The kids cheered and traipsed inside. Sarah looked up at the sudden influx of little bodies, took one look at Kellan’s face, and blanched white. “His eye…”
“We’re on it.” But I could already see where this reaction was heading. “Josie’s at lunch. Get her back in and call that agency she gets temp workers from. We need someone to come out now because…”
I bit my lip, not wanting to say it out loud and scare Kellan.
But I could already see that this reaction was going to end with an ambulance. “Get him an antihistamine and have his EpiPen ready to go. Just in case he gets any worse.”
But this wasn’t my child. And I wasn’t taking any chances when I was the most senior person here. I let Vincent walk ahead of me into the staff kitchen where we kept a locked medicine cabinet up high on the wall, out of reach of children. In Josie’s office where Kellan couldn’t hear me, I called 911, gave them the center’s address, and told them we had a child with anaphylaxis who needed immediate attention.
Vincent had Kellan sitting on the kitchen counter when I got back in there, a bottle of kids’ antihistamine with the lid off next to him, and an EpiPen clutched in his fingers.
“How is he?” I asked in a rush, trying to keep the panic at bay.
Kellan’s eye was almost completely swollen shut. He was still talking and breathing okay, chattering away over the sound of a YouTube video on an iPad Vincent had given him, but there was no sign of the allergic reaction slowing down yet.
“I don’t think that antihistamine is going to be enough,” Vincent said quietly.
I eyed the EpiPen in his hand. “You ever used one of those? On a reallive person, I mean. Not just during first-aid training?”
I hadn’t. And the prospect of holding Kellan down and stabbing him in his skinny leg was terrifying.
“I have a peanut allergy. I’ve had to jab myself more than once. It’s not pleasant, so let’s hope we don’t have to do it to him.”
For some reason, that made me feel a bit better. “I think his allergy is peanuts too. How did he even get any peanuts in here? The center is nut-free.”
Vincent shook his head. “If he’s particularly sensitive, it might have been that one of the other kids had peanuts before they came this morning and didn’t wash their hands. Or maybe this is a new reaction. Something outside might have set him off.”
“Could be pollen, or the grass? Maybe one of the trees in the yard, though none of them are new.”
Vincent stared down at me. “Could be dog hair.”
“Little Dog is still in Josie’s office.”
“None of the children have been in there, but her hair is probably on my clothes too.” Vincent’s mouth pulled into a grim line. “If this is my fault and something happens to him…”
I took his hand in mine and squeezed it.
He jumped, like I’d shocked him. His deep-brown gaze dropped to our joined hands. But then eventually he squeezed back.
The wail of the ambulance sirens had us both breathing easier, and Vincent bundled Kellan and the iPad up, striding quickly out the main doors to meet the paramedics. I grabbed Kellan’s bag from his cubbyhole and ran after them.
Kellan looked tiny, sitting on a long white stretcher while a paramedic checked him over.
The woman nodded once, then turned to us. “He’s not too bad. You did the right thing, getting the antihistamine into him. I don’t think we’ll need the EpiPen, but I want to take him to the hospital for observation anyway. One of you can come with us.”
Vincent opened his mouth, clearly ready to volunteer, and I knew Kellan would probably have preferred him over me, but in the absence of Josie, I was the senior member of the staff. Vincent had only worked here a week. It needed to be me.
I put my hand on Vincent’s arm. “I need you to go call Kellan’s parents and ask them to meet us at the hospital. And then I need you to help Sarah until the temp gets here, okay?”
Vincent seemed torn, his gaze glued to Kellan. But he eventually turned back to me and nodded. “You’ll keep me updated?”
I nodded. “My number is in the staff files. Find it and text me your number, and I’ll send updates when I can.”
The paramedics had finished up their assessments and made way for me to get in with Kellan.
I smiled at him. “Hey, kiddo. Wave bye to Vincent. Aren’t we lucky, going for a ride in an ambulance?”
The doors closed with a bang, and then in a wail of sirens, we left Vincent behind, staring after the ambulance helplessly.