Color Blind (BWWM Interracial Billionaire Single Mom Steamy Romance Novel) (2 page)

“
Dr. Herber’s office, Janice speaking. How may I help you?” his assistant answered the phone.
 

“
Hi Janice, this is Kimberly Harris. I was wondering if the doctor could examine my daughter Nevaeh this week. She’s been complaining that her knees hurt, and she’s been running a low-grade fever the last few days.”
 

“
Okay, um, let me check the schedule to see if I can fit her in. Do you have any idea why they might be swollen?” Janice asked as she tried to shift around the appointments to make room for them.
 

“
No, I thought maybe she fell, but she keeps complaining about them. The real reason I wanted to bring her in is because of the fever; that concerns me.”

“
Well, sometimes children can catch a bug or a virus and run a low-grade fever as their body fights the infection. You guys are welcome to come in on Thursday at 4:30 in the afternoon.
Does that work for you?”
 

“
Thursday?” I asked as I looked up at the schedule hanging on the wall. “Yes, that’ll be perfect. I might be a few minutes late getting her there because I don’t get off until four. Is that okay?”
 

“
Sure thing, that’s no problem at all.”

I hung up the phone, relieved that they worked her in within the next couple of days. It was Tuesday, and I hoped that Nevaeh would feel better before Thursday afternoon so the appointment wouldn’t be necessary. I hated to rush around after work, but if it meant helping my sick daughter, I’d do it in a heartbeat. As I walked away from Kevin’s office, I saw that Rachel was taking a drink order from a two-top table. I met her in the kitchen.
 

“
So what’d they say?” her
co-worker
asked as she made the customer’s beverages.
 

“
They said they would squeeze
her in
Thursday at 4:30. I don’t get off until 30 minutes before her
appointment,
but we work together. Would you mind if I left a few minutes early?”
 

“
No, girl. I wouldn’t care. You make sure she gets better.” She faced me and handed me the drinks, “Give the husband this diet soda and his wife asked for water.”
 

“
Oh, thanks,” I said, taking the glasses from her before heading out to serve my last table of the night.
 

I cashed out and counted my money when I was off work. This was an unusually slow summer; I only made $32 in tips. Suddenly, I began wishing I would’ve taken that $50
tip
from the sexy guy who’d tried getting my number. With a crawling start to the season, it looked like bills would be tight. I couldn’t afford for my daughter to be sick. My credit cards were almost full, but I could squeeze a small office visit on my Visa card. Although I hated my dead-end job, I continued to serve tables at the restaurant because it was close to home and was able to work the hours I needed for Nevaeh’s sake. A full-time day job was hard to find. Nevaeh was going into the third grade when the next year started up in the fall so it was important to me that someone greeted her as she got off the bus.
 

At the end of my evening, I grabbed two Styrofoam containers and made us
dinner
for the night. I was too tired to cook. Once I packed our
meals
, I hopped into my 2006 green Honda Civic and headed to Lorraine’s house to pick up my daughter. I couldn’t wait to lay eyes on my little girl, and Nevaeh would be excited when I brought home food from my work. As I pulled into Lorraine’s driveway, I spied my little sweetheart peeking out the window at me. I barely got out of my car before my pride and joy was running out the front door coming to greet me.
 

“
Nevaeh!” I rejoiced, scooping up my child and hugging her tightly. Even though she was eight years old, she was tiny for her size.
 

“
Hi,
Momma
! I missed you today,” the she attacked as she squeezed her arms around my neck. “I had so much fun while you were gone!”
 

“
You did? What did you do?” I asked as we made our way toward the living room to gather Nevaeh’s things.
 

“
Aunt Lorraine bought us a bunch of new finger paints and she let me paint before we had lunch!”
 

“
That was
sweet
of her,” I said as we walked through the front door.
 

“
Hi,” I said, laying my purse on the couch.
 

“
Hey,
Kimberly! How’s it going?”
 

“
Eh, not too bad. We’re still horribly slow at work,” I complained. “But I had a customer who tried to give me a $50 tip…that I refused!”
 

“
Fifty dollars? Was it a big group? And why would you refuse a big tip?” Lorraine wondered as they sat down at her kitchen table.
 

“
Yep, and no, it wasn’t a big group. It was some cocky rich white guy. I think he was only trying to give me a big tip like that because he wanted my number.”
 

“
So what happened?” she inquired.
 

“
I told him he could keep his tip because he wasn’t getting my number and took my ass in the back.
Ain’t nobody
got time for that. I’m trying to raise a baby, not make more.”
 

My friend glanced at me, “I know what you mean, but what if he turned out to be really nice?”
 

“
Did you not hear the fact that he’s white? And arrogant?”
 

 “
Hmmm. You always seem to attract the most
undesirable
men.”
 

“
Rachel and Sherry were trying to talk me into chasing him down to give him my number. He was built and had
nice
clothes
,
but I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship right now. And could you
imagine me telling my momma and brothers that I was dating a white man?”
 

“
I don’t blame you.” My friend agreed as she got up to grab a glass of water. “Hey, I wanted to ask you about something. Did anything happen to Nevaeh’s knees? She was complaining about them so I checked them out and they’re pretty swollen.”
 

