REDEMPTION

TWENTY FOUR

I don't wanna forget the present is a gift
And I don't wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me
'Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed
_______

"Gommy, I feel hot."

Looking up from her book, Baby dropped her eyes to Ginger who had been playing quietly on the floor near where she lay on the sofa. She was so engrossed in her new read that she didn't even realize Ginger was no longer playing but lying back against a pillow. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"Oh my God, Ginge!" Baby gasped, jumping up. She kneeled down and pressed her hand against Ginger's forehead. She didn't need a thermometer to know that the young child was running a fever. Cradling her in her arms, Baby carried Ginge to her room and laid her down on the bed. She then ran cold water on a washcloth and rubbed it over her face.

"Other than hot, how do you feel?" she asked, and Ginger frowned thoughtfully before replying.

She looked up at the worried expression on her Gommy's face and forced a smile. She didn't want to worry her any more than she already had.

"I'm a little tired, but that's it." Ginger thought for a second and then her eyes lit up. "Maybe you can give me the medicine Mommy gives me all the time. The Benamil."

"Benamil?" Baby repeated, thinking. "You mean Benadryl?"

Ginger nodded her head. "Yes. She says it keeps me healthy."

"How often does she give you the Benadryl?" Baby asked, feeling a cold shiver run down her spine.

Tell me Lauren was not drugging my baby to sleep, she prayed.

"She gives it to me every time Jadey leaves and we have our special alone time together!" Ginger informed her with a smile, not realizing just how heartbreaking her words were to Baby's ears. "Mommy always wanted me to be really healthy, so she gave me a lot."

Then, sensing from Baby's expression that something wasn't quite right, she bunched her brows together and frowned.

"Was that not good?" she asked, and Baby quickly pushed her thoughts away so that she could focus on the present.

"Sometimes we need Benadryl to help us feel better, but you don't need it right now. Close your eyes and rest. I'll stay until you're asleep."

She could see the fatigue in Ginger's face and knew there was more that she was not telling her about how she currently felt, but Baby didn't press her for more. Sitting there, she said a quick prayer, rubbed the side of Ginger's face, and sang to her until she drifted off to sleep.

Once she was sure that Ginger was out cold, she ran to grab cell phone and called her mother.

"Mama?"

"Yes, Baby?" Carol could hear the urgency in her child's voice. "Did something happen? Do I need to drive back?"

Baby closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her temple in frustration. Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than her mother to come back to help her. Being that Carol was a registered nurse, she would be the perfect person to assist.

"No, Mama. I know you have work and other commitments. I can handle this. Ginge is running a fever... and I don't know what to do."

"How high is it?" Carol asked, and Baby cursed herself for not even thinking to actually take her temperature before calling.

"Hold on!"

She ran to the cabinet in the kitchen where Beyoncé kept all the medicine and searched for a thermometer. As soon as she found one, she ran into Ginger's room and carefully inserted it into her mouth and under her tongue as she slept.