MARIEL

4~You Don't Even Know Me~

"Please, please..." Jerome whispered.

Mariel had been screaming for hours already. Feeding him had not helped, nor had rocking him. It was 1am, and Jerome's eyes were red with exhaustion. Angela had mentioned much earlier that Mariel had severe colic and had suggested medication. In his excitement, however, Jerome had forgotten to purchase it. Now, he was threatened with a night of limited sleep if something was not done.

"Alright, alright, we're going for an emergency run," Jerome said, reaching to pull Mariel from the cradle. The baby's cries hurt his ears.

Jerome dressed Mariel warmly, strapped him into the baby carrier, and opened the front door. A freezing wind gust struck his face and he walked towards the car as quickly as he was able without slipping. After securing the screaming child, Jerome began driving to the nearest convenience store.

Traffic was light, but Jerome drove slowly on the icy roads. He arrived within ten minutes, parked, and quickly pulled the carrier from the car. Mariel's screams came in spurts now. He had stopped for a few minutes but was giving little gurgling threats to begin once more. Jerome hastened to the entrance of the store named Marty's, which was usually Arty's due to the 'M' blinking in and out.

The store's lights were bright. It was a large store with many standard departments such as groceries, home, and kitchen, and the building was mostly unoccupied save for the few employees he saw wandering with disinterest to their different projects. Jerome held the baby carrier tightly in his hand and shuffled in his slippers towards the pharmacy.

After heading the wrong direction for a short time, Jerome chastised himself and went the opposite direction. When he passed the entrance doors again, he noticed a young man coming into the store but barely putting one foot in front of the other. His eyes were bloodshot, and Jerome smelled tobacco and weed almost immediately. The man stopped, his face dazed and confused, and went the opposite direction of Jerome. Following him with his eyes, Jerome continued his walk to the pharmacy.

A short, dark-haired young woman in a lab coat walked amongst the shelves behind the counter taking notes on a clipboard. Jerome approached and half-smiled. "Excuse me, ma'am."

She kept writing notes.

"Ma'am." He spoke a bit loud, more abrupt than he meant to sound.

She jumped a little, turning. "Sorry! Lost in this epic inventory, apparently. How can I help?"

"No problem. Where is your colic relief?"

The woman glanced around, clearly unsure of the exact location. "I think...um...oh! Right across from the counter. Behind you." She pointed.

Jerome gave a grateful nod. "Thanks!"

Mariel began crying again as Jerome approached the shelf. Sighing, Jerome gently set the carrier down and scanned the shelf. Baby formula, baby formula, illness medication, more baby formula. He walked sideways down the aisle, becoming more and more frustrated the longer he looked. "Hey, miss, I can't seem to find –" He turned and stopped.

"Sir, I told you a little while ago that we can't refill this prescription until we get the approval from your doctor. It's too soon."

The young man he had seen earlier stood before the pharmacy counter, balling his fists, staring with his bloodshot eyes down at the pharmacist. He wore a dusty black hoodie and loose military pants. His sandy hair was close shaven. "I n-n-need the meds," he mumbled. "Give me the-the-the- goddamn meds."

Slowly, Jerome started to inch back towards Mariel, whose screaming had died down to stuttering, sleepy sobs.

The pharmacist stared back at the disgruntled man. "Sir. I have made myself very clear. We cannot refill these meds. If you'd like to call your doctor and come back tomorrow, I'd be happy to –"