Somebody That I Used To Know

The Flu

Poor Tom, but poor Lily. This isn't something she should be dealing with as a baby.

"Are you sure that it'll be okay?" Molly asks. "We can all go. It'll be boring but-"

"Yes, Mols, we're fine."

"I won't be back until Friday night."

"Go enjoy your work, darling. Lils and I will have fun."

Molly cups Tom's face and kisses him quickly. "Bye, baby."

"See you later, darling."

Lily sits in her room, playing with dolls at her large dollhouse Tom purchased for her when she was 3. While playing, a loud thump fills the house.

"Daddy?" Lily calls out, setting the dolls out on the floor. "Daddy, are you okay?"

She waffles through the hallway, quickly stepping to her parent's room. The door was cracked open but her father wasn't in there. She opens the bathroom door and Tom lays on the floor next to the toilet, it was clear that he'd fallen.

"Daddy!" Lillian dives to the floor and grabs Tom's face, poking his cheek. "Daddy please get up."

Tom softly groans, his eyes remaining closed.

"Daddy please you have to wake up."

"Lillian," Tom whispers, opening his eyes. "Darling, get... get Daddy some water."

Lily runs to the sink and fills a Dixie cup with water. She kneels down next to Tom, allowing him to use her arm to sit up. "Here you go. What happened?"

"I'm fine. Just... just help me to bed, alright? I need to lie down."

Lily holds Tom's waist, like he does her, and tries to pick him off. It looked a lot easier when Tom was the one picking up Lily. "I can't do it."

"There's... there's a chair in your bedroom, get that for Daddy, please."

Lily walks to her bedroom and pulls out the chair from her desk. She tries to lift it but it's bigger than her, so she resorts to dragging it against the wood floor.

She sets it down in front of Tom, looking at him holding the counter for support. She didn't know what was going on.

"Thank you. Now... grab my arm and help me stand."

Lillian holds onto Tom and pulls up, helping him gain balance. "Is that it Daddy?"

"Move the chair forward a little." Tom says, hanging onto the sides. Lily moves the chair and Tom slowly takes a step forward. "Good, now again."

Lillian does that about 10 times before they reach Tom's bed. He groans and collapses into the pile of blankets.

Lily pulls the cover over him, stopping at his upper chest. "Daddy, there's yuckies on your shirt." Lillian repremands.

"It's fine, Lils, leave it. I'll change when I feel better. I can't move right now."

Lily walks to the closet and opens the door, grabbing a new sweater for Tom to wear. "Here. Just take your shirt off and put this on. It's not icky."

"I'll do it later."

Lily walks to the other side of the bed and holds Tom's arms in the air, trying to get the sweater off of him.

"Lillian," Tom whispers. "Just leave it, it's fine. I don't want to do that right now."

"No, Daddy, it's gross. Do you have the flu again?"