“
I meant to tell you about it this morning when I dropped her
off,
but she had me running late so I forgot. We have no clue what happened. I called her pediatrician this afternoon and I take her in on Thursday at 4:30.”
 

“
Oh, okay. Nevaeh complained it hurts her to walk and
anytime
she bends her knees. I questioned whether she fell and she replied that she hadn’t.” Lorraine explained.
 

“
I know, I asked her the same thing. By chance, did she run a temperature at all today?”

“
No, why?”

“
She ran an intermittent fever on my days off work. Janice, the doctor’s assistant, said not to worry too much about it, and explained that Nevaeh may have caught a bug or virus.”
 

“
Oh, no, she didn’t seem feverish or flushed. She acted and played just fine. I’ll keep an eye on her the next couple of days when I have
her,
though. Would you guys like to stay for dinner tonight?”
 

“
No, I grabbed us a bite to eat
from
work. She loves when I do that.”
 

“
She always brags when you bring food home.” My friend acknowledged.
 

“
Well, I guess I better go collect my rambunctious daughter and her things. We’ll visit you tomorrow.” I reported as I gathered Nevaeh’s bag and called her to the front door.
 

“
Okay. Hey!” Lorraine stopped me. “You might want to watch her, she did something else weird today.”
 

“
What?” I asked, concerned it had more to do with my daughter’s illness.
 

“
It’s nothing bad, but she picked the scab off her arm and used the blood to create small red dots all over her body to pretend she had chicken pox,” Lorraine said laughing.
 

“
Oh. My. God.
No,
she didn’t! I swear, my child has an imagination!” My daughter smirked at me and shook her head, agreeing with me.
 

“
Momma, you brought us home dinner for tonight?” she asked as she opened the car door and saw the containers in the seat.
 

“
Yep, I figured my little angel would love to have fancy food from my work.” I beamed in the rear view mirror as she buckled herself.
 

That night after my daughter was ready for bed, I sat down on the couch to relax before I went to sleep. As I watched the television program, I thought about the man who tried to give me the generous tip that afternoon. It was
a wonderful
gesture, but for a salad? Of course, he had motives, though. He was trying to impress me so he could talk to me. I was torn on what I should’ve done.
 

I drifted off
on
the couch as the television continued to play. A loud scream that came from Nevaeh’s room startled me from my slumber. I jumped up and ran to check on her. Nevaeh was sitting up in her bed, tearful while holding her legs.
 

“
What’s wrong baby?” I asked, despite how sleepy I was as I tried to rub my eyes.
 

“
Momma, they hurt. I can’t even bend my legs,” she cried.

“
Let me have a peek,” I insisted, pulling the covers back. Nevaeh’s knees had swollen more than they had been. I lightly touched them, trying to investigate what was causing the swelling. “Nevaeh, you’re scalding hot. Can I take your temperature?”
 

My daughter nodded her head as I got up to grab the thermometer. I placed it under Nevaeh’s tongue and waited for the beep. When I removed it, I was surprised when it read 101.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
 

“
Do you hurt anywhere else? Is your throat sore or do you have a headache or anything like that?” I probed my daughter, trying to find the cause of the fever.
 

“
No,
momma. It’s just my knees, and my back hurts down at the bottom. My whole body feels tight.”
 

“
It’s okay. Everything is going to be just fine. I’ll go get your medicine, would you take that for
me?” I asked, brushing my daughter’s hair away from her face.
 

She nodded and replied, “Yes, but will it make me feel better?”

“
I hope so honey. I’ll have it ready for you in a minute.”

I went to the kitchen and poured out a dose of ibuprofen for Nevaeh. As I did it, I wondered what was wrong with her. My baby almost never gets sick and when she does, she never
actually
complains; it was puzzling. After I had
replaced
the cap on the bottle, I headed to Nevaeh’s room with her meds and a cup of water.
 

“
Okay sweetheart, you have to take a little and I brought you water,” I said, holding up the small pink cup. “Drink this up and get rested. You should feel better in the morning.”
 

Like a good girl, she took the dose and drank the water before she dozed off. I stayed with her until she was fast asleep. Once she was sleeping, I headed to the kitchen to place the spoon and cup in the sink. Worried about my baby, I decided I would go to sleep in Nevaeh’s room for the rest of the night. I scooted her over in her bed and
climbed in beside her before I curled up with her and nodded off.
 

In the morning, I woke up to Nevaeh moaning in her sleep. I listened for a moment before waking her; she was in so much pain.
 

“
Nevaeh,” I whispered. “Nevaeh….” I nudged her. “Are you feeling okay?”
 

She opened her eyes and looked at me, unaware she’d been making noise as she slept. “I hurt mommy.”
 

“
Yeah, I caught that baby. I’m calling in to work today and am going to try to get a hold of your doctor. You rest here for a little while.” I started to get up.
 

“
Momma, I don’t like being in here by myself. Will you carry me to the couch and let me watch cartoons?”

“
Sure, come here,” I gently scooped her up. “Do you want me to bring your blanket or pillow?”