when he felt it was warranted.
Ed related later how he had witnessed several heated disputes between Bob and Jon. During one in particular, Jon accused Bob of being too personally involved with me. In turn, Bob accused Jon of not being in love with me as he claimed. And, Ed accused them both of being self-serving pompous asses, and having a common hidden agenda where I was concerned. At the end of the first day of my illness, they seemed to have all settled their differences and pulled together in a team effort to make the best of a bad, if unusual, situation.
I opened my eyes on the afternoon of the third day to find Bob bending over me with his usual concern. Grey-blue eyes. "Bob," I rather sighed in recognition of him. His face lit up when I said his name.
"Yes, it's me. I'm glad to see you recognize me, princess," he smiled down at me. He felt my head for any sign of fever. "How do you feel?" He looked tired but relieved.
"What happened? Why are you here?" I asked. I was disoriented by his presence in the familiar surroundings of Jon's apartment.
"You've been sick. You're at Jon's," he explained.
I rolled my eyes at him. "I know where I am, Bob, but what are you doing here?" I asked again.
He shrugged back at me. "I just stopped by to visit and thought I'd hang out awhile."